Treatment charges (TCs) for lead concentrates rose to three-year highs late in September when smelters in China trimmed output ahead of national holidays and a negative arbitrage ratio remained in place for imports, while zinc TCs have also narrowed.The loss on bringing refined lead into China - which traded around a range of 700-2,000 yuan ($98-281) per tonne over September - and a slump in deman...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday September 30 that are worth another look.The European Commission has made a number of changes to its existing regime of safeguard measures concerning 26 steel product categories, it said on Thursday September 26. At the same time, the appointment of a European chief trade enforcement officer was welcomed by the steel and alu...Read More
Refining charges for imported blister copper went down in China in September because of unusually tight availability in the spot market, with only minimal volumes coming from Zambian producer Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and local producers limiting their primary smelting activities due to record-low treatment charges for copper concentrates.The refining charges (RCs) for the intermediate product of...Read More
Manganese ore producers reduced their offer prices to attract business in the week ended Friday September 27 after buyers either delayed or cut their bids prior to China's week-long National Day holiday (October 1-7). Low demand softens seaborne and port manganese ore markets Weak buying interest weighs on alloy in China Alloy sellers in India lower offer prices Alloy prices in...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai for the week ended Friday September 27. Europe Key drivers European prices for grade-4-4-1 and grade-5-5-3 silicon were unchanged amid low spot liquidity and little business concluded within the range. During the week, small volumes of grade-5-5-3 silicon exchanged hands at the top end of the published range at around ?,?1,500 (...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday September 27. China Key driversThe price for antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China rallied further after domestic suppliers increased offer prices on noticing growing buying interest ahead of the week-long National Day holiday in China (October 1-7).A few antimony producers held off from offering in anticipation...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap for November shipments at the beginning of this week, with prices fairly stable, sources said on Monday September 30.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo on Monday, comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 15,000 tonnes of shredded and 2,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $226 per tonne cfr.Market partic...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices have gone down over the past week amid further softening of imported scrap values, but ship scrap prices were largely stable, sources said on Monday September 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was TRY1,300-1,430 ($228-251) per tonne on Monday, down from last week's TRY1,340-1,450 per ton...Read More
The markets are surprisingly upbeat this morning, Monday September 30, due to improvements in Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data, offsetting reports the White House is looking at the possibility of preventing Chinese companies from listing in the United States, which will no doubt raise the rhetoric over trade talks. China's Caixin manufacturing PMI climbed to 51.4 from 50...Read More
Discussions and negotiations for cobalt supply in 2020 quickly got under way after Glencore announced it will close its Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of the year.The action to take 25,000 tonnes per year of cobalt (contained in hydroxide) out of the market has fundamentally changed the supply picture for next year. Prices for cobalt metal, intermediates and salts all...Read More
In light of market feedback, Fastmarkets is amending its proposal to change the specifications of its two cobalt hydroxide price assessments and extending the consultation period by one week to allow for any final feedback.Per the original specification amendment consultation notice, Fastmarkets proposes to tighten the chemical specification of its two cobalt hydroxide assessments by adding additi...Read More
Turkey exported 381,915 tonnes of flat steel products in August 2019, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), up by 7.11% year on year from the 356,568 tonnes exported in August 2018. Despite negative sentiment in the flat steel market in Europe in July, when orders for August shipping were placed, there was still a moderate increase in...Read More
The appointment of a European chief trade enforcement officer should ease trade problems in the steel and aluminium sectors and help tackle Chinese excess capacity, industry experts told a meeting of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) in Brussels. The new officer will work under the guidance of the new European Union commissioner for trade. If appointed, as expected,&n...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices strengthened on Monday September 30 amid more stringent production curbs, though market participants are wary about them falling after the Golden Week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,620-3,630 yuan ($508-510) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,580 yuan per tonne, up 60 yuan per tonnePrices gained after sentiment picked up in resp...Read More
Some key Egyptian rebar producers reduced their offer prices on Monday, September 30. The country's biggest producer Ezz Steel is now offering rebar at E ?11,290 ($691) per tonne ex-works, including 14% VAT, down from E ?11,980 per tonne ex-works....Read More
The European Commission (EC) has made a number of changes to its existing regime of safeguard measures concerning 26 steel product categories, it said on September 26.The changes will come into force on October 1 this year.The definitive safeguard mechanism already in place increases the level of tariff-free quotas for each product category by 5% annually. The first such liberalization took place...Read More
The appointment of a European chief trade enforcement officer should ease trade problems in the steel and aluminium sectors and help tackle Chinese excess capacity, industry experts told a meeting of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) in Brussels. The new officer will work under the guidance of the new European Union commissioner for trade. If appointed, as expected,&n...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap for November shipments at the beginning of this week, with prices fairly stable, sources said on Monday September 30.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo on Monday, comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 15,000 tonnes of shredded and 2,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $226 per tonne cfr.Market partic...Read More
Delegates at the 19th China Steel and Raw Materials conference organized by China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) were cautiously optimistic about demand for iron ore and steel prices after the week-long holiday in the country, starting October 1.The optimism stems from expectations that restocking demand will support prices for iron ore after the holidays, with the tight restrictions on steelma...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices have gone down over the past week amid further softening of imported scrap values, but ship scrap prices were largely stable, sources said on Monday September 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was TRY1,300-1,430 ($228-251) per tonne on Monday, down from last week's TRY1,340-1,450 per ton...Read More