Some large Chinese metal scrap buyers that have been granted import quotas have been reselling their permits to smaller companies since new import restriction came into place, Fastmarkets learned. China implemented a quota system in July this year to restrict the inflow of metal scrap, including high-quality category 6 copper scrap, in a bid to reduce the pollution arising from the scrap processin...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Friday September 20, buoyed by both stock removals and fresh cancellations while turnover was moderately high. The nickel price was recently trading at around $17,795 per tonne, climbing by more than 3% from Thursday's closing price of $17,280 per tonne. Nickel trading volumes were moderately high over t...Read More
Chinese nickel consumers may be deterred from guaranteeing long-term ore supply by investing in Philippine ore production, delegates said during a panel discussion at the 18th International Stainless and Special Steel Summit in Seville, Spain, on Wednesday September 18.This is despite prevailing opinion that Philippine material is more easily refined and cost effective than Chinese nickel pig iron...Read More
The recent sharp increase in the London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price is justified by long-term electric vehicle (EVs) demand for the metal even if it is driven by the stainless steel sector in the short term, Nornickel's head of commodity research said at the 18th International Stainless and Special Steel Summit in Seville, Spain, on Wednesday September 18. "We saw this type of price ra...Read More
US cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized prices have diverged on wider concerns that the domestic flat-rolled steel market could be on shaky ground.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was unchanged at $37 per hundredweight ($740 per ton) on Thursday September 19. Meanwhile, Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped g...Read More
CIS producers of steel billet have kept their offer prices stable despite mounting downward pressure from the poor international scrap trading environment and limited demand, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 20.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $357 per tonne on September 20, compared with $356 per tonne a day earlier.Steelmakers have been of...Read More
A 7.5% year-on-year fall in apparent steel consumption in Brazil in August was largely due to declining domestic sales, particularly in the long-steel sector. Consumption totaled 1.81 million tonnes in August, down from 1.95 million tonnes in the same month of 2018, national steel association Instituto A??o Brasil said on Thursday September 19. Demand for flat-rolled products of 1.06 million tonne...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil (HRC, CRC) continued to fall last week on low demand and further price falls are expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 20. G??rkem Bolaca, ceo of global steel trading company Galex Steel believes HRC prices will hit $380 per tonne levels in a couple of months. Global demand is weak and all markets expect price falls, he told...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have decreased over the past week due to declines in monthly ferrous scrap contracts, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 2,070-2,090 zloty ($527-532) per tonne on September 20, down by 10-40 zloty per tonne from 2,080-2,130 zloty per tonne one week earlier....Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and color-coated coil were stable over the week ended Friday September 20, even though market participants were expecting falls, sources have told Fastmarkets.Prices for hot-rolled coil, the base product for coated coil, have been coming down recently, and coated coil prices were expected to follow soon.Domestic pricesDemand in the country's loca...Read More
Prices for ferrous scrap imported into India moved down this week after a sudden drop in Turkish scrap prices midweek had a knock-on effect, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $256.82 per tonne on Friday, down from $262.71 per tonne one week ago.At the start of the week, deals fo...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for UK light iron scrap held steady over the week ended Friday September 20, with smaller sellers reporting offer prices in the upper half of the present price range, and major suppliers that process scrap reporting prices in the lower half of the range.The market had dropped for two consecutive weeks before September 13, with settlement prices agreed in consumer del...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap markets were again quiet at the end of this week with expectations of lower prices, sources said on Friday September 20.The steel producers in the country have been quiet since Wednesday, when two UK cargoes were sold at $228 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20). Those sales sent the daily indices down by almost $10 per tonne on the day.Following the news of these UK cargoe...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materialsLatest transactions: iron oreIron oreSpot market, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Brazilian Blend fines, sold at $90.80 per tonne cfr China, mid-October arrival.BHP, private tender, 90,000 tonnes of 62.4%...Read More
Physical iron ore prices continued to slide on Friday September 20 amid further losses in the steel markets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.56 per tonne, down $0.67 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.95 per tonne, down $0.67 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.78 per tonne, down $0.69 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices have fallen to a three-year low while the segment for premium products appear to be diverging into two distinct tiers due to sustained Chinese demand for low-vol materials and fewer takers for mid-vol cargoes.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $128.19 per tonne, down $12.47 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $154.98 per tonne, down $6.45 per tonneHard cok...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices fell again on Friday September 20, with mills rushing to sell amid rising inventory levels ahead of an approaching week-long holiday.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,600-3,610 yuan ($507-509) per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,540-3,560 yuan per tonne, down 50-60 yuan per tonneSellers in the spot market started to lower prices in the mor...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued maintained their downward trend on Friday September 20 amid high selling interest. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,620-3,650 yuan ($511-515) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,560-3,600 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneStockists were actively selling rebar to draw down their inventories on expectations of higher production...Read More
The markets remain in limbo this morning, Friday September 20, while they wait for any news from the initial talks that are underway between deputy trade negotiators in the United States.With the US, Europe and China all showing they are prepared to ease monetary policy and with some signs of slightly better economic data, the markets seem a little less nervous and with that prices are managing to...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More