Scrap suppliers succumbed to lower bids from Turkish steel mills and deep-sea scrap import prices have fallen by almost $10 per tonne in the latest transactions as a result, sources said on Wednesday September 18.A UK supplier sold two cargoes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) to two Turkish steel mills in the Iskenderun region at $228 per tonne cfr - one of 17,000 tonnes and the other 20,000 tonn...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices softened further on Wednesday September 18 amid a roller-coaster ride in the futures market.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.42 per tonne, down by $0.75 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.81 per tonne, down by $0.75 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.43 per tonne, down by $1.70 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-prem...Read More
India has given the go-ahead to the state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL), to sell up to 7 million tonnes of iron ore annually , to maintain security of raw material supplies ahead of the expiration of 31 mining leases in the country next year. "The Ministry of Mines has allowed SAIL to offload in a year up to a quantity equivalent to [a] maximum [of] 25% of [the] total iron ore production i...Read More
The Iranian export market for steel billet and slab has been largely quiet in the week to Wednesday September 18 and no new bookings were heard, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday.Iranian producers were offering billet at $360 per tonne fob, while buyers believed $340-350 per tonne would be a workable price."No...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices retreated on Wednesday September 18 after a day of stability, while those in the export market also weakened amid soft demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,700-3,730 yuan ($522-526) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,630-3,660 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneMore construction sites in northern China are expected to stop work by...Read More
Export prices for Chinese stainless steel edged have downward over the week ended Tuesday September 17 amid poor demand after the price of nickel tumbled from a five-year high attained earlier in the month.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Tuesday's trading session at $16,925-16,950 per tonne, compared with $17,980-18,000 per tonne a week earlier. The price of nick...Read More
Steel hollow sections prices in the European domestic market remained unchanged this week, with many market participants uncertain about whether to order now or wait until there is more clarity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?585-610 ($646-673) per tonne on Wednesday, u...Read More
Brazilian import volumes of flat and long steel displayed opposite tendencies in August, according to figures from the country's economy ministry published last week.Import volumes of flat steel declined year on year by 11.29% to 95,116 tonnes in the month, from 107,216 tonnes, mostly because of lower volumes imported from China.Imports of flat steel from China fell to 41,950 tonnes in August 2019...Read More
India has given the go-ahead to the state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL), to sell up to 7 million tonnes of iron ore annually , to maintain security of raw material supplies ahead of the expiration of 31 mining leases in the country next year. "The Ministry of Mines has allowed SAIL to offload in a year up to a quantity equivalent to [a] maximum [of] 25% of [the] total iron ore production i...Read More
The pellet segment of the seaborne iron ore market is starting to show signs of moving from annual contracts to shorter-term ones.The recent drop in iron ore prices amid improvements in Brazilian and Australian supply and a weak global steel market have led to buyers renegotiating the premium they had agreed with Brazil's Vale under annual contracts for pellet shipments to be made in the last thre...Read More
Market sources expected that domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Europe will continue to decline due to persisting poor demand and mounting pressure from reductions in import offer prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 18.Suppliers from Turkey and India have been active in the European market to compensate for the lack of buyer activity in their other traditional markets...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday September 18, with the price breaching the nearby resistance value amid low trading volumes, while the rest of the base-metals complex continued to consolidate.Nickel futures closed at $17,200 per tonne in the afternoon, climbing by more than 1% from an intraday low of $16,970 per tonne, while...Read More
The price of wire rod delivered in the Southern European market went down this week amid slow trading, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday September 18.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price of steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?470-490 ($519-541) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?10 per tonne from the week...Read More
The price of rebar exported from Southern European ports decreased this week because of weak demand and competition with Turkish material, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 18.Global demand for rebar was down, sources said, on macroeconomic concerns driven by factors such as the UK's intended departure from the EU ("Brexit") and the global trade war.But countries in the region were s...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 18 that are worth another look.The global nickel supply deficit will shrink in 2020 despite the implementation of the latest Indonesian ore export ban, according to Denis Sharypin, head of commodity market research for Russian multi-metal miner Nornickel.The London Metal Exchange will give members incentives to trade...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday September 18, with the price breaching the nearby resistance value amid low trading volumes, while the rest of the base-metals complex continued to consolidate.Nickel futures closed at $17,200 per tonne in the afternoon, climbing by more than 1% from an intraday low of $16,970 per tonne, while...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday September 18.Please click...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will give members incentives to trade cash-settled futures contracts as well as those for precious and ferrous metals. With the aim of encouraging burgeoning futures markets for the likes of cobalt, alumina and steel scrap, the exchange has devoted a pot of $2 million to subsidize category I and II members trading the contracts that were launched over the last five years,...Read More
The price of steel rebar in the Northern European domestic market was unchanged this week but pressure came from low ferrous scrap costs, and market participants expected to see reduced rebar prices in the coming weeks, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday September 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?475-490 ($524-541) p...Read More
Steel hollow sections prices in the European domestic market remained unchanged this week, with many market participants uncertain about whether to order now or wait until there is more clarity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?585-610 ($646-673) per tonne on Wednesday, u...Read More