Export prices for steel billet from the CIS region have been under pressure from weak demand and falling scrap prices internationally, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 19.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $356 per tonne on September 19, unchanged day-on-day but down by $7 per tonne since the beginning of the week.A deal for Russia-origin bi...Read More
Base metals ended flat to lower on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday September 19- tin closed below $17,000 per tonne and copper below $5,800 per tonne.The three-month tin price ended at $16,457 per tonne this afternoon, its weakest close since August 30 and down from an intraday high of $16,895 per tonne - a drop of around 2% from Wednesday.Volumes were comparatively high - 593 lots changed h...Read More
The deep-sea scrap import market in Turkey was quiet again after earlier bookings of UK-origin cargoes sent prices down sharply, sources said on Thursday September 19.On Wednesday, two steel mills in the Iskenderun region booked UK cargoes at $228 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20).After these sales, the daily scrap indices went down by almost $10 per tonne on September 18.Steel producers and scrap...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday September 19 that are worth another look.Ramp-ups in Chinese nickel pig iron (NPI) production will not inhibit the use of traditional ferro-nickel in European stainless steel production, multinational miner Anglo American's head of business intelligence told Fastmarkets at the International Stainless and Special Steel Summit in...Read More
Following a flip in global steel and ferrous trade flow trends last year caused by economic jitters in Turkey, trade defenses by the United States and production cuts in China, this year it is steel prices that are turning upside down. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices are now below rebar prices in a phenomenon rarely seen outside of the Chinese domestic markets. HRC import prices in Vietnam have...Read More
Base metals ended flat to lower on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday September 19- tin closed below $17,000 per tonne and copper below $5,800 per tonne.The three-month tin price ended at $16,457 per tonne this afternoon, its weakest close since August 30 and down from an intraday high of $16,895 per tonne - a drop of around 2% from Wednesday.Volumes were comparatively high - 593 lots changed h...Read More
The availability of ample cargoes of seaborne premium mid-vol hard coking coal has raised the possibility of traders engaging in panic selling.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $140.66 per tonne, down $3.42 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $161.43 per tonne, down $2.38 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.50 per tonne, down $9.25 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $140...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices dropped on Thursday September 19 amid expectations of higher output in the northern region in the next six months. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,640-3,650 yuan ($513-514) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,600-3,610 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward by 10 yuan per tonneA draft of measures to cut emissions in northern China d...Read More
Import prices for steel billet in Egypt fell in the week ended Thursday September 19, amid lower offer prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States.Buyers were reluctant to book because of the uncertainty about the possible imposition of safeguard duties.The Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt has again postponed its decision on the possible re-imposition of safeguard duties on billet and...Read More
Turkish domestic prices for rebar and wire rod have gone down over the past seven days amid weakening imported scrap costs and sluggish demand, sources said on Thursday September 19.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey, was TRY2,750-2,820 ($483-496) per tonne on Thursday, down from last week's TRY2,825-2,920 per tonne.The domestic rebar prices...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday September 19 that are worth another look.Ramp-ups in Chinese nickel pig iron (NPI) production will not inhibit the use of traditional ferro-nickel in European stainless steel production, multinational miner Anglo American's head of business intelligence told Fastmarkets at the International Stainless and Special Steel Summit in...Read More
The China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT), which comprises the largest copper smelters in the East Asian country, is set to accept two new members - Zhejiang Jiantong Fuye Heding and Huludao Zinc's copper subsidiary - sources directly involved have told Fastmarkets.Sources from both companies have confirmed to Fastmarkets that applications were made, and they are optimistic about receiving approval....Read More
Weak demand and good availability of cargoes continue to put pressure on global alumina prices toward the end of the third quarter of 2019, with prices on a downward spiral over the past four months.Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina index, fob Australia fell to $292.50 per tonne on Tuesday September 17, its lowest since May 25, 2017, and remained little changed at $292.51 per tonne the foll...Read More
Ahead of Fastmarkets' Battery Materials Europe conference in Amsterdam, we hosted a free web seminar to discuss recent market moves in the battery and EV sector, and what to expect over the coming months. If you missed it, follow the link below to listen to the free recording. What is driving the battery raw materials markets? During the webinar, we discussed: Cobalt: metal, salts and interme...Read More
Growing alumina supply and a retreating Chinese aluminium futures price are weighing on the domestic Chinese alumina price and could cause it to drop further, sources told Fastmarkets at a seminar held by the Qianhai Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday September 18 in Shanghai. Market participants speaking to Fastmarkets on the sidelines of the event were mostly bearish on the Chinese alumina price i...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was slightly higher during morning trading on Thursday September 19, with price action nearing $1,800 per tonne despite low turnover, while the light metal's forward spreads on the exchange remained in a contango. Aluminium futures were trading in a narrow range over the morning period after reaching an intra-morning low of $1,783 per to...Read More
Domestic stainless steel prices in China rose over the past week amid rising production costs. Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic, ex-whs China in the country's major market of Wuxi was 15,400-15,800 yuan ($2,172-2,229) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday September 18, up 100 yuan per tonne from a week earlier. Ind...Read More
Export and import billet prices in Turkey have weakened over the past week, while the domestic price was unchanged, sources said on Thursday September 19. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet import, cfr main port Turkey was $360-365 per tonne, down from $370-375 per tonne last week. Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States have lowered their offers to Turkey to $365-38...Read More
Turkish long steel export prices have continued to weaken over the past week in line with the falling imported scrap values and limited demand for the material, sources said on Thursday September 19.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) export, fob main port Turkey, was $400-410 per tonne on an actual-weight basis on Thursday, down from last week's $410-415 per ton...Read More
Fastmarkets MB has corrected its weekly price assessment for steel billet exported from Turkey, which was published incorrectly on September 19 due to an error. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet export, fob main port Turkey was originally published at $370-390 per tonne. This has now been corrected to $370-380 per tonne. Fastmarkets MB's price book and database have been u...Read More