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
There are no signs of ferrous scrap import prices bottoming out in Asia any time soon, sources told Fastmarkets this week."Ferrous scrap prices in Asia are trapped in a bottomless pit," a source at a Japanese scrapyard said on Wednesday September 18. "It seems like there is no end to the price falls."Sellers have continued to offer lower prices this week into major import markets, with key pr...Read More
The markets were in limbo this morning, Wednesday September 18, while they wait for developments on trade talks, the direction of oil prices and the outcome of this evening's US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and rate decision.Once again the recent show of strength in most of the metals has run into resistance, suggesting confidence is not strong enough to chase prices higher and tha...Read More
Ahead of Fastmarkets' Battery Materials Europe conference in Amsterdam, find out what our industry experts think are the key drivers in the market and what's on the horizon. Fastmarkets will host a free web seminar on Wednesday September 18 at 3pm London time to discuss recent market moves in the battery raw materials sector. Click here to register for the webinar. Date Wednesday September 18, 201...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
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
Prices for industrial-quality, low-carbon wire rod tumbled in the United States for the eighth consecutive month after input costs fell and distributors avoided buying for stock. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US fell to $30-31 per hundredweight ($600-620 per short ton) on Tuesday September 17 from $31.50-32.50 per cwt on Tuesday Aug...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
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