The Iranian export market for steel billet and slab has been largely quiet in the week to Wednesday September 11 amid a mismatch between mills' offer prices and customers' bids as well as religious holidays on Monday and Tuesday.Most billet suppliers in Iran chose to show caution while they attempted to assess the situation, after a sharp drop in the global billet and scrap markets.Some market sou...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 11 that are worth another look.Australian multi-metal miner Blackstone Minerals considers Vietnam a reliable and equitable jurisdiction for nickel production and export once the Indonesian ore export ban comes into effect in January 2020, chief executive officer Scott Williamson told Fastmarkets last week.Zambian cop...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday September 11.Please click...Read More
Zambian copper production will drop by 11.6% this year after a series of tax reforms have led to production cost hikes, an industry body said in a statement on Wednesday September 11.Estimated output will fall by 100,000 tonnes this year, according to Zambia Chamber of Mines (ZCM) chief executive officer Sokwani Chilembo, who added that it would essentially remove Zambia from the global top 10 cop...Read More
North European premiums for zinc continued to rise at the top end of the range despite subdued spot-market business, while premiums in all other regions traded flat in the week ended Tuesday September 10. Rotterdam, Antwerp zinc premiums widen upward with trade increasingly possible at higher levels US, China zinc premiums flat on low spot interest US sees demand spike in lead, premiums unchanged...Read More
Norsk Hydro will cut foil production at its rolled products operations by about 30% by the end of 2020 in a widespread restructuring of this business segment, the Norwegian aluminium producer told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 10.This will include the planned closure of two foil production lines at its Grevenbroich, Germany, site, the company added.Grevenbroich, which has the capacity...Read More
Global tin premiums remained unchanged on Tuesday September 10 due to a climbing three-month London Metal Exchange tin price which has hampered spot liquidity, while weak demand and stagnant market conditions have capped premiums in the United States and Asia. Elevated price deters European buyers US markets stabilize while buyers return Production cuts combat weak supply/demand in Ch...Read More
Australian multi-metal miner Blackstone Minerals considers Vietnam a reliable and equitable jurisdiction for nickel production and export once the Indonesian ore export ban comes into effect in January 2020, chief executive officer Scott Williamson told Fastmarkets last week. With estimated refined production capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year, the company plans to develop its newly-acquired Vietn...Read More
Brazilian flat and long steel producer Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) has extended a blast furnace maintenance outage by several weeks, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 11.The company's No3 blast furnace, which is the largest furnace at CSN's Usina Presidente Vargas (UPV) unit in the city of Volta Redonda, will not resume operations before October.CSN did not resp...Read More
Steel H-beam prices across Europe moved downward this week due to poor demand and uncertainty caused by sharp feedstock price falls, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 11.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?560-600 ($618-663) per tonne on September 11, down from ?,?565-600 per tonne a week ago.During September, demand has rem...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in the European domestic market moved down this week due to weak order books, prompting many primary buyers to hold off from ordering, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 11.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?585-610 ($646-674) per tonne on Wednesday, down from ?,?585-630...Read More
The US ferrous scrap export market remains fatigued due to East Coast docks reducing prices at a feverish pace while cargoes on the East and West Coast have also been sold at lower prices.Fastmarkets' assessment of the steel scrap No1 heavy melt, export yard buying price, delivered to yard Philadelphia was at $200 per gross ton on Tuesday September 10, down by $10 per ton; and No1 heavy...Read More
Dealers and processors in the United States are finding it increasingly difficult to accept lower stainless steel scrap prices while the London Metal Exchange cash nickel contract continues to hover above the $8-per-lb level."With LME nickel over $8 per lb, you would think 304 stainless prices would be at least in the low 60-[cent-per-lb range]," one domestic dealer source said."We are not ig...Read More
Turkish steel mills stayed out of the deep-sea scrap market and continued to push for lower prices on Wednesday September 11, sources told Fastmarkets.There have been no bookings confirmed since a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo of 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $240 per tonne cfr late on Monday.The steel mills...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. ...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to strengthen on Wednesday September 11, closing in on $95 per tonne cfr China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.66 per tonne, up $1.44 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $95.05 per tonne, up $1.44 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.95 per tonne, up $1.92 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium...Read More
Offers for second-tier products emerged in the seaborne coking coal market on Wednesday September 11 after several weeks of inactivity.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $149.64 per tonne, down $1.12 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $169.39 per tonne, up $0.13 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $131.75 per tonne, down $2.26 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $150.26 per t...Read More
Iron ore miner Rio Tinto and trader Cargill have concluded the first fully integrated paperless transaction for iron ore, marking a key step toward the digitization of commodities trading.The transaction involved Rio Tinto selling a bulk shipment of iron ore originating in Australia to a Cargill customer in China last month. The trade was completed using contract automation systems provider Chinsa...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped on Wednesday September 11 after buying interest thinned further.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,700 yuan ($519-520) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,600-3,620 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneSources in both eastern and northern China said trading was sparse during the day amid softening futures.A Tianjin-base...Read More
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd (HKEX) has made a proposal to the board of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to buy the stock exchange, combining the two companies. HKEX is proposing to pay ?29.6 billion ($36.5 billion) in cash and shares for the LSE, HKEX said on Wednesday September 11. "Bringing HKEX and LSEG together will redefine global capital markets for decades to come. Both businesses...Read More