Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market fell to their lowest level since June 2017 on Thursday September 5, in response to plunging ferrous scrap prices in the bellwether Turkish market.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was $250.21 per tonne on September 4, its lowest since February 2017. The index was down by $12.30 per tonne da...Read More
Trading activity in China's domestic rebar market picked up on Thursday September 5 due to an open arbitrage window between physical and futures prices. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,680 yuan ($510-514) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,640-3,660 yuan per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonneA gap of about 200 yuan per tonne between spot prices in eastern China and t...Read More
China's leading stainless steel mills - Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco), Tsingshan Group and Baosteel - have taken diverse approaches to their September tender prices for high-carbon ferro-chrome, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday September 5.Tisco has raised its tender price by 50 yuan ($7) per tonne month-on-month to 6,100 yuan ($852) per tonne, while Tsingshan and Baosteel have rolled over their price...Read More
Domestic stainless steel prices in China rebounded over the past week on news that Indonesia would expedite a ban on the export of nickel ore. 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 15,200-15,800 yuan ($2,131-2,216) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday September 4,...Read More
Brazilian vehicle production fell by 7.3% year-on-year in August 2019, with export volumes to Argentina continuing to decline and the domestic market weakening, automotive manufacturers' association Anfavea said on Thursday September 5.The country produced 269,809 units during the month, compared with 291,099 units in August last year, when there was one more working day in the month. Volumes rose...Read More
Demand for flat steel products in Turkey was weak in August because of the seasonal summer slowdown as well as falling prices, market participants have told Fastmarkets.And local producers have now filled their order books until late October, they said on Thursday September 5.Turkish steel prices increased on May 17 after the import duty into the United States, which was applied at a rate of 50% i...Read More
Turkey exported 463,220 tonnes of flat steel products in July 2019, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), down by 21.58% year on year from 590,685 tonnes exported in July 2018.The negative sentiment in the flat steel market in Europe in May, when orders for June and July shipping were placed, contributed to the decrease in exports. The United States market, however, has been pract...Read More
Hebei, China's largest steelmaking province, will embark on a capacity replacement program this year that would see the removal of 2.5 million tonnes per year of crude steel capacity and 4.44 million tpy of that for the production of iron.The move will involve the installation of converters with crude steel capacity amounting to 13.85 million tpy, and the shutting...Read More
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange remain at historically low levels despite low stock levels, high premiums and sustained elevated raw materials costs. The LME aluminium three-month price has failed to trade over $2,000 per tonne since 2018 and closed at just $1,775 per tonne on Wednesday September 4. Yesterday's close price was 9% lower than the 2019 high of $1,951 per tonne from Marc...Read More
The export market for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has gone down because of lower demand, more supply and a weak scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 5.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $315-325 per tonne on Thursday, dropping from $330-335 per tonne a week before."[The p...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday September 5, breaching the $5,800 per tonne resistance level and closing at its highest level since August 1.This came amid a 12-week high in daily volumes traded, with nickel futures being the only metal to close lower over the afternoon.Three-month copper futures rose by by more than $120 per...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to secure scrap cargoes for September deliveries this week with prices continuing to move down, sources said on Thursday September 5.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic-sea cargo comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $247 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $257 per tonne for September shipment.Following the $12.30 per tonne pric...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday September 5 that are worth another look.Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange remain at historically low levels despite low stock levels, high premiums and sustained elevated raw materials costs.While US interest in flat steel imports picked up somewhat in August, spurred by expectations of price increases for domestic...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
The whole battery supply chain will benefit from lithium benchmark pricing, Fastmarkets head of battery raw materials research William Adams says as he explores what is driving auto manufacturers to support this pricing mechanism. The auto industry is going through a period of unprecedented change due to companies introducing electric vehicles (EV) into their portfolios alongside internal combusti...Read More
The dream of building a new world-class copper-gold mine in Pakistan in an area bordering Afghanistan and Iran has been dashed, for now at least. The saga of Tethyan Copper Co's (TCC) efforts to develop the Reko Diq mine found resolution last week with an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruling in favor of TCC following a dispute that has rumbled on for years.TCC,...Read More
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange remain at historically low levels despite low stock levels, high premiums and sustained elevated raw materials costs. The LME aluminium three-month price has failed to trade over $2,000 per tonne since 2018 and closed at just $1,775 per tonne on Wednesday September 4. Yesterday's close price was 9% lower than the 2019 high of $1,951 per tonne from Marc...Read More
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange remain at historically low levels despite low stock levels, high premiums and sustained elevated raw materials costs. The LME aluminium three-month price has failed to trade over $2,000 per tonne since 2018 and closed at just $1,775 per tonne on Wednesday September 4. Yesterday's close price was 9% lower than the 2019 high of $1,951 per tonne from Marc...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday September 5, breaching the $5,800 per tonne resistance level and closing at its highest level since August 1.This came amid a 12-week high in daily volumes traded, with nickel futures being the only metal to close lower over the afternoon.Three-month copper futures rose by by more than $120 per...Read More
The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange has rebounded by more than 14% during morning trading on Thursday September 5, prompted by the announcement of planned refined tin smelter production cuts by a group of 14 smelters in China. Tin's outright price reached an intraday high of $17,740 per tonne this morning, its highest level since July 26 and up by more than 12% from the end of A...Read More