The uptrend in the iron ore market since 2019 started halted in August, with a month-on-month price decline of 24% for 62% Fe material and a 23% price decline for 65% Fe material.The 65% Fe derivatives contract on the Singapore Exchange - which was launched in December 2018 and settled against Fastmarkets' daily 65% Fe iron ore index - stayed above 2-million-tonne trading volumes in August, compar...Read More
Physical iron ore prices were down on Tuesday September 3 amid a cooling off in buying interest while the futures market stayed largely rangebound.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.14 per tonne, down by $1.44 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.53 per tonne, down by $1.44 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.80 per tonne, d...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices remained steady on Tuesday September 3, although Australian rail freight operator Aurizon reported service cancellations due to a train derailment in Queensland.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $154.01 per tonne, unchanged Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $167.54 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.01 per ton...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil exporters lowered their offers on Tuesday September 3 despite domestic prices edging up further.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,670 yuan ($509-512) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,640-3,650 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonnePrices continued to rise, with trading activity being described as stronger than previous days, according to a S...Read More
Stainless steel futures will begin trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on September 25, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said last week."The development of stainless steel futures will provide market participants with an open, transparent and constant price indication as well as a highly effective risk-management tool [...] to promote the stable and healthy development of the stainl...Read More
Market participants have kept a close eye on the softening European selenium price over the summer for clues on how the market will perform from September when activity usually starts to pick up. Fastmarkets assessed the price of selenium in-whs Rotterdam at $7.50-9.50 per lb on Friday August 30, unchanged from the previous assessment but still under pressure with several offers pending at th...Read More
Fastmarkets presents five main takeaways from the Ferroalloynet 16th International Manganese Products conference in Ulanqab, in northern China's Inner Mongolia, on August 28-30. Growth of steel demand in China likely to slow in H2 2019... Both supply and demand for steel in China will maintain a relatively steady pace in the second half of the year, but the growth rate will be slower compared with...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have started the week quietly, and have not booked any new deep-sea scrap cargoes despite a heavy drop in prices last week, sources said on Monday September 2.The markets have been silent since August 27, when prices dropped by $11.55 per tonne day on day on news of the latest trades.Since then, however, traders have stepped back...Read More
While lack of progress on United States-China trade talks remains ever present, the potential removal of the logjam over Hong Kong seems to be providing some cheer across markets.Europe, Japan and the US are now suffering manufacturing contraction, but there are early signs that parts of China’s economy are starting to recover. Following a rebound in the Caixin manufacturing purchasing m...Read More
U.S. equity index futures moved higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 25 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to news that the extradition bill in Hong Kong has been withdrawn. The Hang Seng Index gained 3.9% in overnight trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the July U.S. Trade Deficit at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a deficit of $53.50 billio...Read More
Treatment charges for zinc and lead (TCs) rose in August with the arbitrage to bring material into China switching markedly to a negative value.TCs for lead concentrates in particular rose sharply, to levels not seen in the past two years. The arbitrage loss to bring refined lead into China hit 1,100-2,300 yuan ($154-321) per tonne at the end of the month, with the futures price rising on the Lond...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange closed higher on Monday September 2, just above the $18,000 per tonne level, despite losing 4% of morning gains, while tin's outright price also failed to maintain upward momentum. Volumes traded in nickel topped the complex over the afternoon, with just under 15,000 lots changing hands by the close, while turnover in tin reached 900 lots b...Read More
The ample availability of stock and poor demand for aluminium in Asia have led market participants to expect a downtrend for fourth quarter main Japan ports (MJP) premiums, Fastmarkets heard on Monday September 2.Widely considered Asia's main benchmark price level, Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A MJP spot premium, cif Japan at $85-95 per tonne on Friday August 30, flat for the third cons...Read More
Treatment charges for zinc and lead (TCs) rose in August with the arbitrage to bring material into China switching markedly to a negative value.TCs for lead concentrates in particular rose sharply, to levels not seen in the past two years. The arbitrage loss to bring refined lead into China hit 1,100-2,300 yuan ($154-321) per tonne at the end of the month, with the futures price rising on the Lond...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai in the week ended Friday August 30. China Key drivers China's ammonium paratungstate (APT) export market was kept stable over the past week by limited spot trading.The announcement of the auction of all APT stocks held by the collapsed Fanya Metal Exchange is adding to already bearish sentiment in the market in China and Europe. ...Read More
Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and the Brazilian federal prosecutors' office (MPF) have filed a joint petition to remove the embargoes on Alunorte's new bauxite residue deposit area. The petition has been sent to the Federal Court in Bel?(C)m, Brazil, who put an embargo in place at the Alunorte alumina refinery on March 1, 2018, to suspend the use of the solid waste deposit 2 (DRS2). Emb...Read More
Key data from the Friday August 30 pricing session in Shanghai and London. Key driversCobalt hydroxide payables rose in the second half of August following news that Glencore will close its copper-cobalt Muntanda mine by the end of this year.Demand increased when consumers intended to secure units before the hydroxide price...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai in the week ended Friday August 30. China Key drivers The Chinese export silicon price moved up for the second consecutive week in response to tight supply in domestic market due to increased buying from Chinese secondary aluminum alloy producers who are ramping up production before China's National Day holiday (October 1-7) when prod...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have started the week quietly, and have not booked any new deep-sea scrap cargoes despite a heavy drop in prices last week, sources said on Monday September 2.The markets have been silent since August 27, when prices dropped by $11.55 per tonne day on day on news of the latest trades.Since then, however, traders have stepped back...Read More
Domestic prices for auto bundle steel scrap and shipbreaking scrap in Turkey have decreased because of poor demand, sources said on Monday September 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was TRY1,520-1,770 ($260-303) per tonne on September 2, widening downward from last week's TRY1,580-1,770 per tonne.A number of steel mills have dec...Read More