Jiuquan Iron & Steel Group (Jisco) plans to temporarily close its Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart) refinery for over a year in the next two to three months, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 30. Sources close to the matter said the refinery, which is located in Nain in St Elizabeth, Jamaica, needs to shut to modernize its facilities. "It previously reopened early on high alumina prices...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange continued to trend higher during morning trading on Friday August 30, breaking through the 2018-high while its cash/three-month spread remains tight. Reaching an intra-morning high of $16,835 per tonne, nickel futures surged past the key $16,690-per-tonne resistance level achieved in the wake of US-imposed sanctions on Russian aluminium produ...Read More
Cold-rolled coil prices in the United States were steady on Thursday August 29, while hot-dipped galvanized pricing slipped modestly.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for cold-rolled coil, fob US mill, was unchanged at $37.50 per hundredweight ($750 per short ton) on Thursday, while that for the hot-dipped galvanized base price slipped by 1.3% to $37.50 per cwt from $38 per cwt on August 22...Read More
Steel beam prices in the United States have fallen in tandem with recent mill cuts, while fresh offers have lowered import prices. Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel beams 8 x 8-inch, fob mill US, declined to $35.25 per hundredweight ($705 per short ton) on Thursday August 29, down 7.8% from July's assessment of $38.25 per cwt and down nearly 19% from $43.50 per cwt one year ago. ...Read More
Brazilian slab export price remained stable this week, with information of the first fresh deals to the United States at higher levels circulating later in the week.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of steel slab export, fob main port Brazil, remained at $425-435 per tonne fob on Friday August 30, unchanged from the previous week.Price offers started at $430 per tonne fob, but were said to be negotia...Read More
South American flat-rolled steel import prices continued to fall during the past week amid a continuing downtrend in China and discounted offers from other regions.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main ports South America, was $505-515 per tonne on Friday August 30, down from $515-525 per tonne a week before.Material for October delivery to the Pacific coast sett...Read More
Indian domestic prices for secondary steel billet increased by 600 rupees ($8) per tonne over the week ended Friday August 30, even though the prices of semi-finished steel products slipped slightly toward the weekend.The price of steel billet, domestic, exw India, assessed by Fastmarkets on August 30, rose to 26,700-26,900 rupees ($372-375) per tonne compared with last week's assessment at 26,100...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market fell on Friday August 30 after suppliers of Indian and Russian material lowered their asking prices to entice customers in the region, market sources said. Steel billet produced in India were available at $425-430 per tonne cfr Manila and $420-425 per tonne cfr to Indonesia. One shipment involving 10,000 tonnes of billet originating in India was repor...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil exporters maintained their high offers on Friday August 30 even though overseas buyers put in lower bids amid a stable domestic market in the country.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,620-3,630 yuan ($506-507) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,600-3,620 yuan per tonne, unchangedSpot prices were largely stable during the day amid rising futures, t...Read More
The Brazilian export price for pig iron has fallen over the past week on poor sentiment among buyers due to weakness in the scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 30. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob Vitorio/Rio, Brazil was $310-320 per tonne on Friday, down from $325-327 per tonne last week.Sources from the buy side estimated a workable market l...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for UK light iron scrap, which hit a ten-week run of stability this week, is set to drop in the near term amid weakening demand for feed from steel producers in Europe, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was flat week-on-week at ?80-100 ($98-122) per tonne on Friday Augu...Read More
Alloy steel scrap prices in the UK domestic market widened upwards this week on a nickel price surge on Friday August 30, sources told Fastmarkets.Prices had been largely flat throughout the week in reflection of a stable nickel market. On Friday morning, however, nickel prices started to increase quickly and continued through the day. By Friday's close, the three-month nickel price on the Lo...Read More
The deep-sea scrap market was quiet on Friday August 30 because of a public holiday in Turkey, sources told Fastmarkets. The Victory Day holiday means that all Turkey-based market participants have been absent from the market and traders...Read More
Prices for ferrous scrap imported into India were expected to fall due to the decline of prices in the international market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $291.20 per tonne on Friday, down from $292.71 per tonne on August 23.Offers of shredded scrap from Europe and the UK have...Read More
Physical iron ore prices rose on Friday August 30 on news that China was willing to proceed with negotiations to resolve its trade war with the United States.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.66 per tonne, up by $3.19 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.04 per tonne, up by $3.19 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.69 per tonne, up by $2....Read More
Large price falls in the Asian ferrous scrap market this week have kept buyers away, with most market sources saying they expect more price falls to come in the near term. There were bids from South Korea for bulk cargoes, but no transaction were heard to be concluded. Vietnamese buyers did not exhibit interest for US-origin bulk HMS cargoes due to an abundant supply of alternatives from Japan, Eu...Read More
Prices for seaborne premium hard coking coal moved up on Friday August 30, recovering most of the losses suffered earlier this week and underlining a gap between low-vol and mid-vol cargoes in the segment.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $154.01 per tonne, up $5.01 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $167.54 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.0...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up some strength on Friday August 30 amid heightened trading activity in response to gains in the futures market.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,540-3,590 yuan ($495-502) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,540-3,560 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneTraders raised their prices slightly after rebar futures rose during the day. The...Read More
Markets are once again consolidating in the morning of Friday August 30, waiting to see how the United States responds to China's comments that it wants to make a trade deal.While any deal would likely turn sentiment bullish quickly, it does look as though the market is skeptical that anything will come of this. We should be braced for an active day because the next wave of US tariff increases on...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More