The price of steel hollow sections in the European domestic market has been reduced, with mills looking to stimulate demand by making lower offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?585-630 ($649-699) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward by ?,?30 per tonne.The correspond...Read More
Currency exchange rates can make or break a steel trade, and with forex volatility in emerging markets expected to continue for the rest of the year, the Asian ferrous markets are likely to see more price fluctuations before the end of 2019.These five currency pairs should be on your watch-list for the significant influences they could bring to bear on key global steel and ferrous scrap trade flow...Read More
The protracted economic battle between the United States and China will rewrite the rules of global trading and will not be resolved anytime soon, steel market sources in Asia told Fastmarkets."The world will wait and see who is able to gain the upper hand in the end and then follow the new rules of trading set by the winner," a major trader in China said.Market sources expect the entire ferrous s...Read More
The Chinese government has revived a 25% tariff on imports of US automobiles and a 5% tariff on auto parts, set to take effect on December 15, which some market participants worry could imperil future investments as well as steel and base metals demand.Chinese tariffs on US-made cars and auto parts were placed on hold in April, but the Chinese government reinstated them on Friday August 23. Beijin...Read More
An overview of the noble alloys markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday August 28, breaching the $16,000 per tonne resistance level in a bout of short covering, while tightness in the metal's forward curve meant that it continued to trade at record levels.Some 8,000 lots of nickel changed hands by the close of trading on Wednesday, while the metal's price fluctuat...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday August 28.Please click...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in the European domestic market has been reduced, with mills looking to stimulate demand by making lower offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?585-630 ($649-699) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward by ?,?30 per tonne.The correspond...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 28 that are worth another look.Australian lithium spodumene producer Galaxy Resources has bought Alita Resources' debt for $31.1 million, including interest, fees and costs.Chinese aluminium producers are ramping up production on improved aluminium prices, with output at one smelter - Shanxi Meixin Industry - now runnin...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
Currency exchange rates can make or break a steel trade, and with forex volatility in emerging markets expected to continue for the rest of the year, the Asian ferrous markets are likely to see more price fluctuations before the end of 2019.These five currency pairs should be on your watch-list for the significant influences they could bring to bear on key global steel and ferrous scrap trade flow...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday August 28, breaching the $16,000 per tonne resistance level in a bout of short covering, while tightness in the metal's forward curve meant that it continued to trade at record levels.Some 8,000 lots of nickel changed hands by the close of trading on Wednesday, while the metal's price fluctuat...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday August 28.Please click...Read More
Prices for seaborne cargoes of premium hard coking coal in the fob Australia segment took a tumble on Wednesday August 28 in contrast with strengthening cfr China ones, underlining the robust demand for top-quality materials in China compared with the rest of the market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $149 per tonne, down $5.28 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang...Read More
The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The CIS export price for steel billet slipped on Wednesday August 28, following the sharp drop in ferrous scrap prices earlier this week as well as the lack of trading activity in the semi-finished steel market.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $390 per tonne on August 28, down by $5 day on day.Most mills were offering material at around $400 per tonne fob Blac...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 28 that are worth another look.Australian lithium spodumene producer Galaxy Resources has bought Alita Resources' debt for $31.1 million, including interest, fees and costs.Chinese aluminium producers are ramping up production on improved aluminium prices, with output at one smelter - Shanxi Meixin Industry - now runnin...Read More
While certain lead and zinc scrap prices in the United Stated moved slightly lower in the two weeks to Tuesday August 27 due to seasonal slowdowns, many sources remained optimistic about the market outlook for the months ahead despite some export competition."It seems like we've fallen into a groove here. Compared to everything else, it's not so bad. We've seen some activity as of late, but I thin...Read More