Reduced volumes of Chinese-produced steel have been going into the country's export markets throughout 2019 so far. So why is it that steel product prices remain under pressure in other global markets?According to China's General Administration of Customs, in July 2019 the East Asian country exported 5.57 million tonnes of steel, including both semi-finished and finished material. This was down ye...Read More
Major Chinese steelmakers' daily crude steel output rates were largely flat in mid-July compared with the previous period.Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) produced crude steel at an average rate of 2.02 million tpd during the second 10 days of July, up a mere 0.2 %...Read More
China's finished steel exports decreased on a yearly basis in July 2019, as did exports in the January-July period.The country shipped 5.57 million tonnes of finished steel abroad in July, down 5.43% from 5.89 million tonnes a year earlier, according to preliminary Chinese customs data released on Thursday August 8. Last month's exports were 4.90% higher than June's...Read More
Weak demand and bearish macroeconomic factors continued to pressure primary aluminium foundry alloy premiums lower in Europe and the United States on Friday August 9.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium wheel alloy silicon 7 ingot premium ddp Germany at $335-355 per tonne on Friday, down from $340-355 per tonne on July 11. The premium fell for the second straight month, with market participants...Read More
Prices for Brazil-origin steel slab remained unchanged in the week ended Friday August 9, with improved demand in the export and domestic markets helping to keep sentiment buoyant.The weekly Fastmarkets price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, was $425-435 per tonne on Friday, stable from the previous week.Slab producers were more optimistic after the price of iron ore took a...Read More
Import prices for flat-rolled steel in South America were mostly down over the week ended Friday August 9, with Chinese mills making less expensive offers and liquidity in the region remaining low.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel cold-rolled coil, import, cfr main ports South America, at $560-570 per tonne on August 9, down from $570-585 per tonne a week before. This was the lowest level s...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in the major trading regions other than the United States mostly moved downward during the week from Monday August 5 to Friday August 9. Limited demand for finished steel in Turkey and India, and worsening political tensions in Asia, created the conditions for prices to weaken, Fastmarkets heard. Turkish mills mostly stay out of spot markets, seeking lower prices US scrap expo...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 3% at the close of trading on Friday August 9, dropping its lowest price September 2016, while nickel futures held at newly elevated levels despite a 1.6% decline (over the day?). Turnover across the exchange was fairly light over the day's trading, with nickel volumes leading the complex at just over 10,500 lots exchanged by the close....Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly lower during morning trading on Friday August 9, with turnover predominantly low across the complex while continued buying momentum in lead this week tightened nearby spreads. Despite a 0.4% downturn this morning, the three-month nickel price held onto gains made earlier in the week, coming down from a 16-month high of $16,69...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly up during morning trading on Friday August 9 as the Chinese yuan stabilized, with nickel continuing to push higher amid bullish sentiment. "The markets have regained some semblance of composure after the People's Bank of China's countercyclical efforts temporarily tamed the yuan beast, but this probably won't stop traders from p...Read More
Indian domestic prices for secondary steel billet have fallen by 500 rupees ($7) per tonne in the week ended Friday August 9, on account of reduced buying by finished product makers, Fastmarkets has heard.Prices of secondary billet, mainly produced using the induction furnace process, have weakened even although billet mills have reduced their production, according to an official from a billet mil...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
A US District Court's decision to block Hudbay Minerals' Rosemont project, a proposed open-pit copper mine in southern Arizona, overshadowed the company's second-quarter earnings results, executives said in a conference call on Friday August 9."We are deeply disappointed and frustrated by the decision, which appears to overturn decades of settled mining law in the United States," Hudbay interim ch...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 3% at the close of trading on Friday August 9, dropping its lowest price September 2016, while nickel futures held at newly elevated levels despite a 1.6% decline (over the day?). Turnover across the exchange was fairly light over the day's trading, with nickel volumes leading the complex at just over 10,500 lots exchanged by the close....Read More
Treatment and refining charges for spot copper concentrates trended lower still early in August, with traders placing sharp bids on tendered cargoes and smelters amid continued port disruptions in Peru.The Fastmarkets copper concentrate TC/RC index basis cif Asia Pacific dropped to $49.8 per tonne/ 4.98 cents per lb on August 9 from $50.4/5.04 cents a week ago. The latest value is another record l...Read More
The Chinese zinc industry has been asked to offer responses by mid-September to a government proposal on stricter import thresholds for zinc concentrate despite strong opposition. Under the current standards for zinc, in place since 2006, imported concentrates may contain a maximum of 0.6% arsenic, 0.3% cadmium and 0.06% mercury, according to the Ministry of Finance. The consultation document, iss...Read More
The Chinese domestic alumina price hit a fresh low on Thursday August 8 after falling for 13 consecutive weeks as a result of weaker domestic demand and an oversupplied market. Fastmarkets assessed the price of alumina metallurgical grade, ddp China at 2,380-2,450 yuan ($337-347) per tonne on Thursday, down 22.72% from the May peak of 3,050-3,200 yuan per tonne. Some market participants reported h...Read More
China launched a consultation paper on Friday August 9 to implement a stricter arsenic threshold on copper concentrates imports, a move that could lead to drastic changes in global trade flow of high-impurity concentrates and a further premium on treatment charges of clean concentrates. Under the proposed thresholds, the maximum content for imports would be 0.4% arsenic, 4.7% lead, 0.06% fluorine,...Read More
Fastmarkets MB has corrected its weekly price assessment for domestic hot-dipped galvanized steel in Eastern China, which was published incorrectly on Friday August 9 due to an input error.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil domestic, ex-whs Eastern China was originally published at 430-4,580 yuan per tonne. This has now been corrected to 4,530-4,580 yuan per...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have increased over the past week, supported by an anticipated increase in ferrous scrap costs and solid demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 9.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 2,150-2,170 zloty ($557-562) per tonne on August 9, compared with 2,100-2,120 zloty per tonne a week earlier.The...Read More