Swedish steelmaker SSAB expects demand for heavy steel plate to remain strong in the United States during the third quarter of 2019 but sees demand for flat steel in Europe decreasing due to seasonal reasons. Shipments of steel products from SSAB's Americas division totaled 909,000 tonnes in the second quarter, down by 6.54% year on year, the steelmaker said on Friday July 19. Shipments from SSAB...Read More
Flat-rolled steel prices mostly moved upward in South America during the week ended Friday July 19, following the persistent Chinese uptrend, but the prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and Galvalume were unchanged.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price for steel hot-rolled coil, import, cfr main ports South America, was $540-550 per tonne on July 19, compared with $520-545 per tonne a week...Read More
Scrap prices in most global markets pushed upward in the week ended Friday July 19, in line with stronger Turkish import prices. But this excluded the Indian market, which was hurt by limited trading activity. Turkish import prices up week-on-week, bookings resume US export prices flat on East Coast, up on West Coast Asian import prices up on steady demand but upside limited Indian prices down on...Read More
Several deals for pig iron were heard in the United States at higher prices during the week ended Friday July 19, mainly due to reduced availability of material from the Commonwealth of Independent States, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $360-365 per tonne on Friday, widening upward from $360 per tonne a week before.Several deals for Ukr...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
The London Metal Exchange has just finished its trial to calculate nickel prices using a volume weighted average price (VWAP) method on the exchange's electronic trading platform. If early indications are anything to go by, metals market participants did not embrace this method of price discovery in the way some had anticipated. For three months since Monday March 18, closing prices for nickel car...Read More
The United States Secretary of Commerce has joined the growing chorus of voices questioning the current method of setting the US Midwest aluminium premium. Wilbur Ross said the US Midwest aluminium premium is at inflated levels that do not justify the cost of transportation and logistical handling costs that it was originally designed to reflect. His view is being echoed by a number of...Read More
The zinc price has been fluctuating so much this year that analysts still cannot agree on where it is headed. Commodities researchers from major banks surveyed by Fastmarkets differed by $500 per tonne on their second-half 2019 forecast - that is 23.7% of the galvanizing metal's current value. At $2,460 per tonne at the open on Friday July 19, the LME three-month zinc contract was just $10 down fr...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange showed mixed results at the close of trading on Friday July 19, with continuing trade tensions and uncertainty at the United States Federal Reserve driving directionless trading across the complex."The complex continues to see cash sellers reign on the second-ring closes," Marex Spectron's morning report said. "And these have therefore presented a go...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will continue to push forward with relaxing its queue-based rent capping (QBRC) rule, a key area of warehousing reform, to 80 days, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets understands that there was a warehousing committee meeting on Thursday July 19, during which plans on the warehousing reforms were put to warehousing members. Under the new proposal, warehouses will be ab...Read More
Physical iron ore prices rebounded on Friday July 19 amid gains in the futures markets.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.79 per tonne, up by $1.89 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.71 per tonne, up by $1.89 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $122.81 per dry metric tonne...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange showed mixed results at the close of trading on Friday July 19, with continuing trade tensions and uncertainty at the United States Federal Reserve driving directionless trading across the complex."The complex continues to see cash sellers reign on the second-ring closes," Marex Spectron's morning report said. "And these have therefore presented a go...Read More
Offer prices for South Korea-origin hot-rolled coil (HRC) exported to India have increased by at least $5 per tonne to $535-540 per tonne cfr Mumbai for shipments in August, Fastmarkets heard on Friday July 19.HRC from South Korea was last booked about a month ago at $530-535 per tonne cfr Mumbai.Importers, however, were currently not keen on booking HRC shipments for fear of the imposition of a s...Read More
MMG's production results for the second quarter of 2019 and the full-year production guidance.Second quarter production total, year-on-year percentage changeCopper cathode production - Kinsevere 16,463 tonnes, -20% Copper metal in concentrates - Las...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Copper inventories held in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses increased by 6.4% week on week as of Friday July 19 amid weak domestic demand and renewed concerns over the possible escalation of trade tensions between the United States and China, the world's two largest economies. Deliverable copper stocks at SHFE-approved warehouse rose by 9,241 tonnes to 154,520 tonnes in the week to Ju...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will continue to push forward with relaxing its queue-based rent capping (QBRC) rule, a key area of warehousing reform, to 80 days, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets understands that there was a warehousing committee meeting on Thursday July 19, during which plans on the warehousing reforms were put to warehousing members. Under the new proposal, warehouses will be ab...Read More
The price range for grade-304 flat stainless steel products in Europe narrowed upward this week, with participants anticipating an increase in the alloy surcharges for August, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 19.Nickel prices increased sharply over the two weeks to July 19, leading sources to predict that monthly surcharges will rise or, at the very least, not decrease as they have for the...Read More
The zinc price has been fluctuating so much this year that analysts still cannot agree on where it is headed. Commodities researchers from major banks surveyed by Fastmarkets differed by $500 per tonne on their second-half 2019 forecast - that is 23.7% of the galvanizing metal's current value. At $2,460 per tonne at the open on Friday July 19, the LME three-month zinc contract was just $10 down fr...Read More
North China copper smelter Baiyin Nonferrous Group's one-month shutdown in July has had limited impact on copper concentrates and outright copper prices in China, market sources told Fastmarkets. Baiyin Nonferrous Group will restart its 200,000-tonne-per-year smelter by the end of July after the facility was suspended in late June to complete a flash furnace upgrade, market sources told Fastmarket...Read More