Seaborne coking coal prices were steady to slightly lower on Tuesday July 23 amid a lack of offers in the spot market. Offers on premium category cargoes with a laycan date in August were around $173-174 per tonne fob Australia on the Global Coal platform, sources said. Buyer sources in China indicated that premium low-vol materials would still fetch a price of around $190 per tonne cfr Jingtang i...Read More
Turkish steel mills remained silent over the course of the day on July 23, while news of an older cargo was revealed, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 23.The market is waiting to hear of any fresh cargo purchases this week, after a cargo that was reportedly sold on July 19 came to light late on Monday July 22.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region bought a United States-origin cargo compris...Read More
Strategic & Precious Metals Processing's (SPMP) antimony and gold processing facility in Sohar, Oman, has produced its first antimony metal, parent company Tri-Star Resources said on Monday July 22. Tri-Star, which has a 40% equity interest in SPMP, has reported the facility's first antimony production after nine months of remedial activity and several technical issues that have delayed output ini...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 23 that are worth another look.Russian producer UC Rusal has completed the installation of a new aluminium smelter with capacity for 120,000 tonnes per year at its Boguchansky plant at Krasnoyarsk in Russia, it said on Tuesday July 23. Rising freight rates offset the benefit of a 3.5% increase in chrome ore prices ...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday July 23.Read More
Noranda Income Fund (NIF) has reduced its 2019 zinc metal sales and output guidance after unexpected maintenance outages and challenges to its production.NIF, which owns the Canadian Electrolytic Zinc (CEZ) facility in the Canadian province of Quebec, said that its new sales and production range for the year was forecast to be between 255,000 tonnes and 265,000 tonnes.This was down from an earlier...Read More
Russian producer UC Rusal has completed the installation of a new aluminium smelter with capacity for 120,000 tonnes per year at its Boguchansky plant at Krasnoyarsk in Russia, it said on Tuesday July 23.The new unit will focus on producing primary foundry aluminium alloys for the automotive sector. Operations were expected to begin in September 2019, raising the plant's smelting capacity to 418,0...Read More
Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery has reached 80-85% utilization after the Brazilian government lifted a production embargo against the facility in May.The Norwegian aluminium producer announced on Tuesday July 23 that a continued ramp-up in production at its facilities in Brazil has been successful. Capacity utilization at Alunorte, located in the northern Brazilian state of Par??, is expec...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Tuesday July 23, continuing its upward trajectory above $14,300 per tonne, while tin's three-month price slipped to just over $17,630 per tonne - close to its lowest level since 2016. Turnover was moderate over the morning session, with European trading hours opening to some 4,000 lots of copper and 3,500...Read More
Against a backdrop of poor economic growth, especially in Germany and China, and in the absence of fresh news, markets seem to be content to consolidate this morning, Tuesday July 23.This is especially so ahead of the release of flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data on Wednesday and the European Central Bank (ECB) rate decision on Thursday. Metals consolidate after recent price...Read More
Prices paid for flat steel imports into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were stable this week, with demand remaining weak amid the seasonal summer lull.Buying may improve if prices fall by about $25 per tonne, but such a fall is unlikely any time soon, one market participant said.UAE Offers for hot-rolled coil imports from China to the UAE came in at $500-510 per tonne cfr, but no major...Read More
Prices for imported rebar in the United Arab Emirates increased this week in response to domestic price hikes, but billet import values declined in line with the global market, sources said on Tuesday July 23.The higher price for rebar imports was driven by local producers in the UAE increasing their prices last week.But weakening billet prices globally, sent billet import pric...Read More
In the process of standardizing the names of its prices, Fastmarkets has found that the delivery destination was displayed incorrectly in the name of its Russian domestic steel prices. In Fastmarkets' price names for steel cold-rolled sheet, hot-rolled sheet, plate and rebar in the Russian domestic market, the delivery destination had been listed as Russia. The correct destination, as properly dis...Read More
Rebar prices in Russia's major steel-consuming region, the Central Federal District, edged down over the past week, with supplies to the market continuing to increase since Tula Steel's entry into the rebar market earlier this year.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, including 20% VAT, was 41,000-41,500 rubles ($650-658) per tonne cp...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil were mostly unchanged in the week to Tuesday July 23, with production cuts imposed on steelmakers in China limiting the impact of declining demand. Prices are likely to stagnate at current levels for now in the absence of any new developments, a trader in Tianjin said.Cold-rolled coilFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were rangebound on Tuesday July 23, while the ongoing environmental restrictions have limited iron ore demand.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.82 per tonne, down $0.51 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.74 per tonne, down $0.51 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low alumina...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were steady to slightly lower on Tuesday July 23 amid a lack of offers in the spot market. Offers on premium category cargoes with a laycan date in August were around $173-174 per tonne fob Australia on the Global Coal platform, sources said. Buyer sources in China indicated that premium low-vol materials would still fetch a price of around $190 per tonne cfr Jingtang i...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were unchanged on Tuesday July 23, with the opposing factors of production curbs and relatively weak demand cancelling out each other.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,900 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,850-3,860 yuan per tonne, unchangedSpot prices were stable across the country amid moderate trading.Buyers comprised...Read More
Bad weather is weighing on domestic rebar demand in China, but prices were unchanged on Tuesday July 23 with the strength in the futures market being sustained.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,970-4,000 yuan ($577-581) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,900-3,930 yuan per tonne, unchangedVarious parts of northern and southeastern China were inundated with heavy rain in the last co...Read More
China's stainless steel prices are set to come under pressure from rising supply, but with the Shanghai Futures Exchange set to launch its futures for this segment, the spot market could be in store for more liquidity as well as fluctuation.Rising capacity China's stainless steel mills are making more investments in infrastructure amid an outlook for steady growth of consumption in the country in...Read More