Fastmarkets is proposing changes to the specifications of its price assessment for steel slab imports, cfr Southeast Asia/East Asia, $/tonne.The proposed amendment to the quantity of slab cargoes to be assessed is made in response to changing market conditions. This will enable Fastmarkets to take more cargoes into consideration when making the weekly price assessment.The full specifications, once...Read More
Fastmarkets has discontinued the publication of the stainless steel grade-304 Europe raw materials index, with effect from Monday July 22.After a two-month consultation period, Fastmarkets has decided to discontinue the assessment of the stainless steel 304 index domestic, exw EU.This index, which was intended to represent the costs of the raw materials needed to produce grade-304 stainless steel,...Read More
China is imposing anti-dumping duties on imports of stainless steel billet, slab, hot-rolled plate and coil produced in the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, the country's Ministry of Commerce said on Monday July 22.The duties will apply for five years beginning on July 23 after a final ruling in an anti-dumping investigation found that the imports caused substantial dama...Read More
China is imposing anti-dumping duties on imports of stainless steel billet, slab, hot-rolled plate and coil produced in the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, the country's Ministry of Commerce said on Monday July 22.The duties will apply for five years beginning on July 23 after a final ruling in an anti-dumping investigation found that the imports caused substantial dama...Read More
Eastern China steelmaker Shagang has rolled over the list prices for its rebar and wire rod booked and shipped in late July.The mill is selling its HRB400 16-25mm rebar at 4,170 yuan ($606) per tonne over the July 21-31 period, unchanged from the previous period, it said on Sunday July 21. Shagang also kept its price...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 3% over the afternoon but held above the $14,000 per tonne support level at the close of trading on Monday July 22, while a predominantly negative complex was upended by tin's 1.3% climb. Nickel's three-month price closed at $14,300 per tonne, while tin futures closed slightly higher on the day at $17,900 per tonne, having reached an...Read More
The Turkish domestic scrap markets remained mostly quiet last week due to the slow finished steel markets and the seasonal summer slowdown, sources said on Monday July 22.Steel mills kept their buy prices for auto bundle scrap flat, and ship scrap prices were also stable.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment...Read More
A Turkish steel mill has completed the purchase of a new deep sea cargo, moving import prices into the country upward, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 22.News of this cargo came to light on Monday but it was reported to have sold on July 19.A steel mill in the Marmara region bought a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $295...Read More
Fastmarkets has changed the frequency of publication of its fob Guinea and fob Brazil bauxite price assessments to monthly from fortnightly. Following a one-month consultation, the Bauxite, fob Kamsar, Guinea and Bauxite, fob Trombetas, Brazil price assessments will now be published on the third Thursday of every month at 2-3pm London time. The next publication of these prices will be Thursday Aug...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday July 22 that are worth another look.The wide differential between ferro-vanadium prices in China and Europe has prompted some European vanadium suppliers to deliver their cargoes to China to take advantage of the more favorable price in the Asian country, market sources told Fastmarkets. ERG has appointed Telf AG the exclusive of...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 3% over the afternoon but held above the $14,000 per tonne support level at the close of trading on Monday July 22, while a predominantly negative complex was upended by tin's 1.3% climb. Nickel's three-month price closed at $14,300 per tonne, while tin futures closed slightly higher on the day at $17,900 per tonne, having reached an...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices regained some strength on Monday July 22 after local authorities in Tangshan, the steelmaking hub in northern China, reiterated production cuts for steelmakers under their jurisdiction.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,900 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,850-3,860 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneSpot prices rose...Read More
Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market was muted on Monday July 22 after an active stretch last week.A cargo of premium hard coking coal was offered at $175 per tonne fob Australia on the Global Coal trading platform during the day, down $1 per tonne from last Friday, sources said.A Chinese end-user source said that mills in the country were concerned about uncertainties associated wi...Read More
Fastmarkets has discontinued the publication of the stainless steel grade-304 Europe raw materials index, with effect from Monday July 22.After a two-month consultation period, Fastmarkets has decided to discontinue the assessment of the stainless steel 304 index domestic, exw EU.This index, which was intended to represent the costs of the raw materials needed to produce grade-304 stainless steel,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell across the board on Monday July 22, amid environmental restrictions imposed on steelmakers in north China.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $118.33 per tonne, down $3.46 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $118.25 per tonne, down $3.46 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low-alumina...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday July 22 that are worth another look.The wide differential between ferro-vanadium prices in China and Europe has prompted some European vanadium suppliers to deliver their cargoes to China to take advantage of the more favorable price in the Asian country, market sources told Fastmarkets. ERG has appointed Telf AG the exclusive of...Read More
The premium for aluminium billet in Italy has fallen to its lowest in over two years due to aggressively low offers from suppliers and continued poor demand. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp Italy (Brescia region), at $330-350 per tonne on Friday July 19, down from $340-360 per tonne the previous week. This is lowest since January 20, 2017, when it was $330-340...Read More
The prices paid for base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange were almost universally suppressed during morning trading on Monday July 22, with uninspiring macro data precipitating thin trading volumesTin was the only metal to buck the trend and trade at parity with the afternoon kerb close on July 19, which is around $17,800 per tonne. The LME three-month tin contract may be holding on acco...Read More
Rising tension over Iran and a reduction in expectations on the size of the next US Federal Reserve rate cut were weighing on sentiment this morning, Monday July 22.Last week the market started to price-in a 50-basis-point cut in the US benchmark interest rate at the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) July 30-31 meeting, but now a 25-basis-point cut now seems more likely.Tensions in the Middle...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down during morning trading on Monday July 22, with nickel and zinc leading the decline with drops of 2.8% and 1.7% respectively. The rest of the complex recorded more marginal declines: lead (-1%), copper (-0.6%), aluminium (-0.5%) and tin (-0.2%).The broad-based weakness comes amid a recovery in the dollar that saw the US currency recl...Read More