Fastmarkets' zinc premiums in northern Europe rose in the week to Tuesday July 16 on increased spot interest, while premiums in Asia and the United States were unchanged due to muted buying appetite after the cash/three-month London Metal Exchange zinc spread swung to a backwardation. The LME cash/three-month zinc spread returned to backwardation after a short-lived contango. Northern Europe...Read More
US wire rod prices have trended downward for six straight months to hit a 16-month low, driven primarily by weak demand and high inventory levels, Fastmarkets has learned. Fastmarkets' assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US, fell to $32.50-33.50 per hundredweight ($650-670 per short ton) on Tuesday July 16, down by 4.3% from $34-35 per cwt in June and down 18% f...Read More
Russia's largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), will increase the capacity for steel slabs at its Lipetsk facility in western Russia, the company said on Wednesday July 17.The company has started construction and installation work for a complete overhaul of continuous casting machine (CCM) No9.The overhaul will increase the machine's capacity by 80%, to 1.8 million tonnes per year of slabs,...Read More
Demand for passenger cars in Europe decreased by 7.85% year-on-year in June 2019, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Wednesday July 17.New car sales in Europe totalled 1,446,183 units in June, compared with 1,569,363 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of 2018."To a large extent, this drop [in June] can be attributed to a negative calendar effect. On average, Jun...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe has widened upward by ?,?5 ($6) per tonne week on week, with Italian mills intending to raise prices before the traditional August holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 17.Market activity remains low and buyers remain generally reluctant to commit to volumes, market participants said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assess...Read More
The domestic prices of hollow steel sections in Northern and Southern Europe fell this week, pressured lower by poor demand, market sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?620-630 ($696-708) per tonne on Wednesday July 17, down from ?,?625-640 one week earlier."Some mills are decreasing capacity but it seems not to have wo...Read More
The price of mesh-quality wire rod in Southern Europe narrowed slightly upwards week on week - mills in Italy looked to raise their offers ahead of the summer slowdown, sources said on Wednesday July 17.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price of steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?475-500 ($533-562) per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing upwards week on week from ?,?...Read More
The price of domestic rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe remained unchanged over the past week due to limitedbuying activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 17.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?500-520 ($562-584) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged from one week earlier on July 10."Most market...Read More
The United States' ferrous scrap export market is enjoying momentum on the West Coast, with a pair of bulk cargoes and decent container sales concluded, while the East Coast remains quiet.From the West Coast, one cargo for an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap was sold to Vietnam at $308 per tonne cfr on Thursday July 11 and another for the same material to Taiwan at $303...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday July 17, because of the sluggish finished steel demand, sources told Fastmarkets.After booking a UK cargo at $288 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), the mills have stayed out of the market despite still needing to buy more cargoes for August deliveries."The steel producers in Turkey need to buy scrap for August...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials.Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Global Ore, 85,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Iron Ore Carajas, traded at $128.70 per tonne cfr China, bill of lading dated July 8.BHP, bilateral...Read More
Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market was muted on Wednesday July 17 with Chinese buyers and global sellers digesting the implications of restrictions on imported coal at ports in China. Earlier this week, the Port of Caofeidian in Hebei province restricted customs declarations to only local end users, market sources said on Tuesday. This effectively bars traders from using the port...Read More
BHP expects to produce 73-79 million tonnes of metallurgical coal over the next year even as it plans major wash plant shutdowns for the current quarter.The mining major said on Wednesday July 17 that it produced 20.98 million tonnes of metallurgical coal in the April-June period, down 1.2% year on year amid lower wash plant yields.Its output for the 12 months ended June 30 totaled 74.5 million to...Read More
BHP expects its Western Australia Iron Ore operations to produce 273-286 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material on a 100% basis over the next 12 months amid a significant maintenance program at the Port of Port Hedland, from which it ships its cargoes abroad."As part of this, a major car dumper maintenance campaign is planned for the September 2019 quarter, with a corresponding impact expe...Read More
Global alumina prices have plummeted over the past two months in June and July due to poor demand and a surplus of excess cargoes in the market.Alumina prices in Western Australia, Brazil and China are all down over 15% since May and close to their lowest level in over two years. This is a stark contrast to this time last year, when alumina prices were trading close to record highs following strik...Read More
Eastern China's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil continued to pick up strength on Wednesday July 17, while those in the northern region held steady.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,890-3,910 yuan ($566-569) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,850-3,860 yuan per tonne, unchangedRising futures stimulated trading in the spot market in eastern China, resulting in more buyi...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices maintained their upward momentum on Wednesday July 17 amid rising futures. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,980-4,010 yuan ($579-583) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,900-3,930 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneSome buyers raised their procurement rates to replenish their inventories on seeing the gains in the futures market.End users m...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' Wednesday July 17 pricing session in Europe:Key drivers The ferro-titanium market moved down amid a decline in spot demand for ferro-titanium for the past couple of months in response to a weakening European steel market, which is likely to remain quiet over the summer. The ferro-titanium market is close to its floor, according...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday July 17:Minor metalsAntimony max 100ppm Bi, in-whs Rotterdam $/tonne: $5,950-6,200 per tonne from $6,000-6,200Antimony MMTA standard grade II, in-whs Rotterdam, $/tonne: $5,800-6,000 per tonne from $5,900-6,150Cadmium 99.95% min, cif global ports, cents/lb: 105-115 per lb...Read More
A multi-year low in the cobalt metal price in China triggered the speculative buying witnessed over the week to July 12, which is likely to be followed by restocking activity in the spot market, Fastmarkets learned.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price for cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China was at 210,000-230,000 yuan ($12.27-13.43 per lb, minus China VAT) per tonne on Friday July 12, down nearly...Read More