Nickelinventories on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased by 26% week on week as of Friday July 12 amid weak domestic demand and ample supply.Deliverable nickel stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses rose by 5,308 tonnes to 25,819 tonnes in the week to July 12. The largest inflow of nickel this week was registered at Zhongchu Dachang in Shanghai, with 4,264 tonnes of the metal entering its warehous...Read More
Base metals prices were mixed in the Chinese morning trading session on Friday July 12, with copper, zinc and tin all higher amid US dollar weakness and overall optimism followingUS Federal Reserve Chair Powell's dovish testimony, while aluminium and nickel both moved lower.The dollar index dipped by 0.02 to 97.03 as at 9.05am Shanghai time. "During Wednesday's testimony Fed Chair Powell...Read More
Steel sheet products prices showed little change in the United States during the week ended July 12, with market participants waiting for clearer cues after a second round of a $40-per-short-ton ($2-per-hundredweight) increases by domestic mills.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US, was at $35 per cwt ($700 per ton) on July 11, unchanged from one we...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) increased over the week ended Friday July 12, with demand reported to be moderate in the local and export markets.Some bookings were heard during the week because buyers wanted to avoid paying more, with producers planning to raise their prices later in July.Coated coil producers intended to increase their prices because of price rises for Turkey...Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) in Turkey have gone up in some market sectors over the past week and further increases are expected next week, although the summer slowdown and reduction in end-user consumption continue, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 12.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Turkey, narrowed upward to $...Read More
The CIS export billet market started to show signs of weakening on Friday July 12, with customers growing cautious after the recent drop in scrap prices in Turkey and uncertainty over import duties in Egypt.Fastmarkets' daily CIS export billet index was $423 per tonne fob Black Sea down by $2 on Friday.In Egypt, some steel mills have appealed against last week's decision to suspend...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market fell on Friday July 12 because of sluggish demand in the key import markets of Indonesia and the Philippines.The price was also pressured downward during the week by a decline in scrap prices in the bellwether Turkish market and the availability of competitively priced Japanese billet.The downturn in Japan's domestic ferrous scrap market, coupled with...Read More
Export prices for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased on reduced availability, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS high-manganese pig iron exports, fob main port Black Sea was $335-340 per tonne on Thursday July 11, up from $325-335 per tonne a week earlier."[Ukraine's] Metinvest cut availability due to lack of...Read More
The UK ferrous scrap market for deliveries to domestic consumers in July has settled at prices unchanged from the previous month, on a tightness in the volume of material on the market, trade sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 12.The market will soon slow down for the usual summer break, they predicted, when production will typically be reduced by workers' holidays, and by plants' maintenance...Read More
Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy have declined over the past month due to falling demand from the mills, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 12.The monthly price assessment for steel scrap, No E3 (old thick scrap), domestic, delivered mill Italy, was ?,?240-255 ($270-287) per tonne on July 12, compared with ?,?245-265 per tonne in the assessment in the middle of June."The market is w...Read More
The UK light iron inter-merchant spot market was unchanged for the third consecutive week following the rollover of monthly delivery settlements, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 12.Fastmarkets' steel scrap 5C loose old light domestic, inter-merchant price was ?80-100 ($100-125) per tonne on July 10. Although many market participants agreed that prices were steady this week, some may have...Read More
Turkish steel producers ended the week with only one deep-sea transaction amid weak long steel and billet markets, sources said on Friday July 12.Since a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a UK cargo at $288 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) on July 9, steelmakers have stayed away from the deep-sea scrap market.The reason behind the weak demand for deep-sea scrap was th...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India has risen for the second consecutive week following the appearance of higher offer prices on the market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 12.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $319.09 per tonne on July 12, up from $316.27 per tonne a week earlier.Once again, this week no...Read More
Eastern China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to soften on Friday July 12, with traders continuing to make concessions to boost trading activity, though producers raised their offers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,860 yuan ($560-562) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,830-3,840 yuan per tonne, unchangedTransaction prices in Shanghai fell further during th...Read More
Interest for seaborne premium low-vol coking coal is picking up in China following recent price drops for such cargoes.A shipment of top-tier product scheduled for loading in August was traded at $191.50 per tonne cfr China, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 12.Prices for premium low-vol materials on a cfr China basis have fallen by around $6-7 per tonne since the beginning of this month. A...Read More
A weakening of rebar futures in China on Friday July 12 led to participants withdrawing from the spot market for the long steel product, resulting in a drop in trading activity and keeping prices at a standstill for a second day. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,980-4,000 yuan ($579-582) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,880-3,910 yuan per tonne, unchangedTraders kept prices flat...Read More
New stainless steel futures that the Shanghai Futures Exchange is looking to launch by the end of 2019 could support physical trading activity and increase liquidity in the spot market, sources told Fastmarkets this week."This could increase liquidity in the spot markets because market participants can have a clearer idea of future price trends," an industry source said.SHFE chairman Jiang Yan las...Read More
US silicon prices have again moved lower in an unusually active spot market, with sources indicating that some forced discounting for midyear accounting purposes may be taking place; demand is typically weakest during the northern hemisphere's summer months.Fastmarkets' price assessment for silicon, ddp US, fell to $1.05-110 per lb on Wednesday July 10, down from $1.08-11 per lb a month earlier on...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday July 12:Minor metalsAntimony MMTA standard grade II, in-whs Rotterdam, $/tonne: $5,900-6,150 per tonne from $5,950-6,150Bismuth 99.99% Bi min, in-whs China, yuan/tonne: 40,500-41,500 yuan per tonne from 40,500-42,000 yuanChromium alumino-thermic 99% min, in-whs Rotterdam, $/tonne: $7,435-7,600 per tonne from $7,500-7,800Cobalt alloy g...Read More