China has announced a second round of copper scrap import quotas allowing a select list of importers to bring an additional 124,500 tonnes of copper scrap into the country during the second half this year, according to a statement on Wednesday July 10. The list, mainly comprising Guangdong and Zhejiang metal scrap importers, was compiled and released by the Center of China Solid Waste and Chemical...Read More
Although rate cut expectations encouraged the London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices to move higher yesterday, they have started to weaken in early trading today, Thursday July 11, and been unable to attract follow-through buying. In his prepared remarks, Federal Reserve Chairman Gerome Powell last night noted that uncertainties since the June FOMC meeting continued to dim outlook an...Read More
U.S. equity index futures moved higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 4 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures slipped following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 222, 000 versus 222,000 last week. Actual was 209,000. Consensus for the June Consumer Price Index was unchanged versus a gain of 0.1% in May. Actual was an increase of 0.3%. E...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly directionless in afternoon trading on July 9 due to a stronger dollar index, up 0.13 to 97.50.This mixed consolidation in LME three-month prices has been broadly attributed to weak Chinese equities data and waning macro optimism in anticipation of a United States Federal Open Markets Committee decision on interest rates, expected on July...Read More
Sinking product prices across the copper value chain are eroding processing margins for custom copper smelters, causing uncertainty as well as driving investments and consolidation in the industry. An unprecedented expansion of Chinese copper smelting capacity has triggered lower concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs), cathode premiums and sulfuric acid prices, all key sources of smel...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly rangebound during morning trading on Tuesday July 9, with a steady appreciation of the US dollar index capping commodity investment. Continuing its price decline, the three-month zinc futures contract moved away from the $2,400-per-tonne resistance level, hitting an intra-morning low of $2,363 per tonne. The galvanizing metal's pric...Read More
Sinking product prices across the copper value chain are eroding processing margins for custom copper smelters, causing uncertainty as well as driving investments and consolidation in the industry. An unprecedented expansion of Chinese copper smelting capacity has triggered lower concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs), cathode premiums and sulfuric acid prices, all key sources of smel...Read More
Tharisa increased its chrome concentrate production by 8.2% in the three months to June 30 from the previous quarter, the South African miner said. Chrome concentrate production reached 334,000 tonnes, up from 308,700 tonnes in the previous quarter but down from 376,300 tonnes in the second quarter of 2018. The miner secured an average...Read More
Fastmarkets has made changes to the specification of its cobalt hydroxide payable indicator - namely, to widen the payment window. Following a one-month consultation period that ended on Friday July 5, Fastmarkets has amended the payment window to include trades agreed on the basis of the following month's average metal price (M+1). Previously, the payment window only included trades agreed on the...Read More
Turkish mills have resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases for August shipments after a short break in negotiations, sources said on Tuesday July 9.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a UK cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $288 per tonne cfr.This compared with the most recent deep-sea cargo sold at $298.50 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the Baltic Sea region on...Read More
Market fundamentals are unlikely to support the recent rise in ferrous scrap prices, the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) said in its latest short-range outlook this week.Fastmarkets' daily scrap index for Northern Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) imported into Turkey rose to $296.41 per tonne cfr on Monday July 8, up from $292.09 per tonne cfr&...Read More
India's Ministry of Steel is seeking stakeholder feedback by July 14 on a draft steel scrap policy that aims to reduce the country's reliance on imports by establishing a network of recycling centers to collect and process ferrous scrap. The policy framework aims to provide standard guidelines for collection, dismantling and shredding activities in an organized, safe and environmentally sound mann...Read More
Base metals prices were generally lower in the early trading hours of Tuesday July 9, amid concerns over the prolonged US-China trade dispute, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the continued sell-off in major equity indices and persistently weak economic data. Market expectations of a more substantial 50 basis points rate cut by the US Federal Reserve Bank in its upcoming Federal Open Mark...Read More
Fastmarkets has made changes to the specification of its cobalt hydroxide payable indicator - namely, to widen the payment window. Following a one-month consultation period that ended on Friday July 5, Fastmarkets has amended the payment window to include trades agreed on the basis of the following month's average metal price (M+1). Previously, the payment window only included trades agreed on the...Read More
The price of CRC imports to the United Arab Emirates edged up this week, while HRC and HDG import prices went in the opposite direction on continuing sluggish demand caused by the annual slowdown in the construction sector.UAE Offers for hot-rolled coil imports to the UAE came in at $510 per tonne cfr for material imported from China, with deals for cargoes over 10,00...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil experienced an uptick in the week to Tuesday July 9, although market participants expressed doubts that the recent uptrend was sustainable. Flat steel prices in China rebounded after production curbs were announced in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan."I believe prices will not rise further because there are no...Read More
In the process of standardizing the names of its prices, Fastmarkets has found that the range of thicknesses was displaying incorrectly in the name of its CIS steel heavy plate export price.In the Fastmarkets price name for CIS steel heavy plate exports fob Black Sea, the plate thickness had been listed as 10-50mm. The correct thickness, as properly specified in the Fastmarkets ferrous methodology...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 9 that are worth another look.Sinking product prices across the copper value chain are eroding processing margins for custom copper smelters, causing uncertainty as well as driving investments and consolidation in the industry. The United States' Section 232 tariffs have benefited certain steel producers but mostly negative...Read More
Prices for imported billet in the United Arab Emirates have increased over the past seven days, but demand was still weak, sources said on Tuesday July 9.The reason for the higher prices for billet was increases in the prices for raw materials.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was calculated at $296.41 per tonne on July 8, compared with...Read More
European wire rod processors are demanding an increase in the EU's safeguard quota for imports of the material, the European Non-Integrated Wire Rod Processors Association (Eunirpa) said on Tuesday July 9."We urgently call on the policymakers to support the repeal of the safeguard measures imposed on wire rod, or at the very least to adjust significantly upward the level of the current quotas," Eu...Read More