Slow demand will remain as the main challenge for European hot-rolled coil producers and will keep adding pressure to domestic coil prices in the third quarter of 2019, market sources told Fastmarkets this week. Slow demand will remain as the main challenge for European hot-rolled coil producers and will keep adding pressure to domestic coil prices in the third quarter of 2019, market sources told...Read More
The European Commission (EC) should remove its 5% import quota increase as it makes safeguard measures ineffective and puts jobs in the EU steel segment at risk, the European steel association (Eurofer) said on July 3."We call on the EC to heed our call and those of member states that have already expressed concerns about the rise - and to respond by undoing this out-of-step expansion before it fu...Read More
Turkish authorities are considering whether to launch a trade defense case against imports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) from the EU, market sources have told Fastmarkets.European mills have increased their HRC export volumes recently, particularly to Turkey, due to the weak demand in their home markets."The start of an anti-dumping case against EU-origin HRC will entirely depend on the attitude of the...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices went up in almost all of the major markets during the working week from Monday July 1 to Friday July 5, following the rebound in Turkish prices. Turkish import prices continued to rise with August shipment bookings A US scrap sale to Turkey raised sentiment in the export and domestic markets Mixed signals in the Asian scrap market Shredded scrap prices moved up in India despit...Read More
The UK and European alloy steel scrap markets were very subdued this week, with prices remaining stable, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 5.The markets have entered their usual summer slowdown, which traditionally spans July and August. But the downturn in activity could be more pronounced this year given that it started earlier than usual."It seems that each year [the summer slowdown] star...Read More
The UK light iron inter-merchant spot market remained unchanged for the second consecutive week as negotiations between suppliers and consumers for monthly delivery settlements continued, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 5.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant basis was ?80-100 ($101-126) per tonne on July 5. Some sources said the...Read More
Base metals other than nickel closer lower on the London Metal Exchange on Friday July 5 in thin volumes after the release of weak macroeconomic data from the United States.Zinc was one of the busiest - more than 10,000 lots traded by the close of trading - because of swing in its cash/three-month spread into a slim $3-per-tonne contango from a $9.50 per tonne earlier in the day.The cash/three-mon...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has just finished its trial to calculate nickel prices using a volume weighted average price (VWAP) method on the exchange's electronic trading platform. If early indications are anything to go by, metals market participants did not embrace this method of price discovery in the way some had anticipated. For three months since Monday March 18, closing prices for nickel car...Read More
The United States Secretary of Commerce has joined the growing chorus of voices questioning the current method of setting the US Midwest aluminium premium. Wilbur Ross said the US Midwest aluminium premium is at inflated levels that do not justify the cost of transportation and logistical handling costs that it was originally designed to reflect. His view is being echoed by a number of...Read More
A decade ago, the Shanghai Futures Exchange launched its steel rebar futures contract. In the years that followed it has become the gold standard for steel derivatives, achieving a success that other exchanges aspire to emulate. And they are definitely trying, with a total of 11 steel derivatives contracts launched by the main trading exchanges since. SHFE, which launched a wire rod futures contra...Read More
Base metals other than nickel closer lower on the London Metal Exchange on Friday July 5 in thin volumes after the release of weak macroeconomic data from the United States.Zinc was one of the busiest - more than 10,000 lots traded by the close of trading - because of swing in its cash/three-month spread into a slim $3-per-tonne contango from a $9.50 per tonne earlier in the day.The cash/three-mon...Read More
Lead inventory on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased by 4% week on week as of Friday July 5 amid weak domestic consumption in China. Deliverable lead stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses rose by 1,226 tonnes to 31,982 tonnes in the week to July 5. The largest inflow of lead this week was registered at Zhongchu Wuxi in Jiangsu province, with 21,042 tonnes of the metal entering its warehouse. The...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Friday July 5, while futures prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange plunged for the second consecutive session.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $114.81 per tonne, down by $7.22 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines: $114.06 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $7.22 per tonne.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
European prices for stainless steel flat products slipped this week on lower monthly alloy surcharges for July and soft demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 5.Alloy surcharges for July were announced at lower levels last week by European mills, primarily reflecting lower nickel prices.These surcharge decreases were implemented into stainless steel prices this week, although some distrib...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Aluminium billet premiums were flat to lower on Friday July 5 amid weak demand, with the premium in Italy falling for a third straight week and the upcharge in the US Midwest making its first move in eight weeks. Premium in Italy falls third week in a row US upcharge down in dull market Thai premium flat in oversupplied market Premium in Brazil down, demand weakAluminium billet premium in Italy co...Read More
Alcoa has signed a conditional share purchase agreement with Swiss private equity firm Parter Capital Group for the firm to acquire Alcoa's La Coru??a and Avil?(C)s smelters in Spain, the aluminium producer said on Friday July 5. Alcoa reached an agreement with the workers' representatives relating to the transaction of the two smelters, which were curtailed in February. The company said in the st...Read More