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
Backwardation in zinc has been a persistent theme in the market since the start of 2019, but the tightness in the cash-to-three-month spread on the London Metal Exchange has largely waned over Thursday-Friday July 4-5, with no significant deliveries into the exchange's sheds.On the morning of July 5, the backwardation in the cash-to-three-month zinc spread was $9.50 per tonne. It was as wide as $1...Read More
Trading in the base metals on the London Metal Exchange was subdued on Friday July 5 in the absence of many participants a day after the Independence Day holiday in the United States.A stronger US dollar, up 0.19 against a basket of other major currencies at 96.90, also weighed on buying appetite. Although trading across the complex was largely rangebound, the LME three-month zinc price dipped by...Read More
Market participants seem to be waiting for the next development to provide direction and that is likely to come from the US employment report due later on Friday July 5. So far this week equities and bonds have been rallying on the back of expectations for looser monetary policy, while the base metals have mainly been on a back foot in line with weak economic data.Gold prices remain elevated highl...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly range-bound during morning trading on Friday July 5 while investors awaited the key US jobs report due later for possible clues on the Federal Reserve's policy decision at the end of the month. Tin, copper and aluminium recorded marginal gains of 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% respectively, while nickel was little changed. Zinc was the worst per...Read More
The price of Brazilian domestic rebar decreased for July deliveries following a recent downtrend in Turkish rebar prices and weakening demand in the country.Fastmarkets assessed the rebar domestic price at 2,370-2,480 Reais ($622-650) per tonne delivered on Friday July 5, down from 2,450-2,600 Reais per tonne a month before. This marks the assessment's lowest since April 2018, when the p...Read More
Brazilian vehicle production increased by 2.8% year on year in the first half of 2019 but the pace of growth lost steam from the first five months of the year, data from national car manufacturers association Anfavea showed on Thursday July 4.Output totaled 1.47 million units in the January-June period compared with 1.43 million units a year earlier. In the first five months of 2019, volumes had r...Read More
CIS billet exporters expect to see an uptick in demand from the Egyptian market after it temporary suspended safeguard duties on imports of steel billet and rebar.The decision, announced on Thursday July 4, comes in two stages. The first part is to suspend the decision of the minister imposing 25% import duty for rebar and that for billet at 3-15%. The second part will move the case to the board o...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) decreased over the week ended Friday July 5, with demand reported to be weak in both the local and export markets.Export demand had initially improved after the United States decided on May 17 to reduce its tariff on Turkish steel imports to 25% from 50%, but then declined again because of Turkish producers' high prices.Domestic pricesDemand in t...Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Turkey were mostly unchanged over the past week while the summer slowdown and a reduction in end-user consumption continued, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 5.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC domestic, exw Turkey, widened upward to $500-520 per tonne ex-works on Friday, compared with $500-510 per tonne ex-works a week ear...Read More
Chinese suppliers have already exhausted their annual quota for imports into Europe of hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) grades used by the automotive industry, just a few days after the start of the new quota period.The HDG grades traditionally used by European car-makers fall into product category 4B of the region's safeguard measures.The full annual quota allocated to material from China for the...Read More
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
China's hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Friday July 5 with developments in the iron ore market hogging the spotlight for a second day, though participants expect some stability to return to the flat steel segment in the longer term, or even a rebound as a result of falling supply.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,900 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, widening downward 10 yuan per tonneNorthern...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India rose for the first time in several weeks ahead of the country's national budget but sentiment remained negative, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India moved up to $316.27 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday July 5 from $308.88 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva a week earlier, which w...Read More
Turkish mills continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for August shipments at the end of the week, with prices remaining firm, sources said on Friday July 5.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $298.50 per tonne and bonus at $308.50 per tonne cfr. The cargo breakdown was not clear at the time of publication.Cargo sizes from that region are gene...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
Seaborne coking coal prices experienced mild movements on Friday July 5, with premium Australian products continuing to find interest among traders.A cargo of premium mid-vol materials, scheduled for loading in August, was traded at $191 per tonne cfr China, sources said during the day.A day earlier, a shipment of premium low-vol product changed hands around $6-7 per tonne higher. A trader source...Read More
Spot prices for Japanese H2 scrap in Vietnam softened in the latter half of this week after Tokyo Steel, a major buyer of the steelmaking raw material in Japan, slashed the amount it would pay for it.But prices for heavy melting scrap in Taiwan started to strengthen at the start of the week on a rebounding scrap market in Turkey, and held steady thereafter due to thin market liquidity.The mixed si...Read More
China's rebar prices were flat on Friday July 5 with market participants taking a wait-and-see approach in spite of lower futures. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,970-4,000 yuan ($578-582) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,920-3,950 yuan per tonne, unchangedRebar futures fell during the day, but the decrease was attributed not to developments in the long steel market but to the...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday July 5:Antimony max 100ppm Bi, in-whs Rotterdam $/tonne: $6,000-6,250 per tonne from $6,100-6,250Bismuth 99.99% Bi min, in-whs China, yuan/tonne: 40,500-42,000 yuan per tonne from 41,500-42,500 yuanCadmium 99.99% Bi min, cif global ports, cents/lb: 114-124 from 115-124Chromium alumino-thermic 99% min, in-whs...Read More