Continued tin flows onto the London Metal Exchange, up 50% this month, exerted downward pressure on global premiums in the week to Tuesday June 25. An eroding backwardation in exchange forward spreads makes stockholders uncertain whether to hold or sell tin. US premium holds, but reports of declining demand echo other regions. China premium unchanged with no incentive for traders to i...Read More
Aluminium producer Alcoa announced Wednesday June 26 that it has amended its joint venture with Saudi Arabian producer Ma'aden for Alcoa to divest a 25.1% stake in a rolling mill.The joint venture between Ma'aden and Alcoa was created in 2009 and comprises of the Ma'aden Bauxite and Alumina company, the Ma'aden Aluminium Company, and the Ma'aden Rolling Company. Alcoa will transfer its 25.1%...Read More
A 10-week decline in low-grade manganese ore prices stalled on Friday June 21 and Chinese port ore prices have been rebounding dramatically from 2019 lows reached in early June. Fastmarkets' 37% manganese ore index, cif Tianjin held at $5.26 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday. Fastmarkets' China port index for 37% manganese ore increased by 2.30 yuan to 47.50 yuan per dmtu (equiv...Read More
Cobalt metal prices continued to weaken on Wednesday June 26 with the first half of the week seeing consumers postpone all but essential buying, leaving sellers to cut their offers to entice sales. Fastmarkets' assessment of the price for standard-grade cobalt was at $13.75-14.35 per lb, in-warehouse, on Wednesday June 26, down from $13.85-14.50 per lb on June 21. Fastmarkets' assessment of the pr...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The price of mesh-quality wire rod in Europe fell by ?,?5 per tonne week on week following the drop in ferrous scrap prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 26.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe was ?,?500-510 ($569-581) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, down from ?,?505-515 per tonne delivered on June 19.Fastmarkets' daily Turkish...Read More
UK aluminium alloy producers have been forced to close smelters or partially cease production as a confluence of weakening automotive sector demand for material, sluggish regional gross domestic product (GDP) growth and tariff uncertainty continues to push LM24 ingot prices lower. Market participants have reported rumors that three prominent UK secondary aluminium smelters have ceased operations w...Read More
Key data from the Fastmarkets' Wednesday June 26 pricing session in Europe.Key drivers The European ferro-titanium price fell for the fifth consecutive week after six weeks of stability. Demand has been quieter since an initial bout of short-covering in mid-April when major European producer FE Mottram stopped production after a fire damaged its UK plant.FE Mottram aims to restart production aroun...Read More
The bullish momentum seen on Tuesday June 25 seems to have run its course because base metals prices were mostly mixed in the early Asian trading session on Wednesday. Markets seem to have already priced in the positivity surrounding an upcoming meeting between US president Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Japan later this week.Both countries are seeking t...Read More
Cobalt metal prices continued to weaken on Wednesday June 26 with the first half of the week seeing consumers postpone all but essential buying, leaving sellers to cut their offers to entice sales. Fastmarkets' assessment of the price for standard-grade cobalt was at $13.75-14.35 per lb, in-warehouse, on Wednesday June 26, down from $13.85-14.50 per lb on June 21. Fastmarkets' assessment of the pr...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe have been largely stable over the past week due to slow demand, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 26.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic HRC in Northern Europe was ?,?485-495 ($552-564) per tonne ex-works on Wednesday June 26, compared with ?,?485-500 per tonne ex-works a week earlier, reflecting transa...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were largely stable on Wednesday June 26 amid mixed sentiment despite mills in northern China beginning to implement production cuts announced over the weekend.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,920 yuan ($567-570) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,840-3,850 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneMost market p...Read More
Fastmarkets is standardizing the names of some of its steel price assessments to better reflect incoterms and trading locations. In this standardization process, we will remove from the price names the region from country-specific assessments and specify in clearer detail the pricing location of some domestic China prices. Please see the table below for more details:Although Fastmarkets has amende...Read More
Steel H-beam prices in Northern Europe inched up this week after a string of losses, while Southern European prices dipped for the first time in three weeks, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 26.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm, category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe was ?,?575-610 ($654-695) per tonne delivered on Wednesday June 26, up from ?,?570-605 per to...Read More
Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in Northern and Southern Europe narrowed this week on a lack of imports and higher feedstock costs but this could be short lived when import quotas renew next week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 26.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe was ?,?630-640 per tonne ($717...Read More
The price of mesh-quality wire rod in Europe fell by ?,?5 per tonne week on week following the drop in ferrous scrap prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 26.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe was ?,?500-510 ($569-581) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, down from ?,?505-515 per tonne delivered on June 19.Fastmarkets' daily Turkish...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to be quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets with little demand for July shipment cargoes, sources said on Wednesday June 26.Mills in the country stepped away from the deep-sea markets last week after booking several cargoes for July.Some sources believe that domestic steel producers in Turkey still need a few more cargoes, but told Fastmarkets the mills&nb...Read More
Iron ore prices rebounded on Wednesday June 26 amid strong activity on trading platforms.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $117.63 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.17 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $115.67 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $2.41 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $117.85 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $2.14 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $104.52 per tonne cfr Qingdao, d...Read More
Fastmarkets is extending until July 31 the consultation period for its proposal to launch a daily containerized steel scrap cfr Vietnam assessment.Responses to the original consultation could not definitively define the liquidity of a daily spot market and its suitability for a daily price assessment.The proposed specification is as follows:Assessment: Steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20) containerized imp...Read More
Turkey produced 14.297 million tonnes of crude steel in January-May 2019, down 9.97% from the 15.880 million tonnes produced in the first three months of 2018, according to the Turkish Steel Producers Association (T???oeD).The fall in output was largely due to the negative sentiment that has been dominating Turkey's domestic steel market since August last year, when the country's lira lost signifi...Read More