More dovish central bank talk, this time from the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), has pumped fuel into the price rebounds in equities, bonds and the metals this morning, Thursday June 20.Markets had started to rebound at the start of the week on the back of optimism that a US-China trade talks may start making progress again, but prices then consolidated on Wednesday.FOMC leaves door open...Read More
The European Commission is considering setting "eco-duties" on imported steel to level the production costs between imported and domestically produced material, market sources told Fastmarkets.The EC and European steel association Eurofer, representing steelmakers in the European Union, are currently in early stages of discussions on the duties, market participants said. European steelma...Read More
Brazilian apparent steel consumption soared by 28.2% year on year in May, national steel association A??o Brasil said on Wednesday June 19.The country's steel use came to 1.74 million tonnes last month compared with 1.36 million tonnes in May 2018, according to the association. In May 2018, the Brazilian steel market was affected by a truckers' strike, which resulted in production constraints...Read More
Latin American steel groups have praised news that China withdrew its request from a panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be considered as a market economy."We've known for a long time that China has been a problem due to all the subsidies its industry receives, which have distorted the global steel market," Latin American steel association Alacero said on Wednesday June 19."China is not...Read More
Declining ferrous scrap costs combined with continued slow demand have worked to bring US steel reinforcing bar prices to their lowest levels in nearly 15 months. Fastmarkets AMM's biweekly price assessment for US domestic rebar fell to $32.50-33.50 per hundredweight ($650-670 per short ton) fob mill on Wednesday June 19, down by 2.2% from $33.50-34 per cwt two weeks ago. The assessment last...Read More
Turkish billet prices have weakened over the past week in line with the falling imported scrap values, source said on Thursday June 20.The price of steel billet exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to Turkey slipped this week. Mills in the CIS region were offering billet to Turkey at around $435-440 per tonne cfr, while mills in Turkey were bidding at around $420 per tonne an...Read More
Turkish domestic rebar and wire rod prices have weakened in line with the falling imported scrap values and limited demand over the past week, sources said on Thursday June 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,160-3,190 ($542-547) per tonne ex-works, down from last week's TRY3,200-3,220 per tonne,...Read More
The Turkish long steel export market continued to suffer this week as the continuing lack of interest from the United States increased the downward pressure on prices, sources said on Thursday June 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey was $445-460 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis, unchanged week on week.Steel mills in the country tried to keep their o...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices were stable on Thursday June 20 amid a pick-up in sentiment following futures gains and more expensive iron ore,even though downstream demand has not shown any significant improvement.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,770-3,780 yuan ($546-547) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,760-3,780 yuan per tonne, widening upward 10 yuan per tonnePrices...Read More
Metals trader Trafigura has refuted claims from Iceberg Research, the analytics outfit that launched an explosive campaign against Noble Group, that it has overvalued "hundreds of millions [of dollars] in debt securities issued by an associate."Iceberg's claims - made in a report published on Wednesday June 19 - center on Trafigura's valuation of debt securities linked to its Porto Sudeste asset,...Read More
Steel producers in Turkey passed the day without any deep-sea bookings while they digested falling prices, sources said on Thursday June 20.After booking a US cargo at lower prices on Wednesday June 19, the mills went quiet in the deep-sea markets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region had booked the US cargo comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $278.50 per tonne and 7,000 tonnes...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices surged further toward $120 per tonne cfr on Thursday June 20 after two of the major global miners updated shipment expectations.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $117.25 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.17 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $116.05 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.17 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $118.79 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $2.98 per...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials....Read More
Prices for seaborne coking coal cargoes bound for China fell further on Thursday June 20.A shipment of a top Australian brand, scheduled for loading over July 22-31, was sold to an international trader at $203.08 per tonne cfr China, various sources told Fastmarkets.This is $2.18 per tonne lower than a transaction involving the same brand that was concluded just a week earlier.A July-loading cargo...Read More
United States-based iron ore producer Cleveland-Cliffs is prepared to export part of its iron ore output in the event that more furnaces are shut down in the country, its chairman and chief executive officer Louren??o Gon??alves said on Wednesday June 19.It has yet to experience any effects of steel production cuts, however, because they did not involve any of its clients, he said during the Steel...Read More
Domestic stainless steel prices in China continued to trend upward over the past week, tracking the strength exhibited by nickel prices in the futures market. The Fastmarkets MB domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,000-14,350 yuan ($2,027-2,078) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday June 19, up by 50-10...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia were largely stable this past week despite poor demand in downstream markets amid uncertainty caused by trade tensions between China and the United States.Despite weak demand, suppliers are unlikely to reduce their asking prices in the near term, but that could change if the price of nickel continues its downtrend, a trader in East China said.The thre...Read More
Iran’s shooting down of a US drone has raised tensions in the Middle East, with gold and oil prices extending gains. Spot gold reached a high of $1,411.90 per oz after US President Donald Trump reportedly ordered an attack on Iran, which was later aborted. Equities in Asia have weakened across the board. Base metals Three-month base metals on the London Metal Exchange...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 5 points in pre-opening trade.Gasoline prices are expected to move higher over the weekend. Crude oil prices have moved higher due to greater disturbances in the Middle East. In addition, the largest refinery complex on the U.S. East Coast experienced an explosion last night. The Canadian Dollar slipped 0.05 to 75.75...Read More
(Corrects number of FOIA requests in paragraph 2 to six,instead of two dozen) By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - A conservation group onThursday sued the Trump administration for withholding documentsrelated to its decision to cancel a 20-year ban on mining in aMinnesota wilderness area and open it up to copper production. The Wilderness Society filed the lawsuit in a Washington,...Read More