Chinese vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) producers may be unable to achieve their scheduled production ramp-up plans in 2019 due to cost pressures stemming from the comparatively low V2O5 price so far this year and persistent stringent environmental inspections across the country, market sources told Fastmarkets MB. Many Chinese V2O5 producers planned to ramp up their operations in 2019, encouraged by ha...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange broadly closed up at the afternoon kerb on Tuesday June 25, while a spate of short-covering meant healthy trading volumes drove gains across the majority of the complex.Marginal headway made in US-Sino trade negotiations, with US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping set to meet at the G20 Summit in Japan this week, is supporting risk sentime...Read More
Weakness persisted in the seaborne coking coal spot market on Tuesday June 25 with participants in both the China and ex-China segments keeping to the sidelines amid poor demand."End users' interest in seaborne coking coal cargoes is thin amid weakness in the metallurgical coke market," a Chinese trading source said.A second Chinese trader said that offers for premium low-vol hard coking coal rema...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil producers raised export prices on Tuesday June 25 amid continual gains in the domestic market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,910-3,920 yuan ($568-570) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,850-3,860 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonnePrices rose further during the day with more and more participants becoming more bullish about the market.The...Read More
Prices for imported billet in the United Arab Emirates weakened over the past week, in line with lower offers and a lack of demand, sources said on Tuesday June 25.Domestic rebar The domestic rebar market in the UAE was sluggish due to a drop in demand during the summer period. The UAE's largest producer, Emirates Steel, was offering rebar at 1,881 dirhams ($512) per tonne ex-works this week, whil...Read More
Iron ore prices retreated further on Tuesday June 25 due to the expectation of falling demand amid restrictions on steelmakers in China's steel production hub of Tangshan.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $114.46 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.31 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $113.26 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.31 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $115.71 per tonne cfr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday June 25 that are worth another look.Some of Jiangxi Tungsten Holding Group's tungsten mines have had to cut production due to floods caused by heavy rain since the start of June in China's Jiangxi province, with some market sources expecting this to cap the downtrend in tungsten concentrate prices. Static trading conditions...Read More
The premium for copper cathodes in the United States has moved for the first time since May 14, widening downward amid ample supply and a slowdown in spot trading.Fastmarkets AMM assessed the US copper cathode premium at 7.25-8 cents per lb delivered to the Midwest on Tuesday June 25, widening from the previous range of 7.5-8 cents per lb.Market sources credited strong supply and muted demand for...Read More
Both copper and zinc's three-month prices on the London Metal Exchange were elevated during morning trading on Tuesday June 25, breaching the nearby resistance levels while a weaker US dollar index fueled further buying momentum.The red metal's three-month price has been trading in a narrow range between $5,900-6,000 per tonne over June, while physical market participants continue to indicate a hi...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board during Asian morning trading on Tuesday June 25, with a softening dollar helping to ease the bearishness engulfing the market amid continuing geopolitical uncertainty.The dollar index, which measures the value of the US dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, fell by 0.08% to 95.93 as at 10.27am Shanghai time. This...Read More
The Commonwealth of Independent States' (CIS) export billet market has started to show signs of recovery, with market participants' sentiment positive amid increased steel prices in China and a plateau in Turkish import scrap prices."I think we have hit the bottom for now perhaps. At the end of the day, final customers are still demanding and rebar is still being sold. Let's see what level the nex...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 3.8% year-on-year drop in shipment volumes in the first four months of 2019, Eurometal said this week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Northern Europe was ?,?485-500 ($552-569) per tonne ex-works on June 19. Prices had been falling since the middle of May due to poor demand, but&nb...Read More
Most prices for flat steel products imported in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia decreased over the past week, except for hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil, while demand for material was limited, sources said on Tuesday June 25. UAE Offers for hot-rolled coil (HRC) were at around $500-510 per tonne cfr India and Japan, but no major deal was heard because of weak end-user demand. Work...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes changes to the location specification of its northern China domestic hot rolled coil price assessment.The new location will be Tangshan instead of Beijing after market participants increased their focus on Tangshan's HRC prices. This amendment will allow Fastmarkets to consider more spot liquidity within its assessment of domestic HRC prices in north China.The consultation per...Read More
Chinese vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) producers may be unable to achieve their scheduled production ramp-up plans in 2019 due to cost pressures stemming from the comparatively low V2O5 price so far this year and persistent stringent environmental inspections across the country, market sources told Fastmarkets MB. Many Chinese V2O5 producers planned to ramp up their operations in 2019, encouraged by ha...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil producers raised export prices on Tuesday June 25 amid continual gains in the domestic market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,910-3,920 yuan ($568-570) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,850-3,860 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonnePrices rose further during the day with more and more participants becoming more bullish about the market.The...Read More
Turkish steel mills remained silent in the deep-sea scrap markets amid firm offers and reduced material requirements for July, sources said on Tuesday June 25.Turkey's domestic steel producers reduced their deep-sea scrap purchases last week after booking a number of cargoes for July.Producers still need some more scrap for July shipment, however, sources said, adding that this would make supplier...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.Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreVale, tender, 100,000 tonnes of...Read More
Metallurgical coke prices in China are trending down this month, with market participants expecting further drops in the coming weeks due to steel mills' narrowing margins and ample inventories.Metallurgical coke prices have fallen by 100 yuan ($14.54) per tonne after steelmakers opposed a fourth round of price rises due to shrinking profit margins.East China's Rizhao Iron & Steel and north China'...Read More
Fastmarkets wishes to clarify the specification of the Vietnam steel scrap assessment, which is based on heavy melting scrap 1&2 of 80:20 quality.The name of this price, which from July 5 will have the symbol MB-STE-0783 exclusively associated with it, has been amended to steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam, $/tonne. The specifications for this price are as follows:Assessment: Steel...Read More