Steel billet prices in most markets declined over the week to Friday June 21, with buyers showing little interest in material while scrap prices trended lower.Fastmarkets' daily index for Northern Europe-origin scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20) was $273.10 per tonne cfr on Friday June 21, down from $283.65 per tonne cfr on the same day last week.In such conditions most customers either lowered their bids for...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday June 21 that are worth another look.Ferrous hedging was a common topic at the Steel Success Strategies XXXIV conference in New York this past week, with record-low market prices and the need to increase efficiencies continuing to mandate a new way of thinking.Tin's forward spreads on the London Metal Exchange have narrowed f...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday June 21 that are worth another look.Ferrous hedging was a common topic at the Steel Success Strategies XXXIV conference in New York this past week, with record-low market prices and the need to increase efficiencies continuing to mandate a new way of thinking.Tin's forward spreads on the London Metal Exchange have narrowed f...Read More
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East showed no sign of abating over the weekend after the United States claimed that it had carried out a cyber-attack on Iranian weapons systems in retaliation for the latter shooting down a US drone last week. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo says additional sanctions on Iran could be implemented today, but US president Donald Trump appears ready to...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 5 points in pre-opening trade. Caesars Entertainment added $1.21 to $$11.20 after agreeing to a cash and share offer by Eldorado Resorts valued at $12.75 per share. Value of the offer is estimated at $17.3 billion.United Technologies (UTX $128.75) is expected to open higher after Cowen upgraded the stock to Outperform...Read More
Fastmarkets has standardized the names of our metals and minerals prices across our product suite for ease of use and greater transparency.The aim of this exercise is to make it as easy as possible for our licensed users to identify and use our pricing data. As of two weeks from the date of this notice, all Fastmarkets price names will follow this structure, where possible: commodity + product/gra...Read More
Premiums for nickel full plate surged in China this week following an arbitrage-driven rally that saw Fastmarkets' premium assessments for the material in Shanghai hit historic highs.Fastmarkets' assessment of the premium for nickel, 99.8% purity, full plate, cif Shanghai, climbed to $350-410 per tonne on Tuesday June 18, an increase of 69% from $210-240 per tonne a week prior and the highest sinc...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange edged lower during morning trading on Friday June 21, pressured by a continued draw on the exchange's dwindling supply. Some 2,778 tonnes of full-plate nickel cathodes were freshly booked out of LME-registered warehouses this morning, prompting the downturn in price movement. The metal's futures price was still trading above the nearby $12,00...Read More
Fastmarkets has standardized the names of our metals and minerals prices across our product suite for ease of use and greater transparency.The aim of this exercise is to make it as easy as possible for our licensed users to identify and use our pricing data. As of two weeks from the date of this notice, all Fastmarkets price names will follow this structure, where possible: commodity + product/gra...Read More
Manganese ore availability in Chinese ports is tighter than high stocks suggest because market participants are avoiding selling into falling markets, which is leading to "frozen stocks," market sources report. Manganese ore prices have fallen by as much as 8% over the past month due to deteriorating sentiment, aggressive bidding and high stocks. Fastmarkets' 37% manganese ore index, cif Tianjin d...Read More
Fastmarkets has standardized the names of our metals and minerals prices across our product suite for ease of use and greater transparency.The aim of this exercise is to make it as easy as possible for our licensed users to identify and use our pricing data. As of two weeks from the date of this notice, all Fastmarkets price names will follow this structure, where possible: commodity + product/gra...Read More
The light iron market has dropped ?5 ($6.35) per tonne in the UK over the past week, on slower domestic demand and a fall in European export prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant basis was ?80-100 ($102-127) per tonne on June 21, compared with ?85-105 per tonne previously. The move follows a ste...Read More
Fastmarkets has standardized the names of our metals and minerals prices across our product suite for ease of use and greater transparency.The aim of this exercise is to make it as easy as possible for our licensed users to identify and use our pricing data. As of two weeks from the date of this notice, all Fastmarkets price names will follow this structure, where possible: commodity + product/gra...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India went down for the fourth consecutive week amid poor trading conditions, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 21.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India fell to $312.87 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday, down from $318.38 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday June 14.This is the lowest price to date...Read More
Iran's shooting down of a US drone has raised tensions in the Middle East, with gold and oil prices extending gains, while equities in Asia have weakened.Spot gold price reaches high of $1,411.90 per ozUS President Donald Trump reportedly ordered an attack on Iran, which was later aborted Asian equities weaker across the board Base metals Three-month base metals on the London Metal Exchange were f...Read More
The Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) will grant CME Group a license to use, create and list futures contracts based on the exchange's Shanghai gold benchmark PM price, CME Group said on Thursday June 20.Pending regulatory reviews, CME Group will launch two financially-settled gold futures contracts denominated in US dollars and Chinese yuan in the fourth quarter of this year, it said.The...Read More
China's domestic lithium hydroxide market weakened slightly this week while downstream buyers slowed their purchasing ahead of July, when spot consumption typically decreases in China and the prices in the rest of the world traded sideways. Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices move down slightly on slow buyingLithium carbonate prices in China flat week on week.Rest of the world prices trade side...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Turkey have moved down over the week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Turkish domestic HRC was $500-520 per tonne ex-works on Friday, compared with $520-530 per tonne ex-works a week earlier.Turkish mills have been offering the material at $520-530 per tonne ex-works, while deals and "workable prices" were r...Read More
Fastmarkets has standardized the names of our metals and minerals prices across our product suite for ease of use and greater transparency.The aim of this exercise is to make it as easy as possible for our licensed users to identify and use our pricing data. As of two weeks from the date of this notice, all Fastmarkets price names will follow this structure, where possible: commodity + product/gra...Read More
Trading was active in China's export hot-rolled coil market on June 21, with traders rushing to restock on expectations that prices will gain further. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,780-3,800 yuan ($550-553) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonne. Northern China (Tianjin): 3,770-3,780 yuan per tonne, narrowing upward 10 yuan per tonne. Prices climbed further on Friday on futures g...Read More