European steelmakers have called on the region's policy-makers to take immediate action to strengthen the safeguard measures for the steel industry, with effect from July 1.The call was made in an open letter signed by the chief executive officers of 45 EU steel companies, and was dated Monday June 3."Europe's steel industry is in crisis because of external factors, yet as a strategic sector it un...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil declined in the week to Tuesday June 4 after some traders entered into short-selling positions amid bearish sentiment in the flat steel market, market sources said. However, buyers refrained from making any bookings on expectations of further price declines, market sources said. Cold rolled coil Fastmarkets MB's weekly...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices continued to weaken on Tuesday June 4, which led exporters to lower their offers as well.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,880-3,890 yuan ($562-563) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,800-3,820 yuan per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonnePrices continued to drop with thin trading reported in eastern China. Mills kept their offers sta...Read More
China's rebar prices fell further on Tuesday June 4 in both the domestic and export markets amid attempts by sellers to secure orders.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,950 yuan ($565-572) per tonne, down 30-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,820-3,870 yuan per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneStockists are mostly pessimistic about demand in the spot market over the next month or two...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic,...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products.Latest transaction: rebar, wire rodRebar East China, domestic, grade III 16-25mm...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transaction: billetBillet China,...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, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), 170,000 tonnes of 62%...Read More
Seaborne coking coal spot prices continued to trend downward on Tuesday June 4 amid deteriorating sentiment in the market.Offers in the cfr China segment were mostly unrevised, however, according to various sources."We are still waiting for interested buyers or indicative bids. If there is no interest from end users, it would be pointless to lower our offers," a Chinese trading source said.A secon...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 6 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved lower following release of the May ADP Employment Report at 8:15 AM EDT. Consensus was 173,000 versus 275,000 in April. Actual was 27,000.Salesforce.com gained $4.39 to $155.20 after the company reported higher than consensus first quarter earnings. The company also rai...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange continued to move downward at the close of trading on Monday June 3, with market participants indicating a corrective price move.At the same time, commodity investment remained subdued on the threat of new tariffs to be imposed on Mexico by the United States.Volumes traded in the galvanizing metal reached their highest level since April 16, wit...Read More
Key data from the June 3 pricing session in London and Shanghai. Key drivers: Fastmarkets' daily fob Australia alumina index stabilized just above $360 per tonne amid recent steady buying interest from China, where buyers have been covering units required as...Read More
The lead import arbitrage in China re-opened in May causing lead concentrate imports to rise and lead concentrate treatment charges (TCs) to tumble, while spot terms for zinc concentrates stabilized. Fastmarkets' TCs index for low-silver lead concentrates dropped to a 19-month low of $5-15 per tonne on a cif China basis on Friday May 31, from $15-35 per tonne at the end of April. Several deal...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday June 3 that are worth another look.In copper, Chile's state-owned producer Codelco halted part of its operation at the El Teniente mine following an accident on Sunday June 2. Separately, Aurubis has entered into a long-term supply contract with Teck Resources to source concentrates over a 10-year period from the s...Read More
Key data from the June 3 pricing session in London and Shanghai. Key drivers: Fastmarkets' daily fob Australia alumina index stabilized just above $360 per tonne amid recent steady buying interest from China, where buyers have been covering units required as...Read More
The lead import arbitrage in China re-opened in May causing lead concentrate imports to rise and lead concentrate treatment charges (TCs) to tumble, while spot terms for zinc concentrates stabilized. Fastmarkets' TCs index for low-silver lead concentrates dropped to a 19-month low of $5-15 per tonne on a cif China basis on Friday May 31, from $15-35 per tonne at the end of April. Several deal...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday May 31.ChinaThe Chinese domestic antimony price continued to fall for the fourth consecutive week after some domestic suppliers' lowered prices further to spark buying interest. Many Chinese antimony consumers remained wary of restocking in anticipation of a further price dip in the coming weeks. Some domestic antimony...Read More
After briefly stabilizing at a recent high of $16.35-17.05 per lb following a rise since late March, the standard-grade cobalt benchmark price started to retreat in mid-May amid slowing consumer demand and sellers' profit-taking.Price moves Fastmarkets' standard-grade metal benchmark price fell 4.5% to $15.35-16.10 per lb on May 29, following several mild drops at the beginning of May after some s...Read More
Fastmarkets will roll over its Turkey domestic ferrous scrap prices on Monday June 3 because the country extended the Eid al-Fitr public holiday to last the entire week of Monday June 3 to Friday June 7. The holiday had originally been scheduled to begin on Tuesday June 4 this year. The prices affected are Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap in lira per tonne delivered and Turkish domestic mel...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap markets started the week quietly with many market participants absent for the week-long post-Ramadan public holiday of Eid al-Fitr, sources said on Monday June 3.The market was expected to be almost inactive for the rest of the week. The holiday marks the end of the period of abstinence for Ramadan.The latest known trade was heard late on...Read More