Prices in the UK's light iron market were unchanged week on week on Friday May 31 despite the uncertainty caused by a fluctuating Turkish scrap market, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant basis was ?85-105 ($107-133) per tonne on May 31, steady week on week."There was no change to prices this week. Prices in Turkey went up, and then...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap markets remained silent at the end of the week because there was no demand in the United States for Turkey-origin finished steel materials, sources said on Friday May 31.Turkish steel producers had resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases at the end of the last week for a short-lived buying spree, after the US reduced its import duty on Turkey-origin products to the pre-ex...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell further on Friday May 31 amid losses in the futures and steel markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $101.60 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $2.27 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $100.08 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $2.27 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $105.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $2.13 per tonne.MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $94.55 pe...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices have ended this week lower, and expectations are rife that the market would weaken further, which prompted buyers to sit things out on Friday May 31.The Fastmarkets MB fob Australia Premium Hard Coking Coal Index stood at $201.59 per tonne during the day, unchanged from a day earlier but down 1.3% from that on Monday.The Fastmarkets MB cfr China Premium Hard Coking Coal...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped again on Friday May 31, with pessimism growing amid expectations of higher output over the next few days amid stagnant demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,930-3,950 yuan ($569-572) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,840-3,860 yuan per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneTrading was reported to be "merely moderate" during the day e...Read More
China's rebar prices resumed its downtrend on Friday May 31 amid declining futures, though the outlook for the market over the next week remains mixed.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,940-3,980 yuan ($570-576) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,880-3,950 yuan per tonne, narrowed down 10-40 yuan per tonneTrading activity during the day was thinner than that on Thursday...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday May 31:Minor metals Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $6,600-6,800 per tonne from $6,600-6,850Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $6,450-6,650 per tonne from $6,500-6,700Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 40,500-42,000 yuan per tonne from 41,500-44,000 yuanCadmium MB free market min 99.95%, cents/lb: 120-130 cents fr...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Fastmarkets has amended the specifications of its standard-grade cobalt price assessment to include grade-1 and grade-2 Norilsk cut cathodes within its list of accepted cobalt brands. Fastmarkets has amended the specifications of its standard-grade cobalt price assessment to include grade-1 and grade-2 Norilsk cut cathodes within its list of accepted cobalt brands. Market feedback suggests both gr...Read More
An overview of the noble alloys markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Transaction prices for grade-304 stainless steel sheet narrowed lower this week ahead of lower alloy surcharges officially taking effect from June 1, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 31. Fastmarkets' price assessment for grade-304 cold-rolled stainless steel sheet was ?,?2,200-2,260 ($2,449-2,516) per tonne delivered to Northern Europe on Friday, down by ?,?40 per tonne on the high side from...Read More
Hebei Steel, China's largest steel mill, has kept its purchase price for silico-manganese unchanged at 7,600 yuan ($1,099) per tonne for June delivery, with suppliers trying to maintain higher offers amid rebounding prices in both the spot and futures markets, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.Hebei Steel, as the majority of market participants had expected, initially bid at 7,500 yuan per tonne...Read More
Vietnamese steelmakers booked H2-grade scrap from Japan this week, snubbing offers from the United States and Europe while they await price drops for materials from these two sources as well as in Turkey.But in Taiwan, tight supply of the steelmaking raw material in the island's domestic market led to mills there continuing to snap up US cargoes of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20).VietnamThe weekly...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange remained low at the close of trading on Thursday May 30, with its price action capped by a sizable inflow into LME-registered warehouses, while US dollar strength and trade tensions continue to hang over commodity investment. The red metal's three-month price closed the day's trading session at $5,852 per tonne on Thursday May 30. Just u...Read More
Chinese stainless-steel producer Tsingshan Holding Group plans to set-up a cold-rolling mill with an annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year in Busan, South Korea, and has submitted letters of intent to the city government and potential business partners, Chinese market sources told Fastmarkets.Domestic suppliers may raise concerns about Tsingshan's plans because South Korea currently consumes...Read More
Dafydd Davies has joined TradeCloud as marketing executive to expand its presence in Europe and the Americas, the company said on Wednesday May 29.Launched in October 2017, TradeCloud is a digital metals trading platform where producers, consumers and traders can meet to exchange information, negotiate contracts and...Read More
Workers belonging to three trade unions at Codelco's Chuquicamata division voted to go on strike when they rejected the latest contract proposal from the Chilean state-owned copper miner, the unions said on Wednesday May 29.The company and the unions both have the option, within four days, to ask authorities to mediate negotiation on a new contract of employment for workers at the mine. Once media...Read More
Cambodia's Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone is over a thousand miles from China, but you would not know it to be there.Cut into a landscape of thick jungle and paddy fields, the area - which touts itself as a landmark Belt and Road project - is a mass of freshly built white factory buildings emblazoned with names such as Fangyuan Factory, Qingdao Baoli Textile and Jinchenyuan.There runs Kinnric...Read More
Antimony prices in both Chinese and European markets have dropped significantly so far this year due to weak demand and bearish sentiment caused by factors led by rising trade tension between China and the United States, the world's two largest economies. Fastmarkets' European and Chinese antimony prices have fallen by more than 15% and 21% respectively in the year to date. Fastmarkets presents th...Read More