Turkey's biggest steel producer, Erdemir Group, has reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) for the first three months of 2019 of TRY1.733 billion ($291.3 million*).This was up by 3.82% from TRY1.669 billion for the corresponding period in 2018.The group sold 1.888 million tonnes of flat steel products in January-March 2019, down by 2.53% from the 1.937 mil...Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in China may not have room to move much higher because a further 31.05 million tonnes per year of capacity will come onstream in 2019, market sources in the country told Fastmarkets this week.At least 13 HRC production lines were scheduled for start-up in 2019, and two of these started operations last month at the Hebei Zongheng Iron & Steel Group in northern China...Read More
Domestic rebar producers in the UAE maintained their prices this week while the cost of rebar and billet imports edged up after buyers accepted higher offers due to low stock levels, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 30.Domestic rebar Local rebar producers in the UAE kept their prices unchanged for May production material, with demand expected to remain poor due to the Islamic holy month o...Read More
German metals distributor Kl??ckner expects its 2019 earnings to be negatively affected by "declining demand" and weaker steel prices, it said on Tuesday April 30."Against the background of unexpected... negative price effects and declining demand developments - especially in the [EU] automotive business," Kl??ckner expects its operating income to fall to ?,?50-60 million for the second quarter, d...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil were mostly stable during the week ended on Tuesday April 30 due to lackluster demand in overseas markets.Buying interest in Southeast Asia was muted over the week due to the uncertainty caused by the elections in Indonesia and the Philippines, a market source in Tianjin said. Cold rolled coilFastmarkets MB's weekly export p...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 oreRio Tinto, tender, 190,000 tonnes of 61%...Read More
Physical iron ore trading slowed on Tuesday April 30 ahead of the May Day holiday in China on May 1-4, while prices strengthened on news of production restrictions on mills in Tangshan.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.17 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.12 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.37 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $97.27 per ton...Read More
The seaborne coking coal spot market was stable on Tuesday April 30 amid thin trading ahead of a three-day Labor Day break in China."Our indicative offers for premium hard coking coal were around $207-209 per tonne cfr China since last Friday but they failed to garner much interest. We will offer our cargoes again next week, after the public holiday in China," a Chinese trader said.The Port of Jin...Read More
Fastmarkets has amended its direct reduced (DR)-grade iron ore pellet premium Middle East reference.Following a one month consultation period and from April 30, Fastmarkets will use its 65% Fe Brazilian Fines Index, cfr Qingdao (MBIOI-65-BZ) as the base price for its direct reduced (DR)-grade iron ore pellet premium Middle East reference.Previously, Fastmarkets' 62% Fe Fines Index, cfr Qingdao (MB...Read More
Brazil's Vale has appointed Eduardo Bartolomeo as its chief executive officer, succeeding Fabio Schvartsman.The Brazilian miner's board of directors confirmed the appointment of the senior executive at a meeting on Monday April 29. With 10 years of experience in...Read More
With LME Asia Week fast approaching, Fastmarkets MB takes an in-depth look at one of the topics likely to dominate discussions at this year's event: What is keeping aluminium prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange elevated following the cut to China's value-added tax (VAT) early in April?The SHFE's front-month aluminium price climbed to its highest since October 2018 at 14,225 yuan ($2,113) per t...Read More
Zinc stocks held in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouse were down by 9.21% week on week on Tuesday April 30 due to supply constraints and an increase in stockpiling prior to the May Day holiday in China over the rest of this week.SHFE zinc stocks totaled 72,090 tonnes on April 30, down from 79,399 tonnes on April 26, which reflects a tight domestic market while imports can only be made at...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices strengthened further on Tuesday April 30 after word about possible steelmaking restrictions in the steelmaking hub of Tangshan circulated in the market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,050-4,060 yuan ($601-603) per tonne, up 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,930-3,940 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneA domestic steel consultancy reported that Tangsha...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange continued its decline during morning trading on Tuesday April 30, continuing to trade at its lowest level since January while its total volumes traded led the complex with more than 5,000 lots changing hands as of 9:30am London time. The light metal's three-month price reached a low of $1,815 per tonne over the morning session, down by mor...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the specifications of its benchmark in-warehouse Rotterdam price assessments to incorporate grade-1 and grade-2 Norilsk cut cathodes within its list of accepted cobalt brands. According to preliminary market feedback, grade-1 and grade-2 cobalt cut cathodes produced by Norilsk are now commonly accepted by consumers of cobalt and are regularly traded in the spot market...Read More
A summary of Glencore's production results for the three-month period ended on March 31, 2019, as well as its adjusted full-year production guidance.In brief Glencore produced 320,700 tonnes of copper content in the form of copper metal, copper anodes and copper concentrates in the first three months of 2019, down by 7% from 345,400 tonnes during January-March of 2018. The company attributed the 7...Read More
A sharp increase in manganese ore production from Ghana since early last year has led to increasing volumes of the ore being sold as raw material for China's manganese alloy market, in addition to its traditional application, manganese metal, market sources told Fastmarkets.The world's largest manganese metal producer, China's Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry Co (TMI), agreed in 2016 to buy Jer...Read More
Manganese alloy prices decrease again in China amid thin buying and deteriorating sentiment over rising stocks, Fastmarkets learned. Import and port manganese ore prices down in China Silico-manganese weakens, lower tenders expected Indian silico-manganese price range narrows on higher offers European alloy prices hold US manganese alloys slideManganese ores prices weakened in China on Friday Apri...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part treading water this morning, Tuesday April 30, while the market digests the disappointing Chinese data released earlier. This, combined with the fact that many Asian market participants are away for holidays this week, is likely to lead to subdued trading - but reduced liquidity could also lead to increased volatility.China's m...Read More
U.S. equity indices moved higher this morning. S&P 500 futures advanced 9 points in pre-opening trade.Traders are waiting for news from the FOMC meeting to be released at 2:00 PM EDT. The Federal Reserve is expected to maintain the Fed Fund rate at 2.50%.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the ADP Private Employment Report released at 8:15 AM EDT. Consensus was an incre...Read More