Swedish steelmaker SSAB has forecast that demand for heavy steel plate will remain strong in the United States in the second quarter of 2019, while in Europe "demand is expected to be somewhat weaker," it said in its quarterly results on Thursday April 25.The company, which has operations in Sweden, Finland and the US, expected steel prices to be "somewhat lower during the second quarter" for both...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market were down slightly on Thursday April 25 after a major mill in the Commonwealth of Independent States reduced its asking prices for billet to attract buyers in the region. Fastmarkets MB's daily import price for billet in Southeast Asia was $465-470 per tonne cfr Manila on Thursday, down $5 per tonne on the high end from the previous day. Bil...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil exporters lowered their prices on Thursday April 25 despite domestic prices remaining largely unchanged, partly due to limited trading activity.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,990-4,000 yuan ($594-595) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,900-3,920 yuan per tonne, unchangedAlthough prices were stable nationwide, trading was limited, with market part...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
Physical iron ore prices were rangebound on Thursday April 25 while futures transactions rose early in the day and fell later, to end moderately lower overall.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $93.50 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.05 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.28 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.05 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $95.98 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up...Read More
Major Chinese steelmaker Maanshan Iron & Steel (Magang) hopes to lead the overhaul of the Chinese ferrous scrap market by pioneering a domestic pilot project, group vice president Chen Zhaoqi said at the 12th China International Metal Recycling Conference 2019 in Zhuhai, China on April 25.Magang is planning 10 million tonnes per year of new ferrous scrap capacity across 10 ferrous scrap processing...Read More
The seaborne coking coal spot market was largely stable on Thursday April 25 amid little change in offers and bids as participants awaited the conclusion of a miner's tender later this week.A cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal, scheduled for loading June 1-10, changed hands at $203 per tonne fob Australia, according to various sources. Meanwhile, a top Australian brand was offered at $207 p...Read More
Japan has increased its ferrous scrap exports to non-traditional markets on expectations of an oversupply of ferrous scrap from 2020 after the current wave of demand from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games ends, Genkichi Ando, chairman of the international network committee from the Japan Iron & Steel Recycling Institute, said this week.Japan started ferrous scrap exports to countries such as Bangladesh...Read More
Lead prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange outperformed with an increase of 1.2% during morning trading on Thursday April 25 amid optimism over US-China trade talks next week and the metal's solid fundamentals.US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to China on April 30 to resume trade negotiations, according to a statement issued by the White...Read More
Alloy-grade cobalt prices maintained their premium over standard-grade during the first half of this week amid a limited supply of cut cathode for spot market inquiries. Fastmarkets assessed the standard-grade cobalt price at $15.90-16.95 per lb, in-warehouse, on Wednesday April 24, up 1.5% from the previous week's assessment. Alloy-grade metal continued to trade at a premium but saw sli...Read More
China National Corporation for Overseas Economic Cooperation (CCOEC) won 34.64 tonnes of indium in Fanya Metal Exchange's second auction - ended at 10am Beijing time on Thursday April 25 - Fastmarkets understands from the official auction result posted on the Alibaba judicial online platform.As the only bidder at the auction, CCOEC took the indium at a price of 37.4112 million yuan ($5.57 million)...Read More
Fastmarkets has amended the minimum tonnage of its Chinese domestic indium price assessment to 100 kilograms to better reflect the dynamics of the market. The adjustment, effective Wednesday April 24, was made based on both market feedback and the internal data analysis during the consultation period.The goal of a minimum tonnage is to exclude any deal that, because of its small size or high price...Read More
Chinese cobalt sulfate prices were unchanged mid-week after their retreat on Friday April 19, but waning buyer interest and concerns over the surplus dynamics of key raw material cobalt hydroxide will continue to weigh on cobalt sulfate prices, market participants told Fastmarkets MB.Fastmarkets MB assessed the Chinese cobalt sulfate price at 51,000-54,000 yuan ($7,587- 8,033) per tonne on April 2...Read More
Capacity expansions among silicon producers in China's Xinjiang province and soft demand from the downstream secondary aluminium sector have combined to put the Chinese silicon market under pressure, Fastmarkets heard at Antaike's 2019 China Industry Silicon Conference on Wednesday April 24."Since the beginning of the year, prices for grade-553 silicon have been weakening - this despite southern C...Read More
Falling UG2 chrome ore prices in April have been partly caused by ferro-chrome smelters in China selling their raw material back to the market, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' UG2 chrome ore index, cif China, has dropped every week so far in April and stands at $169 per tonne as of Tuesday April 23, down from $186 per tonne on March 29. The smelters are understood to have bought too much ma...Read More
China's stainless steel prices dropped slightly over the past week as sellers focused on destocking amid weak demand.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,000-14,500 yuan ($2,083-2,157) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday April 24, widening downward 100 yuan per tonne from 14,100-14,50...Read More
China will continue to increase its ferrous scrap utilization rates as part of its "Blue Sky" environmental protection policies from 2019, Ma Hongchang, advisor at the Bureau of International Recycling said at the 12th China International Metal Recycling Conference 2019 in Zhuhai, China, this week."China will continue to promote the use of ferrous scrap in the coming years, especially through incr...Read More
Generally London Metal Exchange prices have been weak in recent days and the strong dollar has been a factor in that, but dip-buying appears to be providing support in morning trading on Friday April 26. Base metals Base metals prices on the LME were for the most part firmer across the board this morning, with copper, nickel, zinc and lead prices up by either side of 0.6%, while aluminiu...Read More
Following is a link:http://www.equityclock.com/2019/04/25/stock-market-outlook-for-april-26-2019/Note seasonality chart on Durable Goods OrdersObservationTechnicals on China deteriorated. Shanghai Composite broke below its 20 day moving average, short term momentum indicators turned lower and strength relative to the S&P 500 Index turned negative. Related North American equities (Materials, En...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 24.Please click...Read More