The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe has narrowed upward by ?,?15 per tonne over the past week with some Italian mills raising their previously low offers, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 17.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe was ?,?500-510 ($565-576) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, up from ?,?485-510 per to...Read More
The price range for domestic mesh-quality wire rod produced and delivered in Southern Europe has widened downward by ?,?10 per tonne week on week, with mills reducing their offers, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 17.Fastmarkets' assessment of the EU domestic mesh-quality wire rod price in Southern Europe was ?,?525-550 ($593-621) per tonne on April 17, down from ?,?535-550...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for May deliveries, and the prices of the latest cargoes confirmed the upward market direction, sources said on Wednesday April 17.A steel producer in Northern Turkey booked a European cargo, comprising 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $307 per tonne cfr.The prices of each grade were c...Read More
Iron ore prices continued to retreat on Wednesday April 17 following news that Vale was permitted to resume operations at its Brucutu mine in Brazil, with capacity for 30 million tonnes per year.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $93.23 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.55 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.01 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.55 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumi...Read More
BHP has lowered its iron ore production guidance and raised costs expectations for the 2019 financial year amid disruption to operations caused by a cyclone that hit the west coast of Australia last month.The miner expects its iron ore operations to produce 265-270 million tonnes (at 100% basis) in the 2019 financial year, down 4.6% from its earlier estimate of around 273-283 million tonnes. The l...Read More
Prices for billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates were stable this week amid continuing weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 16.Domestic rebar Local rebar producers in the UAE kept their prices unchanged for May production, with demand expected to remain poor due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starting early in the month. Observance of Ramadan among Muslim communities...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices dipped on Wednesday April 17 amid higher selling interest among traders. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,050-4,100 yuan ($603-611) per tonne, narrowed downward by 30 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 4,030-4,060 yuan per tonne, widened downward by 10 yuan per tonneRebar traders lowered their prices slightly during the day to secure more sales. The lower pr...Read More
Ferro-silicon prices in the Chinese domestic market held steady last week despite elevated April tender prices from steel mills, while export offers in the country sank due to an influx of imported material into Asian markets. Meanwhile, US ferro-silicon prices softened slightly amid low levels of spot activity. Chinese domestic ferro-silicon prices stable despite higher April mill tender prices C...Read More
Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in both Northern and Southern Europe remained stable this week ahead of the Easter holiday when reduced trading is expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 17. Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe was unchanged week on week on Wednesday April 17 at ?,?630-640...Read More
The United States Department of Commerce will impose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 37.65% and 43.73% on imports of China-made steel wheels in diameters of 12.0-16.5 inches, it has announced.Commerce will instruct the US Customs and Border Protection agency to collect this money as a deposit from importers, it said. These fees will be refunded if final assessments conclude that the exports hav...Read More
The number of new passenger car registrations in the EU decreased by 3.93% year-on-year in March 2019.This made it the seventh consecutive month of decline, the European Automotive Manufacturers Assn (ACEA) said on Wednesday April 17.New car sales in Europe totalled 1,722,442 units in March 2019, down from 1,792,880 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of 2018."Demand decreased in all the majo...Read More
BHP has lowered its iron ore production guidance and raised costs expectations for the 2019 financial year amid disruption to operations caused by a cyclone that hit the west coast of Australia last month.The miner expects its iron ore operations to produce 265-270 million tonnes (at 100% basis) in the 2019 financial year, down 4.6% from its earlier estimate of around 273-283 million tonnes. The l...Read More
A court decision has paved the way for Vale to completely resume operations at its 30-million-tonnes-per-year Brucutu mine, in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais.But the miner - the world's biggest iron ore producer - is maintaining its sales guidance for the steelmaking raw material despite this latest development, due to bad weather affecting production at its Northern System."The Minas...Read More
The state court of Minas Gerais (TJMG), in Brazil's southeastern region, partially suspended on Tuesday April 16 a previous injunction that was keeping Vale's Brucutu iron ore mine halted.The decision came after a request from the municipality of S??o Gon??alo do Rio Baixo, where the mine is located.The Brazilian miner shouldn't be prohibited from running the operations, as that could "severely hu...Read More
The latest ferro-tungsten and ammonium paratungstate (APT) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe, Vietnam and China, with blue tungsten oxide (BTO) and yellow tungsten oxide (YTO) deals taken into consideration.To view the latest price assessments, please follow the links below: China - APT, fob China- Ferro-tungsten, fob China Europe - APT, cif Rotterdam- Ferro-tungsten, in-warehou...Read More
The outlook for domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Europe remained negative, although they have been largely stable in the week ended Wednesday April 17, sources have told Fastmarkets.Domestic HRC prices in Europe have been under pressure from limited trading activity and they were expected to gradually decline, according to market participants."The market is showing a trend in a negativ...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange climbed above $6,600 per tonne at the close of trading on Wednesday April 17, buoyed by strong GDP figures out of China while a softer dollar index below the psychological level of 97 supported afternoon buying.Volumes traded in the red metal reached their highest level since March 22 over the day, with more than 24,000 lots changing hands by...Read More
Chinese nickel premiums strengthened on Tuesday April 16 due to optimism that the import window will open, while the European nickel briquette premium softened on bearish sentiment. Chinese premiums strengthen ahead of import window opening European briquette premium slides on bearish sentiment US premiums hold firm, retain previous gains Chinese premiums rise to meet import window open...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 17 that are worth another look.Precious metals prices would support zinc and lead mining even if the global markets crashed, including those for base metals, panelists said at Fastmarkets' International Lead & Zinc Conference in London on Tuesday April 16. Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange...Read More
Low-grade manganese ore prices have held relatively steady since rebounding from this year's lows in January, when market participants toned down fears of oversupply in the alloy market. Normally volatile low-grade manganese ore prices have held relatively steady since rebounding from this year's lows in January, after which market participants toned down fears of oversupply in the alloy market. F...Read More