Prices for flat steel products imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have remained stable over the past week, with levels of demand low but consistent, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday April 16.Demand among end-users has been weak, so buyers were unwilling to place orders for large tonnages, sources told Fastmarkets.Stock levels were low in both countries so, if prices were to start...Read More
The Commonwealth of Independent States export slab price slid by mid-April on pressure from the weakening finished flat-steel market in both the CIS and the global market due to subdued buying activity, Fastmarkets learned.Recent slab offers from CIS to Turkey were heard at $500 per tonne cfr, equivalent to $485 per tonne fob Black Sea, while the latest sales to Europe were all finalized at the sa...Read More
Chinese steel mills are ignoring low bids from overseas buyers on expectations of continued strength in China's domestic market over the remainder of April, sources told Fastmarkets MB this week.Expectations of a supply drop have also improved sentiment in the spot market.Steel prices in China have been on an upward climb since the end of the Lunar New Year. Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in east...Read More
China's domestic rebar market participants had mixed reactions toward futures losses on Tuesday April 16. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,050-4,130 yuan ($604-616) per tonne, widened by 10-20 yuan per tonne on both endsNorthern China (Beijing): 4,040-4,060 yuan per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonneRebar futures fell during the day, market participants responded to it differently. Some of them co...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to follow the downward trend on Tuesday April 16, while the seaborne spot market remained thin. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.78 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.64 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.56 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.64 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $96.70 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.87 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Pr...Read More
The cfr China segment of the seaborne premium hard coking coal market picked up some strength on Tuesday April 16 after a steelmaker snapped up several available cargoes.A Panamax shipment of a top Australian brand that is on its way to China was sold at $203.50 per tonne cfr China, both counterparties confirmed to Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 16.A Capesize shipment of premium mid-vol hard coking...Read More
Australian miner Rio Tinto has reduced its 2019 iron ore production guidance to 333-343 million tonnes, from 338-350 million tonnes, 100% basis, as estimated at the end of fourth quarter of 2018.The lower production guidance was due to a slower ramp up and ongoing disruptions to shipments caused by weather and other disruptions, the miner said. Most of Rio Tinto's iron ore output originates from t...Read More
A summary of Rio Tinto's production results for the three months ended March 31, 2019, as well as its full-year production guidance.In brief Iron ore production at the company's Pilbara operations in Western Australia totaled 67 million tonnes (100% basis) in January-March 2019, 9% lower than the same period of 2018 after production was disrupted by tropical cyclone Veronica in March and a fire at...Read More
Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners (ECTP) moved closer to exiting London Metal Exchange warehousing operations on Tuesday April 16, with the sale of its European sheds and stocks to Dutch logistics company Kloosterboer.The purchaser is well known for its juice-processing facilities but as yet has only a small presence in the metals markets."Kloosterboer is now especially active in fruit juice,...Read More
Fastmarkets' alumina index fob Australia fell to its lowest in over two months on April 16 due to continued extra cargoes in the market and positive news surrounding Alunorte's restart.The daily fob Australia alumina index fell to $354.85 per tonne today, down 3.9% from the previous day and 11.3% lower week on week from when the index was at $411.29 per tonne.Key driversIndex pushes lower after a...Read More
The Comex copper price staged a modest rebound in US morning trading on Tuesday April 16 with the market waiting for a new catalyst to sustain solid price direction. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded 0.35 cents to $2.9385 per lb. The contract has been unable to set solid price momentum over the past few weeks with prices rising...Read More
The Fanya Exchange will auction 34.64 tonnes of the indium stock it holds in its warehouse on April 24, after the first auction in January failed to attract any bidders. The stock will be auctioned via Alibaba judicial online platform at 10am Beijing time on April 24 and 10am Beijing time on April 25. The starting price of this new lot is 1,080 yuan ($160) per kg, excluding VAT and storage costs....Read More
Trading across most of the metals is relatively quiet in early morning on Tuesday April 16 and the market seems to be waiting for fresh direction, which we think means the market is waiting for a US/China trade deal. Before that, today's ZEW and US industrial production data may provide direction, as too will tomorrow's Chinese GDP data. Asian equities are stronger this morning, suggests a ri...Read More
The UG2 chrome ore price fell again on Friday April 12 after activity lessened due to market participants waiting for Chinese mills' next ferro-chrome tender releases; meanwhile falling demand pushed down the high-carbon ferro-chrome assessment in Europe. UG2 and Turkish lumpy ore prices in China drop Domestic alloy price in China weakens Alloy markets in Japan, South Korea, Europe fa...Read More
China's largest steel mill, Hebei Steel, has concluded its ferro-silicon tenders for March and April at levels below those released at the start of the year and close to alloy production costs. Hebei Steel's latest tender price for April is 6,250 yuan ($932.14) per tonne, for about 2,775 tonnes of ferro-silicon, according to sources. Hebei Steel's tender price for March was 6,200 yuan per tonne fo...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures added 7 points in pre-opening trade. Futures responded to encouraging first quarter economic news released by China in overnight trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the February U.S. Trade Deficit report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was $53.7 billion versus $51.1 billion in January. Actual was $49.4...Read More
The US government has proposed new import duties of up to 100% on a wide range of products from the European Union, as a countermeasure for sales lost by the US aerospace industry due to EU subsidies paid to Airbus, the US Trade Representative said in a notice published in the Federal Register on Friday April 12.In a preliminary list, the USTR named a variety of goods that would be subject to...Read More
Movements in base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Monday April 15, with continued weakness in the US dollar index doing little to spur buying activity while low volumes continued to indicate risk-aversion.The three-month nickel price fell to its lowest level since March 28 in the afternoon, dipping to $12,860 per tonne before closing at $12,991 per...Read More
Peruvian copper mine Las Bambas restarted concentrates transportation to the Matarani port on April 13 after operations normalized following the end of a two-month roadblock, major shareholder MMG said on Monday April 15. Since the blockade ended, Las Bambas began restoring critical supplies and increasing staff numbers to resume normal operations, MMG added The mine entered an agreement with the...Read More
There were six key points for delegates of the minor metals community to take away from a busy week of meetings in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA) Conference on April 9-11.1. Sentiment in minor metals remains gloomy...While global uncertainty and oversupply continued to weigh on minor metals price sentiment in 2019, with prices for some materials at multi-year lo...Read More