A sale of CIS-origin slab to Italy was heard agreed last week at a price lower than in other recent deals, sending the CIS export slab price assessment downward on Monday April 1.A cargo containing 25,000-30,000 tonnes of Ukrainian slab was reported sold to Italy at $510-512 per tonne cfr, equivalent to around $490 per tonne fob Black Sea. But market participants had expected such a development.Th...Read More
Turkey's flat steel exports increased by 38.12% year on year in February 2019 amid increased demand in Europe, according to the latest figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).Yet current demand for flat steel is weak in the country's key export markets, so export volumes may decrease in the next few months, Turkish market participants told Fastmarkets.Turkish producers have been offe...Read More
Prices for shipbreaing scrap prices in Turkey have gone down slightly this week with one steel mill reducing its buying prices, but auto bundle scrap prices remained stable over the past week, sources said on Monday April 1.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Turkish domestic melting scrap from shipbreaking was $320-325 per tonne on April 1, narrowing downward from the $320-330 per tonne deli...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to hold back from the deep-sea scrap markets to watch which way the market moves after the mayoral elections held across the country yesterday, sources said on Monday April 1.The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has claimed victories in the coastal Aegean and Mediterranean provinces, as well as in major cities including Istanbul. It also claims to have...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 oreVale, Global...Read More
Iron ore prices continued to strengthen on Monday April 1 on more news about supply disruptions.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $88.69 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.88 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $87.81 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.88 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $90.23 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.41 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $79.86 per tonne cfr Qingdao...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrate prices softened further and pellet prices strengthened a bit in the week ended Friday March 29. Trading remained inactive for both.ConcentrateThe weekly MB 66% Fe Iron Ore Concentrate Index stood at $96.73 per tonne cfr China on Friday, down by $0.90 per tonne from a week earlier.The daily MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index averaged $97 per tonne cfr China last week compared wi...Read More
The weakness in the seaborne coking coal spot market persisted on Monday April 1 with participants anticipating further price decreases."End users are staying by the sidelines mostly because the market is still in a downtrend. This, coupled with the short-term uncertainties in the coke market, means seaborne coking coal prices will not get too much support," a...Read More
Rio Tinto has issued a warning over a possible iron ore output loss of 14 million tonnes due to disruptions to its production in Australia caused by a cyclone that hit the country's west coast last month.The miner said on Monday April 1 that it was expecting its Pilbara iron ore shipments in 2019 to be at the lower end of its 338-350 million tonnes guidance.The miner last week declared force majeu...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were all higher during morning trading on Monday April 1 after being boosted by forecast-beating manufacturing data from China.Optimism about a potential Sino-US trade deal and low stocks in many of the metals also continue to bolster sentiment. The three-month nickel price rose furthest and is now trading comfortably above $13,200 per tonne, up by a...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped slightly on Monday April 1 but trading activity was higher than in previous days.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,850 yuan ($571-574) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,770-3,790 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneTrading was robust in the morning when prices were around 3,830 yuan per tonne in Shanghai, which motiv...Read More
Better Chinese manufacturing data has surprised the market and boosted three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange by an average of 1% this morning, Monday April 1.Nickel led the way with a 2.2% gain to $13,285 per tonne, up from Friday's close at $12,995 per tonne, while tin was the laggard with a 0.4% gain. Aluminium, zinc and lead were all up by 0.9%, while copper was up by 0.7%...Read More
Fastmarkets will cease the daily publication of its physical arbitrage for imports of copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel into China from April 1, 2019. The data will still appear in Fastmarkets' price book on a daily basis as usual, however.Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for imports into China daily by using the Shanghai Futures Exchange front-month and London Metal Exchange three-m...Read More
The United States has challenged European Union proposals to label titanium dioxide and cobalt as carcinogens on free-trade grounds. A communication issued by the US delegation to the World Trade Organization (WTO) dated March 21 raised concerns that the new labeling could represent a non-tariff barrier to trade. The delegation said that the new rules could be "unnecessarily disruptive to billions...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai in the week ended Friday March 29. China Key drivers Some suppliers cut their offers for grade 553 silicon to stimulate sales interest after subdued demand abroad combined with fierce competition from off-grade materials.Tighter supply for grade 553 could cap the decline; some southern Chinese refiners have not resumed their operations due...Read More
Antimony prices in China and Europe fell across the board in the week ended Friday March 29, with consumers putting off procurement until after the April 1 when the Chinese manufacturing sector will have their value-added tax rate cut to 13%, leading to lower costs, sources said. The Chinese antimony price continued its downward trajectory for the fifth consecutive week after producers failed to s...Read More
Cobalt prices rose for the first time since late October 2018 at the end of March with traders and consumers restocking. Fastmarkets' benchmark standard-grade cobalt price assessment was $13.75-14.40 per lb, in-warehouse, on Friday March 29, up 2.2% from the previous $13.30-14.25 per lb on March 27, when they had risen 5 cents at the high end of the range. Fastmarkets' pri...Read More
South Korea's government and major steelmaker Posco both oppose China's ongoing stainless steel anti-dumping investigation and claim that no trade measures should be imposed because Korean exports do not damage the Chinese domestic industry.Hot-rolled stainless steel produced in South Korea has significantly different applications, materials and prices from those of Chinese products, thus there is...Read More
The Chinese ferro-silicon price moved up in the past week in line with upstream costs while suppliers look to new consumer tenders expected in the coming days; new quarterly settlements have weighed on the spot market in Europe. China heads higher on upstream costs Chinese suppliers expect April consumer delivery tenders Europe dragged down on second-quarter deals US market rema...Read More
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