Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly range-bound at the close of trading on Thursday March 28, with continued strength in the dollar deterring commodity investment while weaker-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) figures from the United States continued to indicate economic contraction.Nickel's three-month price was the biggest downward mover of the day, closing once...Read More
Prices in the US copper market continued to push upward on Thursday March 28, with macroeconomic data outweighing recent growth in market participants' bearish speculative positioning.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up by 1.15 cents to $2.8745 per lb on Thursday.On the technical side, the net speculative length has declined marke...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were stable on Thursday March 28, with market participants awaiting the outcome of a miner's tender for direction.A cargo of second-tier hard coking coal was heard offered at $186 per tonne cfr China. The was no word of the cargo being sold by 6pm, the data collection cut-off time for the Fastmarkets MB daily coking coal indices.In the premium hard coking coal segment,...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices remained largely unchanged over the past week on a lack of demand, sources said on Thursday March 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports from Turkey was unchanged at $490-500 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis.Turkish steel producers continued to offer rebar for export at $500-510 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis, but buy...Read More
Turkish domestic prices for rebar and wire rod have remained fairly stable over the past week, with demand showing few signs of recovery, sources said on Thursday March 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,200-3,250 ($593-602) per tonne ex-works, narrowing downward slightly compared with the TRY3,200-3,263 per tonne of last week.The domestic rebar...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday March 28 that are worth another look.Weaker-than-expected demand from steel mills following the introduction of new rebar standards in China and increased use of ferro-niobium there have hit the ferro-vanadium market with prices in Europe now trading at levels last seen in December 2017. So far this month, the European fer...Read More
Copper and brass scrap prices in the United States have largely held steady over the past week, with sustained domestic and offshore competition helping to mitigate price erosion.Copper scrap discounts were mostly flat week on week, aside from that for refiners No1 copper, which widened by a penny to 14-16 cents per lb, according to Fastmarkets AMM's latest assessment on Wednesday March 27. All ot...Read More
The collapse of a tailings dam at an iron ore mine in the south-east Brazilian state of Minas Gerais will not change miner Vale's plans for its base metals division, the company's chief financial officer, Luciano Siani, said on Thursday March 28.During a conference call with analysts, Siani said that the Salobo and Sossego copper mines will continue to operate normally, while the expansion of Salo...Read More
Prices in the US copper market continued to push upward on Thursday March 28, with macroeconomic data outweighing recent growth in market participants' bearish speculative positioning.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up by 1.15 cents to $2.8745 per lb on Thursday.On the technical side, the net speculative length has declined marke...Read More
Robin Scheiner will lead a merged aluminium-alumina department at Glencore following the departure of David Streule, sources close to the matter told Fastmarkets. "Change will take place in the coming weeks or months," a source close to the matter said, while two sources said Streule will be departing by the end of June.Streule will leave Glencore...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale sold its nickel products at a $545 per tonne premium over the London Metal Exchange benchmark price in 2018, the company said in an earnings report published on Wednesday March 27.The premium of 4.20% above LME prices was the highest achieved by the company since 2002, it said.According to Vale, the average realized price in the year was $13,667 per tonne, with the company foc...Read More
Market participants expect alumina prices to plummet upon any future announcement that Hydro's alumina refinery, Alunorte, can return to full capacity, but agree the scheduled court date does not provide any further clarity. Alunorte, the largest alumina refinery in the world, has been running at only 50% of its production capacity since March 2018 because of restrictions imposed by authorities in...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil (CRC) in Southern Europe have fallen this week due to limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic CRC in Southern Europe was ?,?530-560 ($598-630) per tonne ex-works on March 27, down by ?,?30 per tonne compared with ?,?560-590 per tonne ex-works a week earlier.Italian mills were reported to be...Read More
Steel billet import prices fell in Egypt in the week ended Thursday March 28, with demand remaining weak, but the domestic price for rebar held steady, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $460-480 per tonne cfr on Thursday, widening downward from $475-480 per tonne cfr last week.CIS-origin billet was offered to the country at $480-485...Read More
United Arab Emirates-based United Iron & Steel Co (UISC) has started producing its own cold-rolled coil at its plant in Abu Dhabi for processing into hot-dipped galvanized coil.The new 250,000 tonnes-per-year CRC facility consists of an in-line push-pull pickling line, a single-stand cold-rolling mill and a continuous galvanizing line to process both hot- and cold-rolled coil, equipment suppl...Read More
Weaker-than-expected demand from steel mills following the introduction of new rebar standards in China and increased use of ferro-niobium there have hit the ferro-vanadium market with prices in Europe now trading at levels last seen in December 2017. So far this month, the European ferro-vanadium price has fallen by more than 25%. Fastmarkets assessed the price for ferro-vanadium, 78% min, free d...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were flat on Thursday March 28, with market participants taking a wait-and-see approach.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,860 yuan ($573-574) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,790-3,800 yuan per tonne, unchangedA few buyers raised their procurement rates amid gains in the futures market in the earlier part of the day, sources said.But o...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale expects iron ore sales volumes in 2019 to be cut by 50-75 million tonnes, from a previous internal, undisclosed target of 382 million tonnes of sales during the year, chief financial officer Luciano Siani said on Thursday March 28 in a conference call with analysts.The reduction will be caused by the mine closures that ensued after an accident at the C??rrego do Feij??o unit,...Read More
Turkish steel mills made no new bookings in the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday March 28, but more transactions made last week were revealed, sources said on Thursday March 28.News of three deep-sea cargoes from last week came to light on Thursday.A steel producer in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $320 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded a...Read More
Vale achieved a price of $68.40 per wet metric tonne for its iron ore fines in the fourth quarter of 2018, the company said in an earnings report on Wednesday March 27. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Vale's realized price for the material was $63.10 per wmt.According to the miner, the premium received for higher-quality iron ore fines stood at $8.10 per tonne in the fourth quarter o...Read More