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, commercial-grade...Read More
Physical iron ore markets on Thursday March 21 were relatively unfazed by news of potentially more supply disruptions from Vale's Brazilian operations and from cyclone-hit Australia. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $84.49 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.19 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $83.61 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.19 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $86.64 per tonne...Read More
Pessimistic sentiment persisted among the Chinese segment of the seaborne coking coal market on Thursday March 21 despite largely stable prices.A March-loading cargo of second-tier hard coking coal was sold at $193 per tonne cfr China to an end user in southern China, several sources told Fastmarkets.On the Global Coal trading platform, a June-laycan cargo in the branded segment changed hands at $...Read More
Brazil's Vale has issued a warning over another potential iron ore production impact of as much as 10 million tonnes per year due to the suspension of operations at its Alegria mine in Minas Gerais state.The mine was suspended "on a preventive basis", because the results of a preliminary analysis of its structures were inconclusive under stress conditions, and as such, were unable to confirm its s...Read More
The use of Fastmarkets MB's iron ore indices in physical contracts continues to widen, with several market participants confirming in recent weeks that they have settled 2019 term contracts using the Fastmarkets MB 65% Fe iron ore index as the base.The moves follow the announcement from Brazilian producer Vale late last year that it was switching its pellet contracts for this year to a 65% Fe...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was up by more than 1% during morning trading on Thursday March 21, trading back above $6,500 per tonne amid weakness in the dollar index after the US Federal Reserve pledged to hold interest rates for the remainder of the year. With copper volumes leading the complex at just under 7,000 lots traded by 9:38am London time, buying interest in t...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed this morning, Thursday March 21, while the market digested the messages from last night's US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.The FOMC proved to be even more dovish than was previously expected, which is a double edge sword as on the one hand it makes for more favorable conditions for businesses, but on the other th...Read More
The price of cobalt metal in the Chinese domestic market continued to fall in the mid-week assessment on Wednesday March 20 amid persistent weakness in the international benchmark price, which more than offset an uptick in spot trading activity.Fastmarkets assessed the price of cobalt metal, min 99.8%, in China's domestic market at 255,000-290,000 yuan ($38,039-43,261) per tonne on March 20, widen...Read More
Domestic stainless steel prices in China narrowed downward slightly over the past week on rising inventories, though the market is not expected to weaken much further.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,700-15,000 yuan ($2,193-2,238) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday March 20, down...Read More
Fastmarkets will discontinue the publication of all VDM German base metal scrap prices, which are syndicated through Metalbulletin.com, Fastmarkets MyDesk, Scrap Price Bulletin and AMM.com. The prices will no longer be updated as of Friday March 22, 2019. The affected prices are as follows: Aluminium Alloy DIN 226 ingots Germany ?,? per 1,000kg (VDM) Aluminium Alloy DIN 231 ingots Germany ?,? per...Read More
With three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange having come off their weekly highs, most metals remained under selling pressure and have continued to consolidate this morning, Friday March 22. The initial weakness seen in the dollar index following the surprisingly dovish tone struck by the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at the conclusion of their meeting on Wednesda...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 17 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar dropped 0.16 to 74.84 cents U.S. following economic news released at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for January Retail Sales was an increase of 0.4% versus a downwardly revised drop of 0.3% in December. Actual was a drop of 0.3%. Consensus for the February Canadian Consumer P...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday March 20, bolstered by an 11-year low in LME stocks, with the price continuing to approach $2,900 per tonne - a level not seen since July 2018.Total on-warrant material was at its lowest level since 2008 at just 44,300 tonnes, while LME data showed five dominant warrant-holding positions. Three of...Read More
Appetite for US material improved on increased demand from the US steel sector in the week to Tuesday March 19, while Chinese and European premiums traded flat in light of a closed import window and a dearth of demand from the European stainless steel sector respectively. US spot premiums for cut and briquette material narrowed upward. China's closed import window continues to preclude any p...Read More
Zinc premiums crept up in Northern Europe on Tuesday March 19 after buyers were enticed by a price retreat earlier this week; lead markets were largely stable except in India where there were further drops due to a temporary surge in Iranian supply. Northern European zinc buyers are active in the spot market this week, causing premiums to narrow up. China's zinc premium softened amid a close...Read More
Norsk Hydro will restart certain rolling and extrusion operations to allow for continued deliveries to customers, a day after a cyber attack caused temporary halts on its operations, chief financial officer Eivind Kallevik said in a press release on Wednesday March 20.In an earlier press release on Tuesday, Kallevik said every unit was isolated from the company's global network to prevent the atta...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Key data from the Wednesday March 20 pricing session in Europe.Key driversThe European ferro-titanium market has hit a five-month high in the past week, with the rally showing no signs of abating while suppliers struggle to keep up with demand. There is renewed consumer demand for prompt shipment and buying inquiries for second-quarter deliveries. The run-up in prices is set to persist, with $6 pe...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday March 20 pricing session in Europe.Key driversThe European ferro-titanium market has hit a five-month high in the past week, with the rally showing no signs of abating while suppliers struggle to keep up with demand. There is renewed consumer demand for prompt shipment and buying inquiries for second-quarter deliveries. The run-up in prices is set to persist, with $6 pe...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to stay back from the deep-sea scrap markets due to sluggish demand for finished steel and the firmness of the offers from scrap merchants, sources said on Wednesday March 20.Offers for HMS 1&2 (80:20) grade material from the United States remained at $330 per tonne cfr, but mills were not willing to pay such high prices, Fastmarkets was told.Besides, the wea...Read More