Domestic steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States were flat in the week to Wednesday September 8, while imported rebar prices slipped.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US was $49.25 per hundredweight ($985 per short ton) on Wednesday, unchanged since August 11 but up by 68.38% from $29.25 per cwt at the same time last year.US marketMarket participants lar...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were fairly stable on Thursday September 9, with buyers and steelmakers employing a "wait-and-see" strategy, sources told Fastmarkets.Negative sentiment prevailed among buyers due to the effects of competitive import offers, lower demand from distributors due to sufficient stocks and anticipated lower volumes purchased by the automotive sector. Additio...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 20 points in pre-opening trade. Equity index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the U.S. August Producer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.6% versus a gain of 1.0% in July. Actual was an increase of 0.7% Excluding food and energy, consensus was an increase of 0.5% versus a ga...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States returned above $97 per hundredweight ($1,940 per short ton), with market participants projecting that upcoming mill maintenance shutdowns will keep inventories tight.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $97.11 per cwt ($1,942.20 per ton) on Thursday September 9, up by 21 cents (0.22%) from $96.90 per cwt on Wednes...Read More
The import market for China's pig iron weakened during August 26 to September 9 in transactions for Brazilian cargoes, according to sources.Around 100,000 tonnes of basic pig iron were sold from Brazil to China on Thursday September 2 at $535-540 per tonne cfr China, sources said.Fastmarkets' fortnightly assessment for the price of pig iron, import, cfr China was at $535-540 per tonne on Thur...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 23.85-24.60 on Thursday September 09, 2021....Read More
Brazilian automotive production fell by 21.90% in August 2021 compared with the corresponding month last year due to partial or complete stoppages across the country because of the global semiconductor chip shortage, national manufacturers' association Anfavea said on Wednesday September 8.Output amounted to 164,027 units during August, down from 210,009 units a year before and the worst August nu...Read More
A second lithium trade has been brokered against the CME Group's cash-settled lithium futures contract, which is settled against Fastmarkets' assessment of the spot price for battery-grade lithium hydroxide in China, Japan and South Korea. A total of five tonnes of the October contract was traded at $19.75 per kg on Tuesday September 7. The transaction follows the first such trade involving the sa...Read More
Base metals prices were mixed on the London Metal Exchange during morning trading on Wednesday September 8, with nickel leading the complex, up by 1.7%.The three-month nickel price rose to $19,380 per tonne at 9am on Wednesday, up from $19,506 per tonne at Tuesday's 5pm close. Some 1,650 tonnes of nickel were removed from LME warehouses overnight - mostly from warehouses in Kaohsing in Taiwan, Joh...Read More
UG2 chrome ore prices fell by $11 per tonne on Tuesday September - the largest weekly drop since mid-July 2020 - after sellers cut their offers to revive buying interest dented by production cuts in the downstream alloy and stainless steel markets.Fastmarkets' calculated its chrome ore, South Africa UG2 concentrates index, basis 42%, cif China, down by $11 per tonne (6.3%) at $165 per tonne on Tue...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange continued its uptrend during Wednesday's trading, rising by 1.3% to $2,794 per tonne from $2,757 per tonne at Tuesday's 5pm close after 16,900 lots were traded.Prior to closing at 5pm, the aluminium three-month contract reached an intraday high of $2,810 per tonne, exceeding the previous 2011 high of $2,803 per tonne."Once it [the alumin...Read More
The latest analysis from recent activity on the CME Group's cobalt metal futures contract, cash-settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam.Key tradesJuly 22, 2021: 5 tonnes for August 2021 at $25 per lbJuly 23: 5 tonnes for September 2021 at $25.20 per lbJuly 28: 176 tonnes (88 tonnes for August at $25.04 per lb; 88 tonnes for December at $25.40 per...Read More
Domestic steel wire rod prices in Southern Europe slipped down in the week to Wednesday September 8, with buyers holding back from making deals, citing the availability of cheaper imports availability, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, delivered southern Europe was ?,?820-845 ($973-1,002) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?5-1...Read More
The European Union is suggesting the US impose tariff-rate quotas on steel and aluminium imports in a bid to reach an agreement with the US on exempting the EU from its Section 232 measures, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7.The US and EU are widely expected to reach an agreement by November 1 on an exemption from Section 232 for European steel and aluminium.The then-p...Read More
Turkish steelmakers went quiet in the deep-sea ferrous scrap markets once again after booking a number of cargoes for October shipment earlier this week, market participants said on Wednesday September 8.Three steel producers did book four deep-sea cargoes from various locations on Tuesday September 7. But weak demand for Turkish long steel products in the export markets has been keeping Turk...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices decreased on Wednesday September 8 due to limited liquidity in the physical market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $132.19 per tonne, down by $5.78 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $133.29 per tonne, down by $4.81 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $106.66 per tonne, down by $4.03 per tonne...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 8 that are worth another look.The Ukrainian Intergovernmental Committee for International Trade has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of steel seamless cold-drawn and cold-rolled pipe originating from China.A second lithium trade has been brokered against the CME...Read More
Selling prices for Japanese steel scrap remain more attractive in the Japanese local market than exporting overseas, despite a fresh price cut by Tokyo Steel, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 8.Tokyo Steel reduces scrap buy prices at key millTaiwan pays higher prices for containerized scrap amid rising logistics costs and lack of vesselsWide gaps between bids and offers persists in...Read More
The price of premium hard coking coal fob jumped on Wednesday September 8 with news of a fresh offer, while sources heard part of the tender result of Russian company Mechel.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $460.63 per tonne, up $2.82 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $433.94 per tonne, up $2.52 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $300.87 per tonne, up $17...Read More
Base metals prices were higher on the London Metal Exchange but mixed on the Shanghai Futures Exchange this morning, Thursday September 9, but equity markets in Asia-Pacific were weaker with participants once again nervous about possible central bank tapering.* Market participants focused on whether the European Central Bank (ECB) will signal it is ready to start tapering – the ECB meets toda...Read More