The market for flat steel exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) remained relatively unchanged at the start of this week amid low availability, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was $510-520 per tonne fob Black Sea on March 14, narrowing from $500-525 per tonne fob Black Sea a week bef...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 18 that are worth another look.Bulk alloy suppliers are reporting increased prompt demand from British consumers amid concerns about potential supply disruptions when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. A preliminary decision from a court in Brazil's Itabira city, in the country's southeastern Minas Gerais st...Read More
When the London Metal Exchange amended its policies related to its physical delivery network a few years ago, it overlooked one key thing. The issue centers on LME's linked load-in/load-out (LILO) rule, which operates by linking the amount of metal a warehouse loads in to the amount it is obligated to load out for warehouses that have queues of over 50 days.The rule changes were part of package of...Read More
Hilde Merete Aasheim has been appointed new president and chief executive officer of aluminium producer Norsk Hydro, effective May 8.She will succeed Svein Richard Brandtz??g, who steps down after 10 years as CEO.Brandtz??g, who became CEO of Hydro in March 2009, has been working in Hydro for 33 years and will remain with the company...Read More
Revenue garnered from the United States' Section 232 tariffs - in place for almost a year - stood at $4.3 billion for steel and $1.4 billion for aluminium as of Thursday February 21, 2019, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection.While the blanket 25% steel tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump's administration has helped US steel mills to reap record profits, restart id...Read More
In less than two weeks, the Zambian government is set to introduce a new series of tax measures: rocketing tax rates have prompted some copper producers to shut down their operations, while others have cut production and costs to keep their businesses running in the world's sixth largest copper producing country. A tax regime comprising a new sales tax and an increase in mineral royalty tax (...Read More
Aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday March 18, having peaked at its highest since February 6.The three-month aluminium price ended at $1,920.50 per tonne, up $23.50 from the pre-weekend close.For much of March, the three-month price held below resistance at $1,900 per tonne. It hit a two-month low of $1,845 per tonne on March 11. Around 45% of LME alu...Read More
The Comex copper price ticked higher in morning trading on Monday March 18 with markets awaiting a resolution to the US-China trade negotiations that have dictated investor sentiment for months. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.65 cents to $2.9225 per lb. "Ongoing US/China trade talks remain under way... as the two sides continu...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market was muted on Monday March 18 following a flurry of trades involving forward cargoes last week. A May-laycan cargo of premium hard coking coal was heard offered at $214 per tonne fob Australia during the day. A May-laycan cargo in the same category had changed hands at $204 per tonne fob Australia last week.Second-tier cargoes were heard offered at around $192-194 pe...Read More
CIS slab producers continued to keep their offer prices steady in the second half of March, supported by reduced availability of the material in the market due to imminent repair works at some sites.This was despite the lack of buying activity and comparatively much lower bids being placed by customers.Offers of CIS-origin billet were heard within the range of $500-505 per tonne fob Black Sea in t...Read More
The CIS export billet market remained at a standstill on Monday March 18 due to the absence of trading activity in most of the commodity's usual outlet regions, Fastmarkets heard on Monday March 18.Mills were indicating offers within the range of $460-465 per tonne fob Black Sea.But customers in most outlet regions could not afford such high prices because they would not be able to pass on these h...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 18 that are worth another look.Bulk alloy suppliers are reporting increased prompt demand from British consumers amid concerns about potential supply disruptions when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. A preliminary decision from a court in Brazil's Itabira city, in the country's southeastern Minas Gerais st...Read More
Aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday March 18, having peaked at its highest since February 6.The three-month aluminium price ended at $1,920.50 per tonne, up $23.50 from the pre-weekend close.For much of March, the three-month price held below resistance at $1,900 per tonne. It hit a two-month low of $1,845 per tonne on March 11. Around 45% of LME alu...Read More
Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for spot copper concentrates dropped sharply in early March with Chinese smelters entering the market in earnest for units, while a lack of supply from blockaded Las Bambas mine has also prompted spot buying. The Fastmarkets TC/RC index for spot copper concentrates dropped by $5.3 per tonne / 0.53 cents per lb on March 15 to $69/6.9 cents, the lowest si...Read More
Revenue garnered from the United States' Section 232 tariffs - in place for almost a year - stood at $4.3 billion for steel and $1.4 billion for aluminium as of Thursday February 21, 2019, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection.While the blanket 25% steel tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump's administration has helped US steel mills to reap record profits, restart id...Read More
The Comex copper price ticked higher in morning trading on Monday March 18 with markets awaiting a resolution to the US-China trade negotiations that have dictated investor sentiment for months. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.65 cents to $2.9225 per lb. "Ongoing US/China trade talks remain under way... as the two sides continu...Read More
Growing fears of a bauxite supply disruption are putting alumina traders on alert for a potential price increase, sources have told Fastmarkets. The concern originates form Brazil, where mainly Minera????o Rio do Norte (MRN), Minera????o Paragominas, Alcoa and Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) produce bauxite, the raw material for alumina. A new resolution issued by the Brazilian mining agen...Read More
In less than two weeks, the Zambian government is set to introduce a new series of tax measures: rocketing tax rates have prompted some copper producers to shut down their operations, while others have cut production and costs to keep their businesses running in the world's sixth largest copper producing country. A tax regime comprising a new sales tax and an increase in mineral royalty tax (...Read More
Hilde Merete Aasheim has been appointed new president and chief executive officer of aluminium producer Norsk Hydro, effective May 8.She will succeed Svein Richard Brandtz??g, who steps down after 10 years as CEO.Brandtz??g, who became CEO of Hydro in March 2009, has been working in Hydro for 33 years and will remain with the company...Read More
Plate prices in the United States have inched up following a round of $2-per-hundredweight price increases and despite deep concerns among service centers sources about the staying power of higher prices.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for cut-to-length plate stands at $47.50 per hundredweight ($950 per short ton), up 1.1% from $47 per cwt previously but down 3.1% from $49 per cwt at the beginn...Read More