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
Prices for cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod remained stable month over month in the United States, although sources offered varied reports on market activity. Fastmarkets AMM again assessed the price for cold-heading quality wire rod at $46 per hundredweight ($920 per short ton) North American delivered duty paid Great Lakes region on Friday March 15 and that for high...Read More
The number of new passenger car registrations in the EU decreased by only 0.96% year-on-year in February 2019. This made it the sixth consecutive month to show a decline but there were also signs of recovery, the European Automotive Manufacturers Assn (ACEA) said on Friday March 15.New car sales in Europe totaled 1,114,692 units in February 2019, compared with 1,125,472 vehicles sold in the corres...Read More
Import prices for re-rolling-grade hot-rolled coil sold into Vietnam widened down over the past week amid lower buying activity.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for HRC in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm SAE1006 HRC and equivalent grades sold into Vietnam - was $545-555 per tonne cfr for the week to Monday, down $5 per tonne at the lower end of the range.A...Read More
German steelmakers have settled their monthly scrap contracts for March at largely stable prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 18.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for domestic grade-E3 scrap in Germany was ?,?265-285 ($300-323) per tonne delivered on March 15, unchanged over the month. The assessment represented deals heard in the market.Although the price range remained stable, s...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets went quiet at the beginning of the week, with mills expecting to hear lower offer prices, sources said on Monday March 18.Most of the offers in the market were around $330 per tonne cfr for United States-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), while mills were looking for $315-320 per tonne, sources said.The expectation for lower prices was a consequence of the strength o...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices remained stable over the past week due to steady import prices and moderate demand, sources said on Monday March 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle (DKP-grade) scrap in Turkey was TRY1,700-1,820 ($312-334) per tonne delivered on Monday, unchanged week on week.Steel producers ??olakoglu, Asil ??elik, ID??, Habas, Ege ??elik and...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 Ore, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Brazilian Blend fines, traded at $90.20...Read More
The world's first high-grade iron ore derivative contract has provided the market with a more complete risk-management portfolio that reduces risks associated with different grades of the steelmaking raw material, Tan Say Liang, general manager of the Shanghai office of Singapore Exchange (SGX), said during a conference last month."China's long-term aim to tighten regulations on emissions are poin...Read More
Iron ore prices strengthened on Monday March 18 due to increasing uncertainty over Vale supplies from Brazil, although the impact was offset by further production restrictions on steelmakers in China's Tangshan region.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $88.26 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.74 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $87.38 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.74 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore...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
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Monday March 18, remaining below its nearby $6,500 per tonne resistance level, with a fresh rewarranting of just below 25,000 tonnes failing to provide a major headwind to price action. Total LME on-warrant copper stocks now sit at around 138,000 tonnes. They are up by more than 84% since the start of Ma...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Monday March 18* Copper -$152.52 (-1,025.87 yuan) Aluminium -$299.66 (-2,015.62 yuan) Zinc -$140.58 (-945.56 yuan) Nickel -$273.15 (-1,837.32 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE...Read More