Steel billet prices showed a slight increase in most regions in the week ended Friday March 15, with scrap costs remaining high, but demand in many buying outlets was weak.The exception was Southeast Asia, where trading activity was strong, despite increased costs.Scrap prices remained at high levels, with Fastmarkets' daily index for Northern European HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap material at $318.37 per...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday March 15 that are worth another look.Import tariffs on steel products in the United States created under Section 232 are likely to remain in place at least until the end of 2019, the chief executive officer of Gerdau, Gustavo Werneck, said during an event at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday March 13. The Singapore Ex...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday March 15 that are worth another look.Import tariffs on steel products in the United States created under Section 232 are likely to remain in place at least until the end of 2019, the chief executive officer of Gerdau, Gustavo Werneck, said during an event at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday March 13. The Singapore Ex...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part little changed this morning, Monday March 18, the exception being copper, whose price was up by 0.7% at $6,474 per tonne, compared with $6,431.50 per tonne at Friday’s close. Volume was average, with 6,328 lots traded on LME Select as at 7.23am London time, compared with 19,661 lots at a similar time on Fr...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 2 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded partially to a 2.47% gain by the Shanghai Composite Index in overnight trade.WTI Crude Oil added $0.15 to $58.72 after OPEC cancelled its April meeting implying extension of output cuts to its next meeting in June.Boeing dropped $8.99 to $370.00 after Federal prose...Read More
Import tariffs on steel products in the United States created under Section 232 are likely to remain in place at least until the end of 2019, the chief executive officer of Gerdau, Gustavo Werneck, said during an event at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday March 13.The move from Donald Trump's administration boosted metal spread margins for steel producers in the US. This spread - calculated...Read More
Fastmarkets AMM attended the annual convention of the National Association of Steel Pipe Distributors (NASPD) on Thursday March 7 and Friday March 8 in New Orleans. Here are five themes gleaned in the sessions, on the sidelines and at the soirees.The US Gulf Coast is excited about China LNG import rumors. Reports that China may agree to buy an immense amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exp...Read More
Chinese finished steel exports decreased in February on both a yearly and a month-on-month basis amid uncompetitive prices and fewer working days as a result of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.The country shipped 4.51 million tonnes of finished steel out of the country last month, down 7% from the 4.85 million tonnes exported in February 2018, according to preliminary Chinese customs data...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
Ahead of Fastmarkets' Battery Materials 2019 conference in Shanghai, Fastmarkets looks at use of lithium in next-generation vehicles and other battery uses, as well as soaring prices, which have spurred interest in lithium and boosted its importance in recent years as a battery material. In June 2016, the spot price in China peaked at $27 per kg, more than three times the global contract price, ac...Read More
In contrast to the clear skies outside, a cloud hung over discussions among Indian scrap traders attending the opening session of the annual conference of the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) earlier this month in Kochi, southern India.Secretary-general Amar Singh praised the superior air quality in the host city, compared with the metropolises of New Delhi and Mumbai. But delegates...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums in Europe and the United States moved lower on Friday March 15 due to continued weak demand, and the market remained quiet elsewhere. Italian premium drops 4.5%. Long term contracts dominate Brazilian market. US spot market remains quiet. Asia yet to see Russian units. Aluminium billet in Germany continues slide; premiums down throughout EuropePoor fundamentals and b...Read More
Copper continues to capitalize on the narrowing $0.75 per tonne cash-to-March spread contango, while the three-month contract rises to $6,430 per tonne, up $26 per tonne from the $6,404-per-tonne close on March 14.The three-month copper price seems to be ignoring the significant influx of material into Asian LME warehouses on March 15, with 18,905 lots of material traded during the day's session.N...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Nyrstar NV shares were down by 12% on the morning of Friday March 15 after the company indicated that its continuing capital restructure will involve a debt-for-equity swap to bondholders."The economic effect for the shareholders of Nyrstar NV of the restructuring transaction would be a very substantial dilution," the world's second-largest zinc producer said in a note on the Euronext exchange thi...Read More
Key data from the March 15 pricing session in London: Key drivers: Prices edge lower again in the second half of the week although the midweek drop to low the $14s deters some consumers from buying again, in anticipation of weaker prices. One so-far isolated sale at $13.20 per lb...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Global scrap prices mostly trended upward during the working week from Monday March 11 to Friday March 15, with the exception of prices in Turkey, where lackluster sales of finished steel products limited buying activity during the week. Lackluster finished steel sales in Turkey limit scrap buying US export prices up on bulk sale to Turkey Northern Vietnam mills still hungry for scrap Mixed sentim...Read More
UK prices for alloy steel scrap moved up slightly over the past week despite higher costs for nickel, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic UK 18/8 stainless steel scrap solids was ?840-880 ($1,113-1,266) per tonne delivered on March 15. This was up from ?830-870 per tonne delivered a week earlier, reflecting transactions heard in the...Read More
The Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap at steady prices at the end of the current week but prices are likely to fall in the next bookings, sources said on Friday March 15.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a European cargo, comprising 13,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $318 per tonne, 6,000 tonnes of bonus at $331 per tonne and 6,000 tonnes of busheling at $334 per tonne cf...Read More