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
The copper market in the United States bounced back in trading on the morning of Friday March 15, with a softer dollar and positive data boosting the marketplace.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 1.95 cents to $2.9110 per lb."While we acknowledge that copper is at present facing macro/fundamentals headwinds, we think copper will s...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed this morning, Friday March 15, with copper, aluminium and nickel up by an average of 0.6%, while zinc, lead and tin were down by an average of 0.6%. Three-month copper was recently quoted at $6,449 per tonne, up by 1% compared with Thursday's close at $6,385 per tonne. Volume was significantly above average, with 19,661 lots tr...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 battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Prices for coated steel products in Turkey decreased in the seven days to Friday March 15, with demand weak in both the domestic and export markets.Sources told Fastmarkets that demand is unlikely to improve in March because of market uncertainty ahead of the mayoral elections being held across the country on the last day of the month.The export market was also poor because of weak deman...Read More
Some steel coil prices in Turkey decreased again in the week ended Friday March 15, with buying activity remaining subdued.The market was unlikely to improve in March because of the uncertainty in the build-up to Turkey's mayoral elections to be held across the country on the last day of the month, sources told Fastmarkets. Market participants want to wait and see if end-user demand revives after...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices moved down on Friday March 15 due to inactivity and declining futures following the announcement of cuts to the country's value-added tax. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,790-3,810 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,750-3,770 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneTrading activity was lower than that on Thursday w...Read More
Fastmarkets has discontinued its weekly assessments of the Latin America rebar export price, which was reported on a dollar per tonne fob main port basis, with effect from Friday March 15.After a consultation period lasting two months, Fastmarkets has discontinued its weekly assessments after receiving feedback that there was now limited spot liquidity in the market for this material, with most vo...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
Domestic prices for rebar in Poland have been stable over the past week, supported by strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 15.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland was 2,200-2,320 zloty ($578-610) per tonne ex-works on March 15, unchanged over the week.The assessment reflected deals and offers heard in the market. Polish steelmakers have bee...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
Brazilian pig iron exporters were bullish this week because of long lead times for material from the south of the country, and resumed sales to the United States from the north of Brazil, Fastmarkets learnt during the week ended Friday March 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the southeastern Minas Gerais region was $336-340 per tonne fob on March 15, up from $334-33...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
Indian domestic secondary billet prices have fallen by 900 rupees ($13) per tonne this week with demand for both semi-finished and finished long steel products remaining subdued and inquiries limited.The price for Indian domestic secondary billet, assessed by Fastmarkets on Friday March 15, was 31,300-31,500 rupees ($450-453) per tonne ex-mill. This was down by 900 rupees per tonne compared with l...Read More