Participants in China's rebar market reacted differently to the impending reduction of value-added tax in the country, resulting in a widening of domestic prices on Friday March 15.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,800-3,860 yuan ($565-574) per tonne, widened by 10 yuan per tonne on both ends Northern China (Beijing): 3,790-3,850 yuan per tonne, widened upward by 20 yuan per tonneChina's value-...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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Forward cargoes of seaborne coking coal continued to fetch lower prices on Friday March 15 while those for April-laycan shipments held steady.On the Global Coal trading platform, a July-laycan cargo in the branded segment was traded at $196 per tonne fob Australia, while a bid for an April-laycan cargo in the same segment was made at $212.50 per tonne, up $0.50 per tonne from the last bid. The tra...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...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
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
Fitch Solutions has predicted that copper prices will rise to an average $6,900 per tonne in 2019 before reaching $7,100 per tonne in 2020, with tight fundamentals and record-low warehousing stocks underpinning the market."Tight fundamentals, underpinned by record-low [London Metal Exchange] stocks and improving market sentiment as the probability of a US-China trade agreement rises have boosted c...Read More