Prices for hollow steel sections in the domestic Northern European market were stable on Wednesday March 13, while prices in Southern Europe edged up for the second consecutive week, market sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe was unchanged week on week on Wednesday at ?,?630-650 ($710-733...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 13 that are worth another look.Moves to enhance electronic trading on the London Metal Exchange are not a back-door attempt to close the ring, Europe's last open outcry trading floor, the exchange's chief executive officer said. The Singapore Exchange has seen a "tremendous uptick" in iron ore futures trading a...Read More
Aluminium was one the best performers on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday March 13, because of stock outflows from LME sheds.The price of the three-month aluminium contract was up by $28 per tonne to $1,905 per tonne at the close of trading on Wednesday.Around 7,425 tonnes of aluminium left LME warehouses on Wednesday, with most of the outflows from Port Klang, Singapore and Rotterdam. Overa...Read More
The Comex copper price continued to push higher in the midweek session on Wednesday March 12 with potential supply disruptions supporting the market. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.55 cents to $2.9340 per lb. Codelco faces further delays in bringing back refined copper smelting at its Chuquicamata plant, which is now...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange could hit as high as $8,000 per tonne this year, Marex Spectron's head of market analytics Guy Wolf told delegates at Fastmarkets' International Copper Conference in Amsterdam on Wednesday March 13."My view is that we could see copper's three-month price on the LME move past $7,500 per tonne and reach $8,000 per tonne this year," Wolf said."I...Read More
Skorpion Zinc's refinery in Namibia has to suspend its operations for five weeks on a lack of raw material feed following a mine strike, while the delivery of certain exports will have to be delayed, Fastmarkets has learned.The Namibian operation, Africa's largest integrated zinc operation, has run out of zinc oxide ore as a result of a strike at its mine that started on February 22, parent compan...Read More
The European price of mesh-quality wire rod narrowed at the low end of the range on Wednesday March 13, reflecting the market's sound fundamentals starting to re-emerge in a murky political environment.Fastmarkets MB's weekly domestic price assessment of mesh-quality wire rod for both Northern and Southern Europe edged up to ?,?535-550 ($603-620) per tonne delivered on Wednesday from ?,?530-550 pe...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 13 that are worth another look.Moves to enhance electronic trading on the London Metal Exchange are not a back-door attempt to close the ring, Europe's last open outcry trading floor, the exchange's chief executive officer said. The Singapore Exchange has seen a "tremendous uptick" in iron ore futures trading a...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange is forecast to continue its uptrend in 2019, according to the copper analysts sitting on a panel at Fastmarkets' International Copper conference in Amsterdam on Wednesday March 13. The three-month copper price has recently continued to trade just below $6,500 per tonne, up by more than 6% since the start of the year. And copper's incline wi...Read More
Chinese and European zinc premiums fell over the past week amid lackluster demand and disappointing spread structures between the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange, while the Indian lead premium slid after increased availability of Iranian units in the spot market. The zinc premium in China moved down amid muted import demand in line with worsening import conditions and an oversu...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrants premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday March 13. This is Fastmarkets' first warrants report following the amendment of...Read More
Tight tin supply in Europe has market participants looking to Indonesia's elections next month for guidance on renewed supply from the major tin exporter; meanwhile, the United States has adequate stock but new suppliers are looking to edge into the market and China has a quiet week. Europe awaits inflow as Indonesian export ban is lifted US sees new players, though some suppliers are offer...Read More
The Comex copper price continued to push higher in the midweek session on Wednesday March 12 with potential supply disruptions supporting the market. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.55 cents to $2.9340 per lb. Codelco faces further delays in bringing back refined copper smelting at its Chuquicamata plant, which is now...Read More
The advent of blockchain and other digital ledger technologies cannot be ignored, and they will play a much greater role in the financial markets in the next five years, according to the heads of several of the world's commodities exchanges.Matthew Chamberlain, chief executive officer of the London Metal Exchange, told Fastmarkets that the blockchain route for the LME would probably be pursued thr...Read More
Brazilian imports of flat steel products increased year on year in February 2019, mainly due to an improved performance by the flat steel sector, while long steel imports increased slightly in the same comparison.The country imported 91,208 tonnes of flat steel products in February, up by 62.73% from 56,049 tonnes a year before, according to figures recently released by the country's foreign trade...Read More
Steel beam prices in the European market have gone up this week following continuing rises in the costs of feedstock materials, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 13.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm, category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe went up by ?,?5 per tonne to ?,?610-640 ($688-721) per tonne delivered on March 13, from ?,?610-635 per tonne deliv...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe pushed higher on Wednesday March 13, with producers starting to find some traction in their efforts to raise prices against a background of high raw material costs.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe narrowed upward to ?,?515-520 ($581-586) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, from ?,?510-520 per tonn...Read More
The price range for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe stayed flat on Wednesday March 13 following a slight increase last week, with producers maintaining pressure on prices against what they see as a strong fundamental backdrop.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe remained at ?,?540-550 ($609-620) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with thin deman...Read More
The Turkish steel mills hve taken a break from deep-sea scrap purchasing activity because of the increasing offer prices they are getting, sources said on Wednesday March 13.The producers in the country have been buying deep-sea scrap from various sources at a slow pace for a while, but were still cautious due to the weakness of finished steel demand.Only two UK cargoes have been sold so far this...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 transactions: iron oreIron oreBHP, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), 80,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Jimblebar fines, traded at the April...Read More