The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe remained flat on Wednesday February 27, with "indications" of better prices to come being the best that producers can report amid disappointing demand. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe was at ?,?510-520 ($580-591) per tonne delivered, flat week on week on Wednesday.Producers have raised their of...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe remained steady on Wednesday February 27, although producers were encouraged by some moves toward higher prices within Fastmarkets' assessed ranges.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe stayed at ?,?535-550 ($608-625) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with deals toward the top of...Read More
State-owned long steel producer Emirates Steel is expecting a slowdown in the Middle East construction sector that will persist throughout 2019, chief executive officer Saeed Al-Remeithi said on Tuesday February 26.Al-Remeithi was speaking as the company released partial production results for 2018. He said that he expected the slowdown in the regional construction industry this year because of in...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market has been quiet so far this week due to continuing limited demand for finished steel products, which is making Turkish producers hold back from buying raw materials, sources said on Wednesday February 27.The scrap import market in Turkey went quiet at the end of last week after a Baltic Sea cargo transaction, which sent prices down by $20 per tonne week on w...Read More
Physical iron ore prices continued to correct on Wednesday February 27, with buyers and sellers both cautious about taking any action.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $83.54 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.21 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $82.94 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.21 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $85.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.31 per tonne. MB 58% Fe P...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 $85.80 per tonne...Read More
Fastmarkets looks at key Asian ferrous scrap consuming countries Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea, and which exporters increased their shipments to these destinations in 2018. Vietnam increased ferrous scrap imports by 20.7% in January-November 2018 to 5.12 million tonnes, up 878,425 tonnes, or 20.7%, from 4.24 million tonnes in the same period in 2017. Fastmarkets MB's import price asse...Read More
The Europe-Asia ferrous scrap arbitrage could open once again with falling prices in Turkey prompting suppliers to look for alternative markets.Suppliers have increased the quantities of ferrous scrap available to steel mills in Vietnam and Taiwan, causing offers to drop by $5-10 per tonne.Offers for Europe-origin lower-quality heavy melting scrap (HMS) 1&2 came in at $335 per tonne cfr...Read More
Premium hard coking coal was offered lower on Wednesday February 27 while the rest of the seaborne market for the steelmaking raw material remained steady amid a dearth of activity.A cargo of unbranded materials was offered on trading platform Global Coal at $216 per tonne fob Australia during the day, sources told Fastmarkets. This is $2 per tonne lower than an offer of $218 per tonne fob Austral...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rebounded slightly on Wednesday February 27 with buyers picking up the pace of their procurement. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,750-3,800 yuan ($560-567) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,750-3,790 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneAn improvement in weather conditions in eastern China has allowed more construction projects to resta...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Wednesday February 27* Copper -$192.16 (-1,288.92 yuan) Aluminium -$342.51 (-2,297.47 yuan) Zinc -$137.31 (-921.02 yuan) Nickel -$251.12 (-1,684.45 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday February 27:Minor metalsAntimony MB Chinese free market MMTA standard grade II, yuan/tonne: 47,500-48,500 yuan per tonne from 48,500-49,500 yuanBismuth MB free market, $/lb: $3.60-4.00 per lb from $3.70-4.20Cadmium MB free market min 99.99%, cents/lb: 137-146 per lb from 137-145Cobalt MB free...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday February 27 pricing session in Europe.Key drivers - Persistent supply worries involving a major supplier prompted short-covering and is expected to propel prices higher in the weeks to come. Ferro-titanium producers and traders have been getting more buying interest from Europe and the United States. With one producer typically offering at least 350 tonnes per month to...Read More
Following reports of a potential power shortage in one of China's major ferro-alloy production hubs in the second quarter of this year, market participants have downplayed any immediate impact on ferro-alloy prices in the country, saying they intend to adopt a wait-and-see stance in the run up to April.The city of Ulanqab in China's autonomous region of Inner Mongolia is expected to experience a s...Read More
The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday February 27:Aluminium ingotLM24 pressure diecasting ingot: ?1,380-1,440 per tonne from...Read More
A drop in China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) to 49.2 in February, from 49.5 in January, has set a weaker tone across markets with base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange mostly lower and down by an average of 0.3% in the morning of Thursday February 28. Copper and zinc prices led on the downside with losses of 0.7%, with copper recently quoted at $6,473 per to...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 4 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 220,000 versus 216,000 last week. Actual was 225,000. Consensus for first estimate for U.S. fourth quarter real GDP was growth at a 2.4% rate versus growth at...Read More
A drop in China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) to 49.2 in February, from 49.5 in January, has set a weaker tone across markets with base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange mostly lower and down by an average of 0.3% in the morning of Thursday February 28. Copper and zinc prices led on the downside with losses of 0.7%, with copper recently quoted at $6,473 per to...Read More
Global aluminium premiums were little changed this week, with good support from steady market conditions, but premiums in South Korea moved higher due to low levels of inventory. European traders happy to hold metalSouth Korean premiums move up on tight inventoryImport uptrend and domestic discounts in BrazilUS premiums steady. Contango still supporting European premiumsLondon Metal Exchange price...Read More