Flat steel import prices went up in South America in the latest price assessments, with rises imposed by mills in China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) being passed through to customers.Fastmarkets assessed the import price of hot-rolled coil (HRC) in South America at $540-550 per tonne cfr on February 15, up from $525-540 per tonne the week before. The import price of cold-rolled...Read More
Export prices for flat steel from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have increased further because material availability was lower than the level of demand, source told Fastmarkets on Monday February 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was $520-530 per tonne fob Black Sea on February 18, up by $20 per tonne week on week.Russia-origin H...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange ended higher on Monday February 18 thanks to the downtrend in stocks and the potential for a thawing of US-Chinese trade relations.According to LME data, there are now two dominant warrant holding positions across 50-79% of LME stock and tom/next positions respectively."We are constructive on our outlook for copper prices in the next three mo...Read More
Low grade ore prices rose strongly over the week ended Friday February 15 when some consumers accepted offer prices for March delivery that were increased over the Chinese New Year break. Low-grade ore prices rise strongly High-grade ore price increase Ferro-manganese prices in China and US increase Alloys in Europe fall Silico-manganese prices in China, US and India drop...Read More
Detailed data for Chinese trade is still not available, but there are indications that the East Asian country may have become the biggest importer of pig iron in Asia last year, according to Fastmarkets' research team.We pointed out in June last year that the Chinese import pig iron market might revive to fill the widening gap between iron and steel production in China, alongside ferrous scrap.Hon...Read More
The process to exclude steel and aluminium from the Section 232 import tariffs applied by the United States is having some interesting consequences.Notably, in the event of a national security issue - which Section 232 was designed to address - the United States would theoretically rely on Japan for its steel and Saudi Arabia for its aluminium.Those countries have been granted the highest volume o...Read More
Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange ended higher on Monday February 18 thanks to the downtrend in stocks and the potential for a thawing of US-Chinese trade relations.According to LME data, there are now two dominant warrant holding positions across 50-79% of LME stock and tom/next positions respectively."We are constructive on our outlook for copper prices in the next three mo...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment charges fell further in mid-February on expectations of tighter supply later this year, which could be reversed now that an Indian court's ruling to restart Sterlite Copper's 400,000 tonnes per year smelter has been overturned.Fastmarkets's copper concentrates treatment charges and refining charges (TCs/RCs) index declined to $74.20 per tonne/ 7.42 cents per lb for the...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Monday February 18, with the three-month copper and tin prices rising while continued uncertainty over US-Chinese trade relations dampens investor sentiment. Climbing just short of 1% over the morning, the three-month copper price is trading back above the nearby $6,200 per tonne threshold, while total volu...Read More
CIS export prices for rebar and wire rod continued to rise in the week ended Monday February 18, following the increase in global billet prices seen last week as well as higher export offers for long steel from Turkey.But customers refrained from making new bookings because they considered the offers for CIS material to be too high.In particular, rebar offers from Ukraine were heard at $495-500 pe...Read More
The Chinese antimony market was lackluster amid thin trading activity in the week ended Friday February 15, the first working week after the national Lunar New Year break on February 4-10, while China's absence was echoed in stagnant European prices. In China, Fastmarkets assessed the price for MMTA standard-grade II antimony, delivered duty-paid, at 48,500-49,500 yuan ($7,158-7,306) per tonne on...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment charges fell further in mid-February on expectations of tighter supply later this year, which could be reversed now that an Indian court's ruling to restart Sterlite Copper's 400,000 tonnes per year smelter has been overturned.Fastmarkets's copper concentrates treatment charges and refining charges (TCs/RCs) index declined to $74.20 per tonne/ 7.42 cents per lb for the...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Monday February 18, with the three-month copper and tin prices rising while continued uncertainty over US-Chinese trade relations dampens investor sentiment. Climbing just short of 1% over the morning, the three-month copper price is trading back above the nearby $6,200 per tonne threshold, while total volu...Read More
The three-month base metals prices traded on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on the morning of Monday February 18. Zinc prices led the decline with a 0.9% drop to $2,639 per tonne from $2,664 per tonne on Friday's close, followed by lead prices that were down by 0.6% at $2,065 per tonne from $2,077 per tonne, and nickel prices that dropped by 0.3% to $12,380 per tonne from $12,415 per tonne....Read More
Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit has been dealt a setback in its bid to restart its Tuticorin copper smelter, which produces 400,000 tonnes per year of copper cathode. The smelter in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which has been closed since last May, was due to restart in the second or third quarter of 2019 after a National Green Tribunal ruled the...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Monday February 18*Copper -$148.77 (-1,008.3yuan) Aluminium -$331.55 (-2,247.18 yuan) Zinc -$112.66 (-763.56 yuan) Nickel -$247.19 (-1,675.42 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month prices...Read More
Most global aluminium billet premiums fell or were flat on Friday February 15, with demand muted in most markets and participants waiting to see the effect of the removal of sanctions against UC Rusal by the United States. Premiums across Europe fall due to oversupply and poor demand.The US upcharge falls, with participants bearish.The quiet market in Asia keeps the Thailand premium steady.The pre...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board during Asian morning trading on Monday February 18, with market sentiment boosted by positive trade developments and data releases at the end of last week. "Positive signs in the US-China trade talks helped boost sentiment across markets, with base metals benefiting in particular," Kishti Sen, international economist at A...Read More
Crude steel production in Argentina rose by 7.88% year-on-year in January 2019, according to figures released by national steel association Acero Argentino on Monday February 18.Production came to 370,900 tonnes, compared with 343,800 tonnes in the corresponding period a year earlier.January's crude steel output also went up by 4.16% from the previous month's level of 356,100...Read More
CIS export slab prices have increased by $15-25 per tonne fob over the past week amid limited availability of the material and the continuing price increases in the finished flat steel sectors both in the CIS and in customers' own markets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment of the CIS export slab price surged to $475-485 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday February 18, against $460 per tonne fob Bl...Read More