Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading on Monday February 11, with nickel the only metal to trade in positive territory, while continued strength in the dollar index fuels selling momentum. Chinese market participants have returned from their week-long Lunar New Year break. Yet despite a return of Chinese stimulus resulting in higher volumes...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Monday February 11*Copper -$165.93 (-1,126.09 yuan) Aluminium -$370.65 (-2,515.41 yuan) Zinc -$111.17 (-754.45 yuan) Nickel -$61.61 (-418.12 yuan) *Fastmarkets MB calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put his weight behind calls for a reduction of the trade tariffs affecting his country's steel and aluminium exports to the United States.US President Donald Trump doubled the tariffs applied to steel and aluminium imported from Turkey in August 2018. At the time, relations between the two countries were poor because of Turkey's detention of US evangelica...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia increased again over the past week on expectations of higher prices, although the market was quiet amid the week-long Lunar New Year trading lull.Fastmarkets MB's weekly import price assessment for slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia was $445-460 per tonne cfr on Monday February 11, up $15 per tonne from a week earlier.There were no boo...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil exporters are planning to offer much higher prices after a surge in the domestic market on Monday February 11 following global price gains in iron ore during the Lunar New Year festival break, market participants told Fastmarkets MB.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,870-3,890 yuan ($574-577) per tonne, up 90 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,800-3,810 yu...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transactions: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic, commercial-grade...Read More
Import prices for re-rolling-grade hot-rolled coil into Vietnam are expected to continue on an upward trend from this week onwards amid surging iron ore prices, which market participants expect to continue boosting downstream carbon steel prices.The MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index was at $85.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao on Friday February 8, up from $74.69 per tonne cfr Qingdao on Friday January 25, while th...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have continued to increase in line with the rise in the costs of imported deep-sea scrap and domestic finished steel, sources said on Monday February 11.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle (DKP-grade) scrap in Turkey was TRY1,660-1,810 ($316-344) per tonne delivered on February 11, rising from TRY1,595-1,690 per tonne last week.The steel mill...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices surged across the board on Monday February 11 when trading resumed in China after a week-long public holiday. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $90.58 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $5.05 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $91.42 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $5.05 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $92.50 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $5.18 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Prem...Read More
Prices in the seaborne coking coal spot market failed to get a boost from the return of Chinese participants following the Lunar New Year break on Monday February 11."There is still a lack of clarity on how the customs clearance restrictions on Australian coal will be enforced or to what extent, [and therefore] there are very few transactions at this juncture," a source at a mill in...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore are likely to increase significantly in the near term following surges in steelmaking raw material prices, market sources told Fastmarkets MB. Market participants expect major rebar producers to increase their offers to Singapore buyers on rising ferrous scrap and iron ore prices.New offers for containerized heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) into Taiwan are expec...Read More
Iron ore futures in China surged on Monday February 11, with the most-traded contract opening 8% above the last settlement price with the return of Chinese market participants from a week-long break.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,870 yuan ($574) per tonne, up 40 yuan per tonneMay hot-rolled coil: 3,757 yuan per tonne, up 38 yuan per tonneDalian Comm...Read More
China's rebar prices increased on Monday February 11 in both the domestic and export markets amid higher billet and futures prices. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,880 yuan ($568-575) per tonne, up 120-130 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,800-3,830 yuan per tonne, up 90-100 yuan per tonneBillet prices rose after futures opened higher, leading to bullish sentiment...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and New York on Monday February 11.United States US prices drifted downward by $0.02 per lb on the low end for domestic silicon, grade 553, free carrier, to $1.14-1.18 per lb, on plentiful supply, with offers reported at $1.14 per lb and sales at $1.16 per lb. Spot buying was even more limited than is typical in January because so many market participan...Read More
High manganese ore prices since 2017 have enabled South African manganese miner Tshipi to generate significantly higher cashflow than expected, allowing for dividends in excess of the initial capital cost to develop the mine.For the second half of 2019, Tshipi has declared a dividend of 1.1 billion rand, its owner - Jupiter Mines - has announced. The mine will continue to produce 3 million tonnes...Read More
The European antimony market was quiet in the week ended Friday February 8, with Chinese market participants still away for the Lunar New Year holiday.Fastmarkets' price assessment for trioxide-grade antimony, in-warehouse Rotterdam, was stable week on week on Friday at $7,800-8,000 per tonne.The price for MMTA standard-grade II antimony, in-warehouse Rotterdam, was also unchanged on February 8 at...Read More
China's return to the market after a week-long break for Lunar New Year has not brought with it a rush to restock and that has led to some disappointed selling across the base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, with the complex down by an average of 0.9% this morning, Monday February 11.The three-month zinc price led the decline with a 2% drop, while the three-month tin price was down by...Read More
Cobalt buyers held back as much as they could last week as prices continued to fall, with good availability of cut cathode creating the expectation that cheaper prices will still be available in the coming weeks."There's still a lot being offered - it's just relentless. It's a massive buyers' market," a trader source said. Fastmarkets' benchmark standard-grade cobalt price assessment stood at $17....Read More
Ammonium paratungstate (APT) and ferro-tungsten prices were unchanged in Europe last week with China away from the market for a one-week holiday. The benchmark ammonium paratungstate price was unchanged at $260-270 per mtu on Friday February 8 - a price level it has maintained for the past five weeks with little spot business being transacted. "It's been quiet on the consumer...Read More
Major steel mills in China have concluded their ferro-silicon tenders for February, which have fallen again month on month on weak demand and oversupply, sources in China said. Both Hebei Steel, the country's largest mill, and Jiangsu Shagang last week released tender purchase prices for ferro-silicon delivered in February. Hebei Steel's latest tender price is 6,290 yuan ($932.32) per tonne for Fe...Read More