Ukraine's largest long steel producer, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, sold almost 80% of its steel output to foreign outlets in 2018, the company said in a report published on Thursday February 7.The company's steel product sales totaled 4.5 million tonnes in 2018, of which just 22% was sold domestically, the report showed.Of the total volume, around 2.9 million tonnes were long steel products, mainly...Read More
Turkey's long steel producers are looking for new export markets after the European Commission more than halved the annual amount of Turkish rebar allowed to enter the region before the imposition of a 25% tariff.However, flat steel producers in Turkey believe the European Union will remain a strong market for them.On 1 February, the EC announced definitive safeguard measures on a l...Read More
Pig iron suppliers to the United States have increased their offer prices despite another fall in the price of prime scrap grades, citing lower availability and higher iron ore costs, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' import price assessment for pig iron in the US was $350-360 per tonne cfr on Friday February 8, increasing from $340-345 per tonne cfr a week before."The prime-grade scrap price has...Read More
Global scrap prices were likely to show further increases because of surges in iron ore prices, Fastmarkets heard during the week ended Friday February 8.Integrated steelmakers were expected to raise their offer prices for downstream steel products due to the increased costs of iron ore and pellets. They were also expected to be able to digest higher ferrous scrap prices to secure more steelmaking...Read More
European alloy steel scrap prices continued their upward trajectory this week on the back of further gains in the nickel market. Having fallen throughout the second half of 2018, nickel prices have risen largely unchecked since the turn of the year. This, in turn, has pulled up austenitic alloy scrap prices, with nickel being the primary alloy component in these grades of stainless steel. In...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil increased slightly this week, as producers prepared to launch a new round of increases for April-shipment material.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of Brazilian slab export prices went up to $420-470 per tonne fob on Friday February 8, compared with $410-460 per tonne fob a week before.No trades were made because market participants were waiting for the end of the Chin...Read More
Import prices for steel billet in Southeast Asia rose on Friday February 8 after an unexpected surge in offer levels, although trading activity remained slow with some market participants still away for the Lunar New Year.Fastmarkets MB's daily import price assessment for billet in Southeast Asia was $455-470 per tonne cfr Manila on Friday, up $5-10 per tonne from $450-460 per tonne cfr on Th...Read More
Transaction prices for grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless sheet in Europe have increased this week for the first time since mid-2018. The increase is largely the result of firmer nickel costs, which themselves began rising at the start of 2019 after decreasing throughout the second half of 2018. Distributors said that, looking at recent costs, it was clear that alloy surcharges for stainless ste...Read More
European stainless steel producers expect the definitive EU safeguarding measures to reduce the volume of imports arriving in the EU, while distributors were less convinced that these measures will be any more effective than the provisional ones that preceded them.The definitive measures, which came into effect on February 2, 2019 and will run until June 30, 2021, differ from the provisional measu...Read More
Participants in the European hollow sections market are in favor of the European Union's new safeguarding measures but hope for additional support against cheap imports in the form of anti-dumping measures, they told Fastmarkets MB. The European Commission (EC) has set definitive safeguard measures on 26 imported steel products in the form of tariff rates and a range of quotas that are partly...Read More
Flat steel import prices remained stable during the past week in South America as market participants were waiting to see if price increases from China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region would truly materialize.Fastmarkets assessed South American hot-rolled coil import prices at $525-540 per tonne cfr on Friday February 8, the same as a week before. Cold-rolled coil prices rem...Read More
Participants in the European hollow sections market are in favor of the European Union's new safeguarding measures but hope for additional support against cheap imports in the form of anti-dumping measures, they told Fastmarkets MB. The European Commission (EC) has set definitive safeguard measures on 26 imported steel products in the form of tariff rates and a range of quotas that are partly...Read More
Concerns about the security of 'upstream' iron ore tailings dams in the state of Minas Gerais have prompted the evacuation of residents from nearby communities, Brazil's national mining agency ANM said on Friday February 8.Inspections were carried out by mine operators - Vale and ArcelorMittal - and ANM, which then co-ordinated the evacuation proces with the municipal and state auth...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil increased slightly this week, as producers prepared to launch a new round of increases for April-shipment material.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of Brazilian slab export prices went up to $420-470 per tonne fob on Friday February 8, compared with $410-460 per tonne fob a week before.No trades were made because market participants were waiting for the end of the Chin...Read More
Aluminium foundry premiums in Europe were under pressure this month from weak demand and the removal of US sanctions against Russian producer UC Rusal, but the premium in the United States remained firm. The premium in Eastern Europe for silicon 7 aluminium wheels on a delivered-duty-paid basis dropped 5% to its lowest level since monthly assessments began in 2017. Fastmarkets assessed the Eastern...Read More
Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse Rotterdam basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for standard-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb Click here for...Read More
Manganese ore prices are showing signs of recovery after a poor start to 2019 that was blamed largely on bearish sentiment around silico-manganese and steel markets in China.Low-grade manganese ore prices have edged up in late January amid a flurry of demand ahead of Chinese New Year, which meant some of the firmer offers in the market were successful, despite the fact that some miners had cut off...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Friday February 8, hampered by low liquidity conditions due to Lunar New Year national holidays while dollar strength and broad risk-aversion continues to limit commodity investment.Nickel's three-month price was the biggest decline over the day, falling over 3% to close just above $12,500 per tonne and do...Read More
The Comex copper price softened during US morning trading on Friday February 8 with trading volumes reduced due to Lunar New Year. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.45 cents to $2.8240 per lb. Yet the copper price has experienced short-covering so far this year, according to Fastmarkets MB research."While investors were ex...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices stayed largely flat on Friday February 8 with China's week-long public holiday coming to an end, though there was some activity in the high-grade segment.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $86.37 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $87.32 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchange...Read More