Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday January 31 *Copper -$140.48 (-943.56 yuan) Aluminium -$371.26 (-2,493.56 yuan) Zinc -$60.86 (-408.77 yuan) Nickel -$290.82 (-1,953.32 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
A dovish US Federal Reserve stance, a weaker dollar and a firmer Chinese yuan, which may indicate confidence in US-China trade talks, are all helping to underpin the three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange this morning, Thursday January 31.Lead and zinc prices led on the upside with gains of 0.6% and 0.5% respectively,followed by rises of 0.4% in tin, 0.3% in aluminium, 0.2% in...Read More
Swedish steelmaker SSAB forecasts that demand for heavy steel plate will remain strong in the United States in the first quarter of 2019, while in Europe demand will be fairly stable.SSAB, which has operations in Sweden, Finland and the US, expects steel prices in the first quarter to be "somewhat higher for SSAB Americas, compared with the fourth quarter of 2018. Prices realized by SSAB Europe du...Read More
Steel billet import prices in Egypt increased this week on higher offers, and the market is expecting rebar prices to increase as well, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 31.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $450-455 per tonne cfr on Thursday, rising from $425-440 per tonne cfr last week.Billet producers in the CIS were offering material to Egy...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transaction: billetBilletCIS, export, billet, offered...Read More
The world's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, has announced a price rise of ?,?30 ($34) per tonne on flat steel products, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 31.The price increase will be applied to hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) across Europe with immediate effect, according to market participants. ArcelorMittal has been trading...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe have been largely stable over the week amid slow market activity, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.Buyers in the region are reported to have sufficient stocks of plate so therefore, are not interested in making new deals, market participants said.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for domestic grade-S235JR heavy steel plate in Southern Europe...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices jumped above $85 per tonne cfr China on Thursday January 31, with deals for Brazilian fines closing at higher levels after Vale's decision to reduce the output of its southern systems.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.34 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $2.81 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $86.18 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $2.81 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low...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, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex),...Read More
The seaborne coking coal spot market quietened down on Thursday January 31 amid a softening of sentiment in China, where import restrictions have emerged at ports in the country's northeastern region.While word had emerged on Wednesday about customs authorities not clearing Australian coking coal for entry at the Port of Dandong in Liaoning province, a mill source in the northeastern region said t...Read More
Fastmarkets MB is seeking feedback on a proposal to begin publishing on a weekly basis its value-in-use (VIU) indices for the market-implied value impact of 1% iron, silica and alumina, and 0.01% phosphorus on the price of iron ore. Depending on market feedback, this proposal would be implemented from Monday March 4.These indices are currently calculated on a monthly basis and published on the fir...Read More
The recent launch of 65% Fe iron ore derivatives on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) marked an important step in the evolution of the modern iron ore market, allowing industry participants to manage exposure to future fluctuations in the prices of high-grade products.Prices for iron ore, a raw material of variable quality, have always been stratified according to Fe grade. It is what makes the success...Read More
Prices for bismuth in the European market are becoming firmer because of shipment delays affecting material from China's Hunan Jinwang Bismuth, one of the biggest suppliers, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday January 31.Fastmarkets assessed the European bismuth price at $3.70-4.10 per lb on January 30. This was up from the previous range of $3.50-4.00 per lb on January 25.The main reason for this week'...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices were unchanged on Thursday January 31, with few participants still active in both the domestic and export markets ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday next week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,780-3,800 yuan ($563-566) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,720-3,740 yuan per tonne, unchangedA Shanghai-based trader said that his company sold a very smal...Read More
US titanium producer Global Titanium, which is based in Detroit, Michigan, has suffered no impact to production after a fire at its plant earlier this month.The company, which has the capacity to make 10,000 tonnes per year of 70% grade (Ti) alloy and is one of the biggest ferro-titanium producers in the world, said the impact of the fire had only slowed production of fines. The fire on January 3...Read More
European molybdenum prices rose this trading this week, with both molybdenum oxide and ferro-molybdenum prices paring almost all losses so far this year, with higher oxide offer prices behind the rise in the alloy market.Still, there were few deals reported and industry sources said there is a disparity between oxide fundamentals and those in ferro-molybdenum, casting doubt on the sustainability o...Read More
Indonesia's stainless hot-rolled coil exports are expected to rise further in 2019 after nearly tripling in the first three quarters of 2018. Exports of Indonesian stainless HRC totaled 877,990 tonnes during January to September 2018, a year-on-year jump of 170.9% from 324,108 tonnes in 2017, the country's Ministry of Industry said on Monday January 28.Stainless slab exports also rose sharply...Read More
China's ferrous futures rose across the board for a third consecutive morning on Thursday January 31, with the rebar and coking coal contract taking the lead.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,710 yuan ($552) per tonne, up 16 per tonneMay hot-rolled coil: 3,600 yuan per tonne, up 9 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore: 584 yuan per tonne...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia increased again over the past week, with mills continuing to raise their offers amid costlier nickel, although trading activity was slow because of the upcoming Lunar New Year.Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia was $1,920-2,010 per tonne cif for the week to Wednesday January 30, up $20-...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices held steady for a fifth week amid thin trading ahead of the Chinese New Year.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,200-14,800 yuan ($2,113-2,203) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday January 30, unchanged from a week earlier.Most trading houses an...Read More