China Molybdenum's acquisition of trading house IXM is central to the company's growth strategy for the coming years and it will continue to survey the market for more M&A opportunities, the company told Fastmarkets.The Chinese mining company, which has spent $4.65 billion in the past two years on an acquisition rampage, remains open to buy new assets if the right ones appear."We are looking for m...Read More
Turkish scrap import prices increased on Thursday December 20 on positive sentiment although no new deals were heard, sources told Fastmarkets MB. Several new bookings were heard on December 18, including a steel producer in the Iskenderun region booking a European cargo comprising 25,000 tonnes of heavy melting scrap (HMS) 1&2 (75:25), 7,000 tonnes of a mixture of bonus and shredded...Read More
The Comex copper price failed to maintain momentum after the US Federal Reserve increased interest rates and signalled a hawkish monetary policy strategy for 2019.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 2.00 cents to $2.69 per lb."Both the Fed's policy statement and Jay Powell's news conference came across as more hawkish than...Read More
The three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker this morning, Thursday December 20. The exception was aluminium that was up by 0.4% at $1,916 per tonne, while the rest were lower by an average of 0.5%.Copper was down the most with a 1.2% drop to $5,994 per tonne, this after rebounding 1.8% on Tuesday. Today's low at $5,946 per tonne once again breached...Read More
A requirement for a higher energy density for new EV battery projects has been removed from the official regulations on automobile industry investment published by the country's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on its website. The energy density threshold was removed from the final version of the regulations on Tuesday December 18 owing to the fact that current technology is not d...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil (CRC) in Europe have been largely unchanged over the week, but sentiment in the market remains negative, sources told Fastmarkets.The market has been slow due to the seasonal de-stocking from distributors ahead of the year-end.Market sources believe that although activity will somewhat recover in the first half of January, the demand improvement will not be str...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices rebounded on Thursday December 20 amid lower inventory, with those in the north posting larger increases on fears of a supply drop.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,810-3,820 yuan ($552-554) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,680-3,700 yuan per tonne, up 60-70 yuan per tonneHRC inventory levels in the country fell by around 76,600 tonnes...Read More
Ferrous futures in China fell during morning trading on Thursday December 20, apart from the iron ore contract which posted small gains during the session.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,433 yuan ($498) per tonne, down 13 yuan per tonneMay hot-rolled coil: 3,438 yuan per tonne, down 22 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore: 490.50 yua...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday December 21.Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday December 20, with a continued retreat in the United States dollar index failing to spur upward price action amid broadly moderate volumes. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:It...Read More
The lack of trading activity in the second half of December continued to put pressure on Turkish long steel exporters, and on rebar in particular, which has forced suppliers to further decrease offers.The European Commission's decision to extend safeguard regulations until February 1, 2019 has added more uncertainty into the market, leaving the question of how much rebar will be allowed to be supp...Read More
Some domestic rebar producers in Egypt have reduced prices, however, steel billet import prices have remained stable in the past week, sources said on Thursday December 20.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was at $440-445 per tonne cfr on Thursday, unchanged from the previous assessment.Billet producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) wer...Read More
Turkish scrap import prices increased on Thursday December 20 on positive sentiment although no new deals were heard, sources told Fastmarkets MB. Several new bookings were heard on December 18, including a steel producer in the Iskenderun region booking a European cargo comprising 25,000 tonnes of heavy melting scrap (HMS) 1&2 (75:25), 7,000 tonnes of a mixture of bonus and shredded...Read More
Steelmaker Tosyali Algeria has announced the completion of a 'state-of-the-art' direct reduced iron-making (DRI) plant with a nameplate capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per year. In a press release this week, Suhat Korkmaz, chief executive officer of Tosyali Holdings, the Turkey-headquartered parent company of Tosyali Algeria, said the plant, "provides Tosyali Algeria with greater flexibility to pro...Read More
Singapore Exchange's 65% Fe iron ore derivative contract continues to lend transparency to the high-grade segment, with trades registered for August-December 2019 months on Thursday December 20 and physical prices up amid active trading.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $72.26 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.11 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $72.09 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.14 per tonne....Read More
Some domestic rebar producers in Egypt have reduced prices, however, steel billet import prices have remained stable in the past week, sources said on Thursday December 20.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was at $440-445 per tonne cfr on Thursday, unchanged from the previous assessment.Billet producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) wer...Read More
China's rebar prices strengthened on Thursday December 20 following gains in the billet and futures markets.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,800-3,830 yuan ($551-555) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,600-3,630 yuan per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneImproved demand for billet sent the price of the semi-finished product in Tangshan upward during the day.Rebar futures...Read More
Revised standards for rebar in China have failed to lend continued support to vanadium prices in the country since their introduction in November, primarily due to enforcement of the standards not being as stringent as previously expected, market sources told Fastmarkets.The new rebar policy, effective November 1, 2018, requires Chinese steel mills to eliminate the original 335 megapascals (MPa)-t...Read More
Ferrous futures in China fell during morning trading on Thursday December 20, apart from the iron ore contract which posted small gains during the session.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,433 yuan ($498) per tonne, down 13 yuan per tonneMay hot-rolled coil: 3,438 yuan per tonne, down 22 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore: 490.50 yua...Read More
It's been nine months since the United States announced Section 232 tariffs, and over six months since a 10% tax was applied to imports of aluminium from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. There's been a huge debate over how successful the tariffs - imposed on the grounds of national security and also applied at a 25% rate to steel - have been. Much depends on who you talk to, and what their s...Read More
A steel trade group argued that the statute under which the US Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports were issued was unconstitutional, according to oral arguments during a US Court of International Trade (CIT) hearing on Wednesday December 19. The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) alleged that the statute violates the constitutional prohibition against Congress delegati...Read More