Turkish steel producers have ended another week without making any deep-sea purchases because of the continued lack of demand for finished steel in the country's domestic and export markets, sources said on Friday December 14.Domestic mills have been holding back from scrap purchases for three weeks now, with only one cargo booked since November 23, which was a European cargo at an average price o...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India fell this this week, reflecting lower offer prices to entice buyers, market participants said on Friday December 14.Fastmarkets MB's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $337.50 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on December 14, down from $342.78 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on December 7.Offers ranged from $330 to $345...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices surged above the $70 per tonne cfr mark on Friday December 14 amid bullish trading in both physical and futures markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $70.74 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.09 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $70.54 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.62 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $72.17 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.29 per tonne.MB 58%...Read More
Interest in Singapore Exchange's (SGX) high-grade iron ore derivative was robust in the second week of trading, with 7,000 lots traded and cleared by 5.53pm Singapore time on Friday December 14.This accounts for 700,000 tonnes traded and cleared this week as of 5.53pm Singapore time, according to SGX data.Trading was done in each calendar month from January 2019 to June 2019 this week, in line wit...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 transactions: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), 170,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, sold at $69.40 per tonne cfr China,...Read More
The divide between cfr China and fob Australia prices widened further on Friday December 14 amid persistent concerns over potential supply disruptions.A cargo of a top Australian brand was traded at $208.20 per tonne cfr China during the day, various sources told Fastmarkets. A cargo of a similar brand had changed hands at $230 per tonne fob Australia just a day earlier.The Abbot Point Coal Termin...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices continued to rise on Friday December 14, capping a week of gains that appears to have led to a drop in trading activity in the export market. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,830 yuan ($555-557) per tonne, up 30-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,620-3,630 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonnePrices rose further due to buyers constantly...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday December 14:Bismuth MB free market, $/lb: $3.40-3.80 per lb from $3.60-4.00Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 48,000-50,000 yuan per tonne from 48,500-51,000 yuanCobalt MB free market high grade, $/lb: $28.60-30.60 per lb from $29.90-31.40Cobalt...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves. Read More
Disappointing Chinese economic data has weighed on the three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange this morning, Friday December 14, with all the metals in negative territory and showing average losses of 0.4%.The three-month zinc price led the way with a drop of 1%, copper was off by 0.5% at $6,121 per tonne, while the rest were off by between 0.1% and 0.3%.Volume across the compl...Read More
Manganese ore exports from South Africa during 2018 will increase to almost 17 million tonnes by the end of December, according to data that also shows monthly export volumes soared in November. Shipping trends show the total exported volume of manganese ore from South Africa in 2018 will be up by about 14% compared with the 14.7 million tonnes it exported in 2017, when...Read More
Stainless steel prices in Europe fell in the week to Friday December 14, with slow trading increasing the competition between distributors, sources told Fastmarkets."Distributors still have high stocks, and destocking did not go as fast as planned for the majority of the buyers, so competition has been rather strong," a trader said.From the end of next week until the first week...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday December 14:Aluminium scrapFloated Frag: ?,?1,055-1,105 per tonne from ?,?1,050-1,100Cast: ?,?960-1,010 per...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Asia maintained their downward trend this week amid soft end-user demand in the region.Offers were ample but buyers mostly either stayed on the sidelines or sought out limited volumes to import.Market participants are also not sure what to expect from the market over the next few weeks.Some of them said sellers in the United States were not willing to offer containerized sc...Read More
Primary aluminium stocks at the three main Japanese ports (MJP) dropped 7% month on month in November, based on data released by major Japanese trading house Marubeni on Thursday December 13.Total MJP aluminium stocks stood at 295,400 tonnes at the end of November, compared with 317,300 tonnes at the end of October, the third consecutive drop since September. The total stock level, however, remain...Read More
It was another firmer start for the three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange this morning, Thursday December 13, with all the metals in positive territory and showing average gains of 0.6%.More positive steps from China on trade seems to be easing some of the concerns in the market, although the traders are probably nervous that any positivity could be unwound with one president...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday December 13* Copper -$116.88 (-804.62 yuan) Aluminium -$429.32 (-2,955.46 yuan) Zinc -$104.15 (-716.99 yuan) Nickel $143.04 (984.71 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) expects Brazilian apparent consumption of flat steel to grow in 2019 while imports' share of usage remains stable, an investor presentation published on Wednesday December 12 showed.The company estimated that Brazilian flat steel consumption will reach 13.43 million tonnes next year, 6% above the 12.67 million tonnes forecast for 2018. Import penetration in bo...Read More
US flat-rolled import prices have dipped, with cheaper hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil mirroring declines in global steel prices, market participants said.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for imported hot-rolled coil fell to $680-720 per ton cfr port of Houston on Wednesday December 12, down from $700-750 per ton two weeks earlier. The assessment for imported cold-rolled coil ...Read More
Wire rod prices in the United States have stayed flat over the past two weeks, while industry sources were divided as to whether mill hikes announced in November will be accepted by the marketplace in January 2019. Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for industrial quality low-carbon rod held firm at $39.25-41.25 per hundredweight ($785-825 per short ton) fob mill on Wednesday December 12, with imp...Read More