China ended steel production in all of the country's illegal induction furnaces by the end of June last year, it ha claimed.Most operators in China are primarily small private mills that use low-quality scrap to produce substandard rebar. This is mixed with grade III (HRB400) rebar and sold at a discount to construction contractors.For a long period, the government had neither a record of nor cont...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
A historic backwardation in zinc forward prices has its first major casualty, with Thailand's foremost zinc distributor set to close that part of its business as a result.Padaeng Industry, formerly a primary zinc smelter which pivoted into the renewable energy industry, will close its 50,000 tonne per year zinc metal distribution business at the end of 2018, the company said in a Stock Exchange of...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Mining investments are rising in Peru, with projects slated for the next decade amounting to $59.3 billion in the latest data collection by the local government in November, up from the $58.51-billion tally in March. Peru has three mining projects already in the construction phase and nine more scheduled to begin in December, the data show. There are another 16 projects expected for the 2019-21 pe...Read More
The government of Greece has held emergency meetings to keep the country's state-owned ferro-nickel company Larco in production. George Stathakis, Greece's Minister of the Environment and Energy, met on Wednesday December 12 with the members of the left-governing party Syriza as well as representatives of trade unions in Larco, to discuss how to avoid closing the indebted company. Larco is the sec...Read More
The tin premium in Europe continued its ascent on Tuesday December 11 on mounting concern for the availability of supply from Indonesia, while weak demand is keeping premiums in the United States and China flat. European premium boosted by Indonesian export freezeUS premiums flat in quiet marketChinese premiums stable on seasonality, closed import window European tin premium up before a tight Janu...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange had mostly drifted lower by the close on Wednesday December 12 but were confined to tight ranges throughout what was an unexceptional trading day.Volumes were thin while market participants slowed their trading ahead of the looming end of the year. In copper, around 10,000 lots traded by the 5pm close compared with more than 22,000 lots on Friday. Th...Read More
The lingering backwardation in cash/three-month zinc spreads pressured the Southeast Asian premium down this week; lead premiums were largely stable with market participants focused on securing long-term contractual supply amid the continued absence of Iranian lead units. Backwardation in cash/three-month zinc spread stood at $77 per tonne as of Wednesday December 12. The backwardation stil...Read More
Fastmarkets' European nickel premium fell, while that for briquette in the United States stabilized in an unusually active week ended Tuesday December 11 with sellers trying to command higher premiums on falling metal prices. Nickel briquette premiums fell in Rotterdam Discounting of US briquette premium stalls; spot activity picks up No change in China during year-end slowdown The prem...Read More
Comex copper prices were unchanged during trading on Wednesday December 12 amid market hesitation after the latest round of global trade developments.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was flat at $2.7670 per lb.Sentiment in commodity markets received a boost from the news that China plans to slash import tariffs on US automobiles from 4...Read More
State-owned Saudi Arabian steel producer Hadeed Sabic plans to investment in a new product, although the details have yet to be announced, company president Mohammed Al-Zahrani said on Tuesday December 11.The trade war between China and the United States has affected the Middle East region because those countries that cannot export to the US are redirecting their products to the Middle East, Al-Za...Read More
Hollow steel sections prices in Europe remained flat this week while the market mulled the implications of reaching the import quota limit, market participants said.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at ?,?635-650 ($721-738) per tonne delivered on Wednesday December 12.The hollow sectio...Read More
European prices for mesh-quality wire rod stayed flat across the Northern and Southern parts of the continent on Wednesday December 12, with the EC's import quota now more than 90% filled.Fastmarkets MB's weekly domestic price assessments for mesh-quality wire rod in both Southern and Northern Europe stayed at ?,?540-560 ($613-636) per tonne delivered on Wednesday.The European Commission's import...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe was flat on Wednesday December 12, with no buying ahead of the holidays and while the EC's import quotas run dry.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe stayed at ?,?530-540 ($602-613) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with no new business now expected before the New Year and little before the Febr...Read More
Union Iron and Steel plans to produce 400,000 tonnes of rebar in 2019 after activating its new billet welding machine, chief executive officer Boris Van Thiel said at the Fastmarkets MB Middle East Iron and Steel conference in Dubai on Wednesday December 12.A re-roller of billets, Abu Dhabi-based rebar producer Union Iron and Steel has capacity of 350,000 tonnes per year. It produced 300,000 tonne...Read More
The price for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe remained stable on Wednesday December 12, with market participants uncertain of the impact of the rapidly filling of import quotas.Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe remained at $540-560 ($613-636) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, al though few deals were reported in the week.Buyers had been...Read More
The European ferro-molybdenum market, which climbed almost 2.5% in trading a week ago, has pared gains since Friday in line with a drop in demand.Suppliers said there is plenty of alloy available if needed amid negligible levels of consumer demand and they have cut their offer prices as a result.The ferro-molybdenum, basis 65%, in-warehouse Rotterdam price has dropped 20 cents to $29.20-29.40 per...Read More