An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Cobalt prices continued to fall in the first week of December following the start of year-end destocking and greater competition for sales that first put paid to weeks of stability in mid-November. Fastmarkets assessed the low-grade cobalt price at $30.30-32 per lb, in-warehouse, on Friday December 7, down from $32-32.60 per lb at the end of November. The high-grade cobalt price se...Read More
Domestic Chinese and cif Asia battery-grade lithium prices were stable week on week on Thursday December 6 after consumers continued to hold back on purchases on sufficient stocks and while negotiating next year's contract prices. The Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate price was unchanged on thin trading activity. Battery-grade lithium hydroxide market stabilized after falling the previo...Read More
Imported steel prices in South America continued to slide this week following the downtrend in China, but rebounded slightly as the weekend approached.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for hot-rolled coil imported into South America was $510-515 per tonne cfr on Friday December 7, the fourth consecutive weekly decline - down from $525-535 per tonne on November 30 and $540-550 per...Read More
Indian steel mills have cut domestic hot rolled coil prices for December sales by about 2,000 rupees ($28) per tonne to discourage imports following a sharp fall in international HRC prices. Fastmarkets' price assessment for Indian domestic HRC was 44,000-44,500 rupees per tonne ex-mill on Friday December 7, a reduction of 2,000 rupees per tonne from last week's 46,000-46,500...Read More
Domestic and export prices for coated-steel coil products in Turkey fell in the week to Friday December 7, with demand remaining limited. The local Turkish market has been slow for a long time and no significant improvement is expected in December, sources told Fastmarkets, because buyers usually postpone bookings towards the end of the year to avoid building up inventories. Domesti...Read More
Fastmarkets MB reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market during the week ended Friday December 7.Raw MaterialsIron ore producer Vale will use a 65% Fe iron ore index to price its pellets next year, moving away from using a 62% Fe iron ore index as the base price for such cargoes, executive director Peter Poppinga said.The world's largest iron ore miner also hailed the launch of...Read More
Prices for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom have held this week, but there are mounting pressures expected to drag down the market next week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday December 7. The light iron market is under pressure amid indications of a likely ?20 ($25.50) per tonne drop in domestic delivery settlements to UK consumers for December shipments. The UK light iron market may fall...Read More
Import prices for containerized ferrous scrap in Taiwan and bulk ferrous scrap in Vietnam dropped again this week, after suppliers reduced their offers further and demand remained weak amid soft downstream long steel markets. Lower offers from Japan also continued to depress prices in the Asian scrap markets, sources told Fastmarkets. Vietnam Fastmarkets' import price assessment for heavy melting...Read More
Pig iron exporters in southern Brazil cut their offers in the week to Friday December 7, due to low global demand for high-phosphorous pig iron, while suppliers in the north of the country were sold out and stayed out of the market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the south-eastern Minas Gerais region was $345-350 per tonne fob on Friday December 7, down from $35...Read More
Scrap prices continued to fall across all major markets except India during the week to Friday December 7.Demand from Turkish steel mills was sluggish this week, with only one deep-sea cargo traded, while a lack of demand in the Asian region pushed prices lower.But imported scrap prices in India increased this week because of stronger demand.Turkey importsTurkish steel producers made only one deep...Read More
Fastmarkets is hosting a free web seminar to discuss the new Singapore Exchange (SGX) 65% Fe derivative contract on December 11. We will examine how changes in the iron ore market have prompted the need for this high-grade derivative, the opportunities the contract offers and the methodology behind our iron ore index. The next stage of evolution for the iron ore market is here, with the SGX announ...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to fall on Friday December 7 due to weakening demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,860-3,900 yuan ($561-567) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,520-3,550 yuan per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonneThe onset of bad weather caused weak demand for rebar, pushing down prices, traders said.Meanwhile, rebar futures were lower than Thur...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday December 7.China The domestic ferro-chrome spot price slid after some sellers lowered prices to book sales and generate cash before year-end, but buying interest from China's domestic stainless steel mills was thin. The imported charge chrome market was quiet. Some sellers had just compl...Read More
Pig iron exporters in southern Brazil cut their offers in the week to Friday December 7, due to low global demand for high-phosphorous pig iron, while suppliers in the north of the country were sold out and stayed out of the market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the south-eastern Minas Gerais region was $345-350 per tonne fob on Friday December 7, down from $35...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Friday December 7, supported by an uptick in equity indices while a softer US dollar index helped most three-month prices reverse Thursday's losses.Despite low volumes in LME trading, with aluminium's 11,723 lots topping the complex, strong afternoon trading resulted in intraday highs for aluminium,...Read More
Scrap prices continued to fall across all major markets except India during the week to Friday December 7.Demand from Turkish steel mills was sluggish this week, with only one deep-sea cargo traded, while a lack of demand in the Asian region pushed prices lower.But imported scrap prices in India increased this week because of stronger demand.Turkey importsTurkish steel producers made only one deep...Read More
Imported steel prices in South America continued to slide this week following the downtrend in China, but rebounded slightly as the weekend approached.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for hot-rolled coil imported into South America was $510-515 per tonne cfr on Friday December 7, the fourth consecutive weekly decline - down from $525-535 per tonne on November 30 and $540-550 per...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday December 7. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher during morning trading, with copper topping complex gains amid a weaker dollar and resurgent trade tensions between the United States and China. Climbing just under 2% over the morning, copper...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday December 7.Base metals prices traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange exhibited mixed movements during Asian morning trading on Friday, with concerns over trade tensions between China and the United States continuing to dampen sentiment.Check Fastmarkets MB's live futures report here.Of...Read More