European austenitic alloy scrap prices were largely stable this week, although further losses are possible while the market's fundamentals remain weak. The exception was European import 18/8 stainless scrap solids, the price range for which slipped to ?,?930-950 ($1,060-1,083) per tonne cif, down by ?,?20 per tonne, according to Fastmarkets MB's assessmentDemand is poor, as it has been since Octob...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India fell by $8 per tonne this week due to a poor trading environment, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 23.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $350.53 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on November 23. This was down by $8.28 per tonne week on week from $358.81 per tonne cfr on November 16.Offer pr...Read More
The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was slightly firmer this morning, Friday November 23, while the rest of the complex was down by an average of 0.6%. Zinc led the decline with a 1.2% fall, while copper was off by 0.8% at $6,217 per tonne.Volume has been high with 11,796 lots traded as at 7.24am London time - the bulk of which has been in nickel, where 6,902 lots have traded....Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
China's domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate price was steady this week due to slow market activity, with just small deals concluded; rest-of-world lithium hydroxide prices fell due to continued low demand. Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices were unchanged week on week on thin spot market activity. Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices in other global marke...Read More
Indian importers are considering imports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China because South Korean suppliers have exited the Indian market due to falling prices.China-origin commercial grade HRC was offered earlier this week to Indian importers at $505-510 per tonne cfr Mumbai for late January-early February shipments.But there had been no Chinese HRC import bookings by Indian importers by Friday N...Read More
Domestic prices for coated steel coil products in Turkey were mostly stable in the week ended Friday November 23, with demand remaining limited.The local market has been slow for a long time and some market participants expected prices to fall further because of price falls on hot-rolled coil, the base product for coated coils.Prices had previously fallen slightly last week.Domestic pricesOne prod...Read More
Domestic and import prices for steel coil products in Turkey have decreased this week due to limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 23."Buyers are hesitant to buy because of weak end-user demand and expectations of further price falls," a source said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Turkish domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) was $520-525 per tonne ex-works on November 23,...Read More
Fastmarkets reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market during the week ended Friday November 23.Raw materialsThe price of pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States has fallen over the past seven days due to weak prices both for raw materials and for finished steel products.High-grade iron ore producer Carpentaria Resources sees a strong need for a high-grade i...Read More
Some rebar producers in Egypt believe that the country should apply duty at 6-8% on imports of steel billet, while others argue that billet imports are essential if enough rebar is to be produced domestically, Fastmarkets heard on Friday November 23.The first group believe that billet duties will facilitate an increase in domestic billet capacity. But the latter group believe that it is imports of...Read More
China's rebar prices declined significantly in both the domestic and export markets on Friday November 23 amid plunging futures.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,920-3,950 yuan ($565-570) per tonne, down 70 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,780-3,800 yuan per tonne, down 40-50 yuan per tonneThe sharp drop in the paper market during the day intensified the bearish sentiment in the spot m...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices continued to move downward in the week ending Friday November 23, with persistently weak finished steel sales and fears about renewed Chinese exports.Cargoes booked in Turkey were at lower prices due to fears of increased volumes of rebar being exported from China. The market in India was dragged down by the negative sentiment in Turkey, with prices falling by $8 per to...Read More
There is uncertainty in the United States pig iron market because the markets for scrap and hot-rolled coil (HRC), the key indicators, are moving in opposite directions, Fastmarkets was told on Friday November 23.Fastmarkets' price assessment for US imports of pig iron was $378-385 per tonne cfr on Friday, narrowing upward from $370-385 per tonne last week.One deal for high-phosphorous pig iron fo...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India fell by $8 per tonne this week due to a poor trading environment, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 23.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $350.53 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on November 23. This was down by $8.28 per tonne week on week from $358.81 per tonne cfr on November 16.Offer pr...Read More
The CIS export billet price dropped sharply on Friday November 23 after a Russian billet cargo was reported sold to Southeast Asia at a lower price than other recent deals.Fastmarkets' daily CIS billet index was $446 per tonne fob Black Sea on November 23, down by $7 per tonne day on day.Around 25,000 tonnes of billet from Russia's Abinsk Electic Steel Works was sold to traders to be resold to Sou...Read More
China's rebar prices declined significantly in both the domestic and export markets on Friday November 23 amid plunging futures.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,920-3,950 yuan ($565-570) per tonne, down 70 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,780-3,800 yuan per tonne, down 40-50 yuan per tonneThe sharp drop in the paper market during the day intensified the bearish sentiment in the spot m...Read More
European grade-304 stainless steel prices may never fully recover from their present slump because of the need to compete with low-cost production from Asia, particularly in Indonesia, a European trader said on Friday 23 November. The Tsingshan Group plant in Sulawesi, Indonesia, which has capacity of 1 million tonnes per year, mines its own nickel pig iron (NPI) and chromium, as well as having ca...Read More
Key data for the pricing session for the week ending November 23. China Domestic ferro-chrome spot prices softened slightly this week amid thin buying interest.The UG2 chrome ore index was unmoved, with buyers taking a wait-and-watch stance prior to the release of December's ferro-chrome tender prices...Read More
Price increases for the steel supplied to carmakers in Brazil may exceed 20% in 2019 despite the downward price trend in China, the chief financial officer of Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas, Alberto Ono, said on Friday November 23 during an investor meeting.Steelmakers are discussing next year's contracts with the automotive industry and initially set rises of 25.00-27.50%. Companhia Sider??rgica N...Read More
Special steelmaker Voestalpine attributed an 11% fall in its earnings for the first half of 2018 to continuing global trade conflicts, it said late last week.The Austrian company reported a decline of 11.2% in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) over April-September 2018, the first half of its financial year, to ?,?860 million ($969 million). This compared with...Read More