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
The closure of some induction furnaces in China in 2016 followed by the government's crackdown on all unlicensed IFs in mid-2017 freed up some scrap volumes, albeit arguably of low-quality material. Chinese domestic scrap prices came under pressure from the increased supply, which prevented them from keeping pace with the rise in steel and other raw material markets in the fourth quarter of 2016;...Read More
Manganese miners have reported a sharp drop in demand from manganese alloy smelters in China due to their preference for buying ore from Chinese ports in a bid to keep costs and inventories low ahead of the end of the year. Seaborne low grade manganese ore prices slid on November 30 due to sellers dropping prices amid weaker demand and a drop in silico-manganese futures prices on the Zhengzhou Com...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Open interest in the CME's aluminium European duty-paid premium contract hit an all-time high the end of November, boosted by efforts to lock in premiums given wide forward spreads.The contract logged total open interest through December 2019 at 11,400 tonnes as of Thursday November 29.Fastmarkets MB assessed the spot P1020 Rotterdam duty-paid aluminium premium at $125-140 per tonne on November 30...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed higher on Friday November 30, with zinc, lead and nickel the best performers of the day.Zinc was the strongest performer on Friday, with its three-month price rising 2.9% from Thursday to close at $2,542 per tonne. After consistently dipping since January, LME zinc stocks settled at a fresh 2018-low of 117,550 tonnes on Friday.W...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Comex copper prices experienced further weakness ahead of world leaders converging in Argentina for the Group of Twenty (G20) meeting this weekend.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 1.80 cents to $2.7735 per lb.Price movement is expected to be muted today with investors focusing on the weekend's G20 summit, where finance ministers.....Read More
Australian-Chinese miner MMG Ltd has completed the sale of its Sepon copper gold mine to China's Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining for $275 million, the company said on Friday November 30. The deal was first announced in June, when MMG agreed to sell its 90% stake in Lane Zang Minerals, owner of Sepon mine, to the Chinese mining company. Sepon is a Laotian open pit copper mine...Read More
Codelco's copper production and earnings fell in the first nine months of 2018, the Chilean state-owned copper producer said.Codelco produced 1.3 million tonnes of refined copper in the first nine months of the year, a drop of 2% from 1.32 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2017, it said.Including output from its stake in Anglo American Sur and El Abra, it produced 421,000 tonnes of refine...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday November 30.Most base metals prices ticked higher in morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Friday November 30, with lead the best performer of the morning.Lead led the complex gains, with the three-month...Read More
Most base metals prices ticked higher in morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Friday November 30, with lead the best performer of the morning. Lead led the complex gains, with the three-month price rising by 1.65% from the previous day's close to $1,963 per tonne. LME lead stocks have consistently declined since September and was recently at 105,200 tonnes, a fresh 2018-low. Nickel and...Read More
Brazil's steel slab export price fell this past week due to continued weakness in flat steel pricing in the United States and Europe.Fastmarkets MB's weekly assessment of Brazil's steel slab export price was at $435-495 per tonne fob on Friday November 30, down from $450-505 per tonne cfr one week earlier.Semi-finished material prices offered to the United States also declined...Read More
Demand for steel in the Middle East is expected to increase marginally over the next five years, mainly because of big construction projects, professionals from across the sector told Fastmarkets in a survey before the 22nd Middle East Iron & Steel Conference to be held in Dubai this December.Infrastructure construction is going on in the United Arab Emirates related to the Dubai Expo 2020 exhibit...Read More
Domestic prices for coated-steel coil products in Turkey have increased slightly in the week ended Friday November 30 after producers ceased offering discounts, with local Turkish demand remaining limited.The local Turkish market has been slow for a long time. The initial reason was the weakening of the Turkish lira, which fell to a low of 10TRY to $1.44 on August 13, before staging a steady recov...Read More
Domestic and import prices for steel coil products in Turkey have shown different trends this week with demand being affected by a variety of factors, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 30."I believe prices have reached bottom. We may see slight rises or falls in the next few months, but no sharp falls are expected," a source said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Turkish domestic...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transactions: HRC, CRC, HDG, PPGIHot-rolled coilTurkey, domestic, hot-rolled coil, offered at $525-540 per tonne ex-works, late December-early January production.Turkey, domestic, hot-r...Read More
Import prices for steel billet in Southeast Asia fell further on Friday November 30 amid downward pressure from low-priced Chinese materials, although trading remained at a standstill with buyers and sellers deterred by the drastic price drops.Additionally, the Philippines - a major billet importer - was away from the market due to a holiday on Friday.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for billet...Read More
China hot-rolled coil exporters continued to drop their offer prices, forced by overseas buyers who have been refraining from buying on bearish sentiment.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,590-3,610 yuan ($517-520) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,470-3,480 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneAlthough prices in eastern China picked up a bit on Friday as some downs...Read More
China's rebar prices dropped in both the domestic and the export markets on Friday November 30, amid low trading activity. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,800-3,830 yuan ($547-551) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,520-3,550 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneLow rebar futures prices led to little buying interest in the domestic market, pushing down prices. Stock...Read More