Alumina traders in China have responded with skepticism to Qianhai Mercantile Exchange's (QME) plans to internationalize its yuan-denominated prices and list them on foreign exchanges such as Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Market (HKEX), Fastmarkets has learned. QME made its debut in October this year when it launched a spot domestic alumina price. But liquidity has been slow to build up and few a...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to drop toward the $70-per-tonne-cfr mark on Friday November 23 amid plunges in the futures and steel markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $70.13 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.05 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $69.32 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.05 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $73.07 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.75 per tonne.M...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
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
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
Alumina traders in China have responded with skepticism to Qianhai Mercantile Exchange's (QME) plans to internationalize its yuan-denominated prices and list them on foreign exchanges such as Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Market (HKEX), Fastmarkets has learned. QME made its debut in October this year when it launched a spot domestic alumina price. But liquidity has been slow to build up and few a...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
Europe's top copper smelter Aurubis is undecided as to whether it will follow the settlement made by miner Antofagasta and smelter Jiangxi Copper for copper concentrate treatment and refining charges, it said today."Whether the settlement is a benchmark for Aurubis is a big question mark," Christophe Koenig, Aurubis' senior vice president of commercial said by phone today November 23.Chile's Antof...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday November 23. The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price hit a fresh 2018 low in morning trading, with the rest of the complex following lower. Here's how base metals prices look at 12:30pm London time:Read our live futures report here. "The underlying trend in the base...Read More
Base metals stocks on Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly lower week on week on Friday November 23, with zinc leading the descent.Tin and lead stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses were both up more than 5%, however.Deliverable zinc stocks dropped by 4,223 tonnes or 10.6% from November 16 to 35,452 tonnes. This week R&S Logistics in Shanghai saw the most stock leaving its sheds - 1,826 tonnes of th...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price hit a fresh 2018 low in morning trading on Friday November 23, with the rest of the complex following lower. The three-month nickel price was at its lowest since the beginning of December this morning at $10,750 per tonne - down 32% from its year high of $15,845 per tonne on June 6.Nickel volume is the highest of the complex so far this morning wi...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Friday November 23 *Copper -$202.16 (-1,406.25 yuan) Aluminium -$425.15 (-2,957.40 yuan) Zinc -$144.50 (-1005.16 yuan) Nickel $759.71 (5,284.60 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...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
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
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
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
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 $520-530 per tonne ex-works, late December-early January production.Russia, export, hot-rol...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
The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday November 23:Noble alloysFerro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg Mo: $28.20-28.65 per kg from $28.20-28.50Ferro-tungsten basis 75% W Rotterdam duty unpaid, $/kg: $33.00-33.80 per kg from $33.00-33.75Bulk alloysFerro-chromeEuropean Benchmark Indicator, lumpy Cr charge basis 52% (and high car...Read More