Brazilian pig iron exporters kept offers unchanged for the week ended Friday November 30 because they have closed their order books for this year. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the southeastern Minas Gerais region was $350-355 per tonne fob on Friday November 30, widening downward from $355 per tonne fob the prior week.One deal for 30,000 tonnes of pig iron for Jan...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India fell by almost $10 per tonne this week due to limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 30.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $340.75 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on November 30. This was down by $9.78 per tonne week on week from $350.75 per tonne cfr on November 23.De...Read More
Turkish steel mills ended the week with no deep-sea scrap bookings amid poor demand for finished products in the domestic and export markets as well as concerns over Asian steel markets, sources said on Friday November 30.After booking three deep-sea cargoes from the United States and the United Kingdom at the end of last week, steel mills in Turkey stepped out of the deep-sea scrap markets.Those...Read More
Prices for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom went down this week by ?10 ($13) per tonne because of softer export prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 30.The move followed a drop in European export prices to the major destination of Turkey, whose steel mills have been battling tough competition in the Asian markets, as well as a domestic slowdown.Prices in other key European ex...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices weakened on Friday November 30 with market participants remaining cautious in their trading activity.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $65.95 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.56 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $65.22 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.56 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $68.76 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.54 per tonne.MB 58% Fe P...Read More
Base metal stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower week on week on Friday November 30, with zinc stocks hitting a fresh nine-year low. Deliverable zinc stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses dropped 8,673 tonnes or 24.5% from November 23 to 26,779 tonnes. This week, R&S Logistics in Shanghai saw the most stock leaving its sheds - 4,100 tonnes of the metal was delivered out of t...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Friday November 30*Copper -$183.58 (-1,277.60 yuan) Aluminium -$453.52 (-3,156.20 yuan) Zinc -$93.99 (-654.12 yuan) Nickel $475.89 (3,311.87 yuan) *Fastmarkets MB calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Key data from the Friday November 30 pricing session in London. Key drivers - The gallium price reached its lowest since January 2018, reflecting oversupply, with buyers remaining on the sidelines of the market amid bearish sentiment. The picture has changed after the price firmed in September - it was at $200-215...Read More
Fastmarkets MB will change the names of its benchmark in-warehouse Rotterdam price assessments from January 2019. From January 2019, the name 'standard-grade' will replace the name 'low-grade'. The name 'alloy-grade' will replace the name 'high-grade'. The last date prices will be published under the names 'low-grade' and 'high grade' will be Friday December 28. Prices will be published under thei...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday November 30:Minor metals Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,900-8,100 per tonne from $8,000-8,200Chromium MB free market alumino-thermic, $/tonne: $10,450-10,700 per tonne from $10,700-11,100Cobalt MB free market high grade, $/lb: $31.80-32.60 per lb from $32.40-33.35Cobalt MB...Read More
The domestic markets for indium, bismuth and germanium in China have been staging a recovery this year, delegates to this week's 2018 Chinese Minor Metals Forum in Kunming were told.This recovery was supported by supply disruptions arising from environmental inspections of production units, producers' low profit margins and an uptick in demand, speakers said on Wednesday November 28.Indium support...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday November 30:Aluminium scrapFloated Frag: ?,?1,050-1,100 per tonne from ?,?1,020-1,070Cast: ?,?950-1,000 per...Read More
Asian ferrous scrap prices are still falling in the face of weak demand and a bearish outlook in the region.Both Taiwan's containerized and Vietnam's bulk import prices were lower, with most buyers keeping away from purchasing in those markets due to their bearish outlook on the scrap and carbon steel markets.There was some purchasing from South Korea, which had booked Japanese, Russian and Americ...Read More
Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange made gains on Thursday November 29, following a rise in crude oil futures, but market sentiment remained uncertain with commodities facing macro-economic headwinds.Brent crude oil prices were firmer in afternoon trading, up by $1.80 to $60.16 per barrel. The recent low was $58.38 per bbl.For base metals, nickel was the highlight, with the three-month...Read More
Aurubis has resumed production at its Hamburg and Pirdrop primary copper smelting plants after both were suspended for unscheduled boiler maintenance earlier this week, the company said on Thursday November 29. "Our plants in Hamburg and Pirdrop are back in operation already, we expect L? 1/4 nen to be back by the end of next week," a spokesperson said in an...Read More
Comex copper prices were under pressure on Thursday morning in the US, in the aftermath of US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's dovish comments made on Wednesday.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange reversed down 1.55 cents to $2.7980 per lb. Powell said interest rates were, "just below neutral levels" while speaking at the New...Read More
The European molybdenum-oxide market has climbed 20 cents in trading by mid-week, with deals and offer prices reported above $12 per lb and returning to a level unseen since the start of November.Some oxide trading, however, has been in South Korea where major steelmaker Posco settled a tender for around 100 tonnes of oxide last week at about $12-12.10 per lb. The company is due to settle another...Read More
Ferroglobe is set to idle almost one-fifth of its silicon metal production capacity in Europe and the United States, cutting it to an annualized rate of 341,000 tonnes from 417,000 tonnes, because of the weaker prices seen this year.The UK-based metals company is planning to idle 36,000 tonnes per year of production capacity in the US. This will be done its plant at Selma, in the state of Alabama,...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 28 pricing session in Asia.Key drivers: Buyers lowered their purchasing prices after the price of scrap - the raw material of ADC12 - went down in the United States. Japanese buyers also held off from purchasing capacity this week due...Read More
Metal Bulletin has corrected its UK domestic grade-316 stainless steel scrap solids price, which was published incorrectly on November 23 due to a reporter error. The price was originally published at ?1,230-1,250 ($1,572-1,579) per tonne, delivered to merchant. The price has now been corrected to ?1,220-1,300 per tonne, stable from the week before. Fastmarkets MB's price book and database have...Read More