The number of new passenger car registrations in the EU dropped by 7.34% year-on-year in October 2018, the European Automotive Manufacturers Assn (ACEA) said on Thursday November 15.New car sales in Europe totaled 1,083,635 units in October, compared with 1,169,462 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of 2017.The decrease in October was "at a more moderate pace than in September," ACEA said. D...Read More
Turkish imported billet prices have weakened slightly over the past week on limited demand and a downturn in steel prices in China, while domestic and export billet prices were unchanged, sources said on Thursday November 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $475-480 per tonne cfr, narrowing downward from last week's $475-485 per tonne cfr.The CIS export bille...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil (CRC) have moved down slightly over the past week in Europe on slow trading, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 15.Demand was slow because distributors have sufficient volumes in stock, according to market sources.In addition, the future price trend in the coil market was not clear to buyers so they preferred to hold back from purchasing.This week, d...Read More
CIS export billet prices softened slightly in the middle of this week with negative sentiment starting to spread due to the return of Chinese suppliers to export markets as well as rumors of possible tariffs on billet imports into Egypt in the near term."The case has been raised, but the officials responsible for a study have not made any comment yet," an Egyptian source told Fastmarkets on Thursd...Read More
Turkish long steel prices have continued to move in line with the lira-dollar exchange rate over the past week, sources said on Thursday November 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,250-3,400 ($593-621) per tonne ex-works, up from the last week's TRY3,200-3,335 per tonne including 18% VAT.The slight increase in...Read More
Turkish long steel export prices have fallen over the past week amid limited demand and weakening steel prices in China, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey was $505-510 per tonne fob, down from the $510-520 per tonne of last week.The decrease in the assessment followed news of a rebar cargo...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday November 14 pricing session in Europe. Key driversThe recent downward trend in the ferro-titanium price has created more losses in the European alloy market. The trend started on September 12, when the market was assessed at $5.80-6.05 per kg.Trading activity was slower this week, with many market participants at Fastmarkets MB' International Ferro-alloys conference in...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday November 15.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange rallied against a high dollar index during morning trading, recovering losses made at Wednesday's close and topped by strong gains in zinc and nickel futures.Climbing by 3%, the three-month zinc price reached an intraday high of $2,595 per tonne over...Read More
Expansions in chrome capacity over the next five years will lead to a global oversupply in the short term, Fastmarkets learned at the 2018 International Chromium Development Association (ICDA) Conference in Baotou, China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on November 6-8. There will be an increasing oversupply in the chrome industry over the next five years though it is difficult to gauge whether...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday November 15.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board during Asian morning trading on Thursday, reversing the previous day's losses on a weaker dollar and easing trade tensions.Check Fastmarkets MB's live futures report here. Nickel premiums in China...Read More
UK ferrous scrap prices for deliveries in November have been rolled over due to steady business and a small increase in European export prices to the key destination of Turkey, which meant there has been no support for changes to British domestic scrap prices, trade sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday November 14.UK suppliers had initially pushed for an increase of around ?5-10 ($6-13) per t...Read More
Iron ore prices weakened on Thursday November 15, marking the start of the winter heating season in north China and the accompanying steelmaking restrictions.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $74.93 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.98 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $74.73 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.98 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $77.97 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.2...Read More
Sellers in the seaborne coking coal market maintained their offers on Thursday November 15 despite inactivity, with supply of the steelmaking raw material tightening amid steady demand from downstream sectors. "[China's biggest met coal producer] Shanxi Coking Coal Group talked about its plans to shut down certain coking coal mines next year thereby decreasing its total output. Coke plants will pr...Read More
China's ferrous futures, particularly the steel and coke contracts, tumbled during morning trading on Thursday November 15 on profit-taking after across-the-board gains a day earlier.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 3,874 ($557) yuan per tonne, down 53 yuan per tonneJanuary hot-rolled coil: 3,577 yuan per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneDalian Commodit...Read More
China's presence and influence in the copper futures market is growing, reflected in the significant increase in the number of copper transactions conducted by Chinese participants across major exchanges over the past two years, representatives of major bourses told delegates at Asia Copper Week in Shanghai.Around 25% of copper transactions on the London Metal Exchange are either done by Chinese p...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday November 15 * Copper -$192.98 (-1,341.20 yuan) Aluminium -$432.34 (-3,004.69 yuan) Zinc -$94.99 (-660.14 yuan) Nickel $609.10 (4,233.09 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange rallied against a high dollar index during morning trading on Thursday November 15, recovering losses made at Wednesday's close and topped by strong gains in zinc and nickel futures.Climbing by 3%, the three-month zinc price reached an intraday high of $2,595 per tonne over the morning after more than 11,000 tonnes was freshly canceled across LME-lis...Read More
The cobalt metal price in China edged lower mid-week, pressured by the overall bearish sentiment toward the cobalt market's outlook following an industry event last week.Fastmarkets assessed the Chinese cobalt metal price at 410,000-430,000 yuan per tonne ($23.10-24.22) per lb, China VAT-free, on Wednesday November 14, down 4.5% from 430,000-450,000 yuan per tonne previously. "Following the event...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board by an average of 0.7% on the morning of Thursday November 15. Zinc and nickel prices were up by the most with gains of 1.2% and 1.1% respectively, while copper was up by 0.8% at $6,149 per tonne. The others were up by between 0.2% for aluminium and 0.8% for lead. Volume has been below average with 4,583 lots trade...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has decided that flat stainless steel products originating from South Africa should be excluded from the scope of its provisional safeguard measures on steel product imports, it said on Tuesday November 13.The decision will be enacted retroactively and the quotas for stainless hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) sheets and strips should be adjusted.The products concer...Read More