An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday August 24, and their latest price moves.ChinaThe UG2 chrome ore market was inactive; most participants waited for the release of September ferro-chrome tender prices from major stainless steel mills. Although ore consumption ramped up following improved power supply in Inner Mongolia, many smelters sti...Read More
Steel billet prices in key Asian import markets have continued to edge down in recent days amid weaker demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 24.Chinese ferrous futures gained ground on Monday and Tuesday after last week's crash, but the reaction from the physical spot market for steel billet has so far been limited, with bids from Chinese buyers still far below the offer prices.O...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange, backed by a constrained physical market, was just $5.50 per tonne short of its latest year-to-date high on Tuesday August 24, with nickel and zinc also climbing back above key psychological levels while most commodities and equities ticked upward.Aluminium's futures contract showed an intraday high of $2,636.50 per tonne on Tuesday, just...Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States were virtually unchanged while order flow slowed on Tuesday August 24, with mills still discerning their next round of spot pricing and service centers reluctant to restock at current levels. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.55 per hundredweight ($1,931 per short ton) on August 24, little-changed from...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap import markets for the second working day of the week amid limited finished steel sales, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 24.The most recent deep-sea trade was reported at the end of the week to August 20, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a United States cargo composed of 20,000 tonnes of HMS...Read More
Iron ore prices largely increased on Tuesday August 24 with active trading at China's ports.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $146.13 per tonne, up by $9.42 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $147.96 per tonne, up by $10.74 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $113.91 per tonne, up by $7.27 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao: $166.1...Read More
The spread between prices for 65% Fe iron ore and 62% Fe products have narrowed rapidly in recent weeks due to the former weakening at a faster pace than the latter.This has resulted in a mixed long-term outlook for high-grade fines, market sources told Fastmarkets.Narrowing spreadAs hints of the central Chinese government's intention of keeping this year's output from exceeding last year's began...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 24 that are worth another look....Read More
Domestic rebar producers in the United Arab Emirates reduced their prices on Tuesday August 24 amid low demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was low because of the summer slowdown and falling prices; buyers preferred to wait to determine how much further prices will fall.The country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, offered rebar at 2,610 dirhams ($710.46) per tonne, down from 2,957 dirh...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange, backed by a constrained physical market, was just $5.50 per tonne short of its latest year-to-date high on Tuesday August 24, with nickel and zinc also climbing back above key psychological levels while most commodities and equities ticked upward.Aluminium's futures contract showed an intraday high of $2,636.50 per tonne on Tuesday, just...Read More
Initial offers for fourth-quarter supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) are at a premium of $230 per tonne to the London Metal Exchange cash price, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 24.The unconfirmed offer from this producer is 28.9% higher than the cif MJP premium for the third quarter, which settled at $172-185 per tonne.For the fourth quarter of last year,...Read More
A summary of the financial and performance results for China Molybdenum for the first half of 2021, published on Monday August 23.In briefRevenue from the company's mining and processing business totaled 84.82 billion yuan ($13.07 billion) in the first half of 2021, up by 81.45% year-on-year. Net profit was 2.41 billion...Read More
Domestic rebar producers in the United Arab Emirates reduced their prices on Tuesday August 24 amid low demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was low because of the summer slowdown and falling prices; buyers preferred to wait to determine how much further prices will fall.The country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, offered rebar at 2,610 dirhams ($710.46) per tonne, down from 2,957 dirh...Read More
Domestic rebar producers in the United Arab Emirates reduced their prices on Tuesday August 24 amid low demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was low because of the summer slowdown and falling prices; buyers preferred to wait to determine how much further prices will fall.The country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, offered rebar at 2,610 dirhams ($710.46) per tonne, down from 2,957 dirh...Read More
As the world's media spotlight falls on Afghanistan, Fastmarkets looks at why reported claims of incoming Chinese mining deals are unlikely to be fulfilled soon.Mes Aynak, Afghanistan's most well-known copper project, means "small copper deposit" in Pashto. Indications suggest it is anything but.The deposit holds 240 million tonnes of 2.3% grade copper ore, according to the United States Geologica...Read More
Domestic prices for steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District widened downward by 3,500 roubles ($47) per tonne in the week to Monday August 23.Oversupply and an export duty were the main reasons for another round of price decline that began on July 19. The recent downward trend has been in line with market expectations, however, with market participants describing it as predictable and con...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 24 that are worth another look....Read More
As the world's media spotlight falls on Afghanistan, Fastmarkets looks at why reported claims of incoming Chinese mining deals are unlikely to be fulfilled soon.Mes Aynak, Afghanistan's most well-known copper project, means "small copper deposit" in Pashto. Indications suggest it is anything but.The deposit holds 240 million tonnes of 2.3% grade copper ore, according to the United States Geologica...Read More
The spread between prices for 65% Fe iron ore and 62% Fe products have narrowed rapidly in recent weeks due to the former weakening at a faster pace than the latter.This has resulted in a mixed long-term outlook for high-grade fines, market sources told Fastmarkets.Narrowing spreadAs hints of the central Chinese government's intention of keeping this year's output from exceeding last year's began...Read More
Prices for hot- and cold-rolled steel sheet and heavy plate in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow continued to fall in the week ended Monday August 23, sources have told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled sheet and heavy plate prices decreased by 3-5% week on week, while the drop for cold-rolled sheet prices was more pronounced at 10% week on week.Opinions varied about why this happened. One trad...Read More