Scrap prices in the major global markets softened slightly during the working week from Monday November 5 to Friday November 9, with the exception of the United States.Export scrap prices out of the US were firm, with a number of sales heard out of the country's East Coast, although demand for material from the West Coast was limited.Meanwhile, the prices of scrap in Turkey, India and Asia mostly...Read More
Prices for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom were steady this week, consolidating a rise of ?5 ($7) per tonne over the week before, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 9.This increase reflected the fundamental pattern of domestic business conditions and a similar pattern in key export destinations, they added.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an in...Read More
The Turkish steel producers went through Friday November 9 without making any deep-sea scrap market transactions but were still expected to continue their purchases next week, Fastmarkets has heard.The mills in the country had booked a number of cargoes so far this week. The latest transaction from the United States included HMS 1&2 (80:20) priced at $338 per tonne cfr on November 8.But news...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India remained stable this week because the Diwali religious festival mid-week meant that there was no trading, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 9.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $355.30 per tonne cfr Nhava on November 9, down only slightly from $355.52 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Nov...Read More
Pig iron booking prices in the United States have not gone up during the week ended Friday November 9 despite the renewed strength of the scrap market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for US imports of pig iron decreased to $370-385 per tonne cfr on Friday November 9, from $375-390 per tonne a week before.Several bookings of Ukraine- and Russia-origin pig iron were heard at $385 per tonne cfr for Dec...Read More
Demand for pig iron exported from Brazil improved during the week ended Friday November 9 because of an expected reduction in supply when the rainy season starts.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the south-eastern Minas Gerais region on November 9 was $346-348 per tonne fob, down from $350 per tonne in the first change in price since late September.A supplier in southe...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Friday November 9*Copper -$124.74 (-868.57 yuan) Aluminium -$453.82 (-3,159.84 yuan) Zinc $61.50 (428.24 yuan) Nickel $511.28 (3,559.91 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Base metals stock level movements at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were mixed in the week ended Friday November 9, with lead, nickel and tin stocks higher while zinc, aluminium and copper stocks fell. Deliverable lead stocks increased by 1,390 tonnes or 17.3% over the past week to total 9,434 tonnes on Friday. Warehousing company Zhongchu Lutong in Tianjin saw the biggest inf...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Friday November 9, failing to match upward momentum across Asian sessions amid strong economic data on Chinese exports. The three-month lead price was the biggest loser, falling 2% from yesterday's close to $1,965 per tonne despite stocks remaining at a nine-year low. "The metals market seems to be in a strange wo...Read More
Liquidity in the seaborne coking coal spot market remained low on Friday November 9 though some bullish sentiment has emerged. A cargo of second-tier hard coking coal was heard sold to an end user in northern China at around $208 per tonne cfr China, but market sources said this was part of a term contract for the month of December.A trader based in Tangshan hinted that supply was running low, and...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Friday November 9, with sellers keeping prices steady despite a pick-up in trading activity in a bid to secure more sales. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,480-4,520 yuan ($646-652) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 4,350-4,400 yuan per tonne, unchangedBuyers in Shanghai raised their procurement rates slightly ahead of the weekend ami...Read More
Cobalt prices were unchanged this past week, but recent illiquidity in the spot market could make prices vulnerable to a move lower in the coming weeks, markets sources told Fastmarkets MB. The price assessments for low-grade cobalt and high-grade cobalt were unchanged at $33.50-34.45 per lb and $33.50-34.50 per lb, respectively, on Friday November 9.Apart from one small low-grade sale above $36 p...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday November 9:Bismuth MB free market, $/lb: $3.60-4.00 per lb from $3.40-4.00Chromium MB free market alumino-thermic, $/tonne: $10,800-11,200 per tonne from $10,800-11,500Cobalt sulfate,...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The Chinese market has witnessed a cobalt recycling boom in the pastyear as a result of high cobalt prices, although the establishment of a truly comprehensive and efficient recycling system is still some way off, Fastmarkets learned from a cobalt panel discussion in Xiamen, China. "The rally in cobalt prices has provided a lot of incentive to [cobalt] recycling businesses, and...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday November 9:Aluminium ingotDuty paid delivered works pressure diecasting ingot...Read More
The potential for scrap prices to slowly rebound and a bearish outlook for secondary aluminium ingot prices are causing European producers to worry about margins for 2019.European secondary aluminium ingot demand is expected to stay muted through the second quarter of 2019 due to weak automotive demand caused by bottlenecks in the European Union's new emission testing procedure, market participant...Read More
Japanese H2 scrap continued to lead price falls in the Asia markets amid weak demand from end-users and bearish sentiment among traders.Key buyers are looking out for Japanese H2 scrap as the most competitive raw material for their furnaces this week after fob Tokyo Bay prices dipped further. This was after the Kanto Tetsugen tender results were announced today.Containerized scrap prices in Taiwan...Read More
U.S. stocks tumbled in trading this afternoon with selling pressure a result of multiple factors. After producing respectable gains throughout the week, U.S. equities reacted to two major events, as well. First, market participants reacted to the statement released by the Federal Reserve yesterday from this month's FOMC meeting. Second, data suggested a "hotter-than-expected" reading on producer p...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose toward a 16-month high against the euro on Friday as falling equity prices spurred a flight to quality and the U.S. Federal Reserve reaffirmed its monetary tightening stance, citing the strong U.S. economy.The S&P 500 fell more than 1 percent, with shares of large technology, industrial and material companies taking a hit as weak Chinese data and a sli...Read More