Sacha Lifschitz, senior nickel trader at London-based Concord Resources, has left the company for personal reasons, Fastmarkets understands.Lifschitz declined to comment at the time of publication, while...Read More
Coated steel base prices have risen by $1 per hundredweight ($20 per short ton) in the United States over the past week, on the heels of the week-earlier $2-per-cwt increases by mills, market participants said.Fastmarkets AMM assessed base prices for hot-dipped galvanized steel at $48 per cwt fob Midwest mill on Thursday October 18, up from $47 per cwt a week earlier. Prices for hot-dipp...Read More
Sentiment in Turkey's flat steel market remained negative in the week to Friday October 19, but the possibility of a reduction to import duties in the United States has brought hope to the market, sources told Fastmarkets.US president Donald Trump doubled the import tariffs on steel and aluminium from Turkey on August 10, with the duty on aluminium rising to 20% and that for steel import...Read More
Domestic prices for coated steel coil products in Turkey were stable in the week ended Friday October 19, with demand remaining poor in the local market.Some market participants had been expecting prices to fall because of declining prices for hot-rolled coil, and the weak demand.Domestic pricesOne producer in northern Turkey was offering 0.5mm hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) at $700 per tonne ex...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 $560-570 per tonne ex-works, late November-early December production.Turkey, domestic, hot-...Read More
Import prices for steel billet in Southeast Asia were unchanged on Friday October 19, with trading activity at a standstill despite numerous offers in the market. Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for billet imported into Southeast Asia was $510-515 per tonne cfr Manila on Friday, unchanged since October 11. Deals were sparse throughout the week, with re-rollers mostly holding back from making b...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved down slightly on Friday October 19 amid soft demand.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,540-4,580 yuan ($654-660) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 4,330-4,370 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneBoth the futures and billet markets weakened during the day, which made the spot rebar market more bearish.The transportation of constructio...Read More
Brazil-based miner Vale's manganese ore production for the third quarter rose by 14.5% quarter on quarter to 482,000 tonnes, it said in its latest production report. The manganese production volume for the September quarter was down 15.3% year on year. Sales reached 553,000 tonnes in the third quarter. As a result, third quarter sales were 19.4% higher than in the second quarter and 19.4% higher y...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday October 19:Noble alloysMolybdenum US canned molybdic oxide, $/Ib: $12.00-12.10 per Ib from $12.00-12.15Ferro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg Mo: $28.60-29.10 per kg from $28.80-29.00Ferro-molybdenum US 65-70% Mo, $/Ib: $12.90-13.35 per Ib from $12.90-13.30Tungsten European free market AP...Read More
Key data for the pricing session in the week ending Friday October 19. China The domestic ferro-chrome spot market softened owing to the downturn in downstream stainless steel prices. UG2 and Turkish lumpy chrome ore prices both strengthened on support from the recent sharp stocks fall. ...Read More
South32 achieved record quarterly production of manganese ore at its Australian division in the July-September quarter of 2018, and an increase of 8% in overall manganese ore production compared with the previous three months.The company continues to take advantage of strong demand and pricing, it said, which includes selling lower-grade secondary product and using higher cost trucking as a freigh...Read More
Pig iron exporters from the south of Brazil kept prices low in the week ended Friday October 19 due to the limited demand for high-phosphorous material in the global market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the south-eastern Minas Gerais region on October 19 was unchanged at $350 per tonne fob. That was the lowest price seen so far in 2018, according to Fastmarkets' pr...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices softened globally in the week ended Friday October 19, except for Turkey, where prices moved up on Friday on late news of recent bookings.US export trading was sparse, which led to a drop in prices, while Turkey held back from deep-sea bookings for most of the week and the market in India continued to struggle with that country's weakening currency.Turkey importsTurkish mills...Read More
Prices for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom have been steady over the past week, extending a period of stability for the sixth consecutive week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday October 19.The market has been steady in line with domestic consumer demand and has garnered further support from increases in export prices to key destinations such as Turkey, although prices in the European ma...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India fell this week due to reduced trading because of a festival in the country as well as continued weakness in the rupee, sources told Fastmarkets MB.Fastmarkets MB's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India moved down to $354.42 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday October 19, from $358.92 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva one...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market ended the week with news of three bookings heard by Fastmarkets on Friday October 19.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo for November shipment, comprising of 18,500 tonnes of HMS 1& 2 (80:20) at $327.50 per tonne, and 3,500 tonnes of bonus at $337.50 per tonne cfr. This was agreed on October 15 but did...Read More
Widespread work stoppages resulting from strike action, and interruptions to the iron ore supply chain, have paralyzed the hot-briquetted iron (HBI) industry in Venezuela, sources have told Fastmarkets recently."There has been a general work stoppage [in Bolivar state, where industry is concentrated] for the past 40 days," one source told Fastmarkets. "All plants are [closed] down, whether it is m...Read More
Qianhai Mercantile Exchange, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing's new onshore China commodities trading platform, started trading on Friday October 19, with a first deal for alumina concluded. Chinalco International Trade sold 3,000 tonnes of alumina to Xiamen Xiangyu Group at 3,030 yuan ($436.67) per tonne."We hope to establish fair market prices with industry customers and establish good market...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Friday October 19*Copper -$74.34 (-516.53 yuan) Aluminium -$445.55 (-3,095.84 yuan) Zinc -$121.56 (-844.63 yuan) Nickel $348.67 (2,422.65 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month and LME three-month...Read More
Prices for premium hard coking coal on an fob Australia basis ended the week 2% higher, though trading activity in the seaborne market was muted on Friday October 19.A cargo of premium mid-vol materials was offered around $218 per tonne fob Australia during the day, below the last transaction price for a shipment in the same segment, sources said. "While Chinese buyers have always paid a premium f...Read More