Demand for steel rebar and billet remained limited in the United Arab Emirates in the week to Tuesday August 17, with prices already falling and some market participants expecting them to drop even further, sources told Fastmarkets.The lower prices for billet and rebar imports are expected to have a knock-on effect on the domestic market, where prices are also expected to decline because of weak d...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 17 that are worth another look.New Brazilian service center Centro de Cortes de Pr?(C)-Pintados (CPP), which focuses on pre-painted steel products, started operational activity in the southern state of Santa Catarina on August 11, the company told...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange registered gains on the morning of Tuesday August 17 while the front-month contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also rose to new highs amid supply disruptions to the flow of metals and raw materials.Three-month aluminum was at $2,632 per tonne at 9am on Tuesday, up by $30 per tonne from Monday's closing price of $2,602 per tonne. Th...Read More
China's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) urged all of the country's provinces to take effective measures to meet the annual energy consumption and carbon emissions targets, in its monthly press conference on Tuesday August 17.The commission will supervise these measures, it added, especially the target of reducing energy consumption intensity."In the next step, our committee will fu...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States again tested the $96-per-hundredweight ($1,920-per-short-ton) level after the latest spot deals indicated that producers still have the upper hand on transaction pricing for September and October shipment. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $95.87 per cwt ($1,917.40 per ton) on Tuesday August 17, up by 0.84% fro...Read More
Robust domestic prices in the Japanese steel scrap market were keeping prices for material from the East Asian country strong despite tepid demand from major importers, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 17.Japanese local scrap prices remain firmBuying interest for imported HS limited in ChinaTaiwan scrap import prices inch higher amid strong offers.JapanContinued robust demand in Japan's...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 5 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of July U.S. Housing Starts at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a slip to 1.608 million units from1.643 million units in June. Actual was a drop to 1.534 million units.The Canadian Dollar added 0.12 at US79.37 cents following release of C...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Tuesday August 17, with crude steel production cuts in China leading to thin trading and depressing market sentiment.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $160.75 per tonne, down $2.77 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $161.65 per tonne, down $2.38 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $129.54 per t...Read More
Aluminium premiums in Japan dropped by an average of $2.50 per tonne to $175-190 per tonne on Friday August 13, from $180-190 per tonne on August 10, with low buying interest weakening demand in recent weeks. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A main Japanese ports (MJP) spot premium, cif Japan at $175-190 per tonne on Friday, marking its first change in since July 20.No spot trades were repo...Read More
Seaborne low- and high-grade manganese ore prices ticked downward in the week to Friday August 13 under pressure from portside markets, where weaknesses have persisted over the past month, despite higher freight rates and a steady performance by the manganese alloy sector.Fastmarkets calculated its weekly index for manganese ore, 44% Mn, cif Tianjin, at $5.32 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Fr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 16 that are worth another look.Apparent steel use in the European Union will increase by 11.2% year on year in 2021, the European steel association Eurofer said in the week to August 16.A lack of available containers for shipments out...Read More
Prices of flat steel coil products in the Brazilian spot market remained stable in August, with distributors finding it difficult to compete with a strong influx of imported material.High volumes of coil material arrived through July and continued into August, all booked at lower prices several months ago.Imports of flat steel reached 190,854 tonnes in July 2021, up by 141% from the 79,186 tonnes...Read More
China's domestic coking coal prices continued higher in the week to August 16 due to a supply shortage, which buoyed seaborne coking coal prices in the cfr China market on Monday August 16.The fob Australia market held largely steady on the first working day of the weekFastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $350.66 per tonne, up $5.66 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $3...Read More
Export prices for steel billet from the Black Sea basin have continued to decrease in mid-August amid limited demand in most outlet markets and lower costs for scrap raw material globally.Customers from Europe were mainly out of the market due to the holiday season in that region, while Turkish buyers were not willing to pay more than $650 per tonne cfr (equivalent to $620 per tonne fob) due to th...Read More
China's Covid-19 measures are causing chokepoints in the country's ferrous supply chain, raising logistical costs for both traders and steel mills.China's National Health Commission reported 51 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday August 16 - 38 imported cases and 13 locally transmitted ones. Six of the locally transmitted cases were in Jiangsu province, while six were detected in Henan. While the numb...Read More
Manganese flake prices hit record highs in Europe and the United States in the week ended Friday August 13, amid short supply, talk of further production cuts and persistent delays in transportation from China.Fastmarkets' price assessment for manganese, 99.7% electrolytic manganese flake, in-whs Rotterdam, rose by 5.6% to $5,050-5,250 per tonne on August 13, up from $4,750-5,000 per tonne in the...Read More
Rebar and wire rod export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States continued to decrease in the week ended Monday August 16, pressured by the downward trend in the Turkish market that was spurred by a lack of demand and lower costs for imported scrap.Scrap prices in Turkey declined at the beginning of this week due to the latest transaction.Thus, Fastmarkets' index for steel scrap,...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade,...Read More
Prices of flat steel coil products in the Brazilian spot market remained stable in August, with distributors finding it difficult to compete with a strong influx of imported material.High volumes of coil material arrived through July and continued into August, all booked at lower prices several months ago.Imports of flat steel reached 190,854 tonnes in July 2021, up by 141% from the 79,186 tonnes...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 25 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US79.22 cents following release of July Canadian Housing Starts at 8:15 AM EDT. Consensus was a decline to 270,800 from upwardly revised 295,085 in June. Actual was 286,620.Index futures moved lower following release of the July Retail Sales...Read More