Turkish steel mills stayed away from making any deep-sea scrap deals on Monday July 19, due to the start of the week-long Eid al-Adha public holiday, sources told Fastmarkets.Regular trading is not expected to resume until Monday July 26, they added.One market participant said the Turkish market for finished steel products and the scrap market...Read More
Flat steel prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow weakened during the week to Monday July 19 amid slow trading activity, with most producers holding back August offers while assessing the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled sheetTrading activity in the HR sheet market was muted over the past week, with most buyers abstaining from making purchases on expectations that dom...Read More
Slab export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to decline in the week to Monday July 19, amid falling finished flat steel values in the region's main destination markets.In Turkey, hot-rolled coil prices dropped in the week to Friday July 16 on low activity in the key export outlets for that product. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, export, f...Read More
European steel association Eurofer is demanding stronger carbon emissions measures to guarantee a balanced approach that will enable a decarbonization of the region's steel industry, it said on Thursday July 15.On July 14, the European Commission adopted a package of proposals to make the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies fit to meet its greenhouse gas emissions targe...Read More
Three-month nickel was the only contract to trade higher in the morning session on the London Metal Exchange on Monday July 19, with most other base metals, with the exception of copper, consolidating at elevated levels.Nickel's three-month price rose to $19,155 per tonne in early trading, before easing slightly to $19,095 per tonne at 9am. The metal gained 2% throughout last week, finishing on Fr...Read More
Stocks of aluminium held in Major Japanese Ports (MJP) rose by 8% in June, firming to the highest level in nine months, according to data compiled by the trading house Marubeni.Total stocks were 309,100 tonnes, up from 285,600 tonnes in May 2021, but lower than the 347,300 tonnes of aluminium held in June...Read More
The pig iron import market in the United States was slow during the week to Friday July 16 because buyers held sufficient stocks and were waiting for prices to be reduced.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $625-645 per tonne on Friday, down from $650-655 per tonne a week before."Both Russia and Ukraine have unsold cargoes for August shipment and later....Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged higher on Monday July 19, after power shortages increased participants' expectations of production reductions, sources said.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,240-5,250 yuan ($809-810) per tonne, up by 10-40 yuan per tonnePower supply shortages in some regions have forced steelmakers to scale back operations, which increased participants' expectations of a pro...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices across China's domestic market moved higher on Monday July 19, while futures prices rose with participants' expectations of lower production due to power supply restrictions in some regions and production curbs in the top steelmaking hub of Tangshan, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,880-5,950 yuan ($907-918) per tonne, up by 20-50 yuan per tonneMa...Read More
Traders in mainland China are seeking to sell stockpiled lead to Taiwan and Southeast Asia amid a worsening arbitrage for imports, which - since June - has shifted to being more favorable for exports.This comes after a noticeable gap emerged between lead prices on the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange since May, which incentivized Chinese lead traders to buy LME stock while s...Read More
Iron ore prices eased on Monday July 19 amid weaker market sentiment caused by restrictions on sintering and emissions imposed on mills in the steelmaking hub of Tangshan, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $221.04 per tonne, down $0.39 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $223.02 per tonne, down $0.37 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingd...Read More
One of China's principal coal-mining groups, Jinneng Holding, has reduced its coal production guidance figure for 2025 to 500 million tonnes from the previous 600 million tonnes, in line with the country's targets for lower carbon emissions, according to a company statement on July 14.Jinneng chairman Guo Jingang said in a company meeting that the goal of "carbon peak, carbon neutral" was not to e...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...Read More
The London Metal Exchange launched new lithium and aluminium premium futures contracts on Monday July 19, which are cash-settled against Fastmarkets' assessments.The lithium contract will be cash-settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate, 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan & Korea. Fastmarkets' most recent assessment for this price...Read More
The Chinese government will increase the quantity of metal in its second batch of non-ferrous metal reserves sales at the end of July or beginning of August, sources said on Monday July 19.An estimated 230,000 tonnes of non-ferrous metal will enter the market soon, made up of 50,000 tonnes of copper, 80,000 tonnes of zinc, and 100,000 tonnes of aluminium, sources said. This quantity is more than...Read More
Century Aluminum subsidiary Nor??ur??l Grundartangi ehf has reached an agreement with the Icelandic national power company to extend the existing 161-megawatt contract at its Grundartangi aluminium smelter by three years through 2026.The contract will increase to 182MW over time to "support the most recent capacity creep requirements and future growth opportunities for value-added products...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow remained flat in the week to July 19 due to slower trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.August rebar offer from key local suppliers to the region were broadly unchanged from July levels, despite an anticipated downward correction due toa temporary export duty on steel products in Russia starting August...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States inched closer to the $91-per-hundredweight ($1,820-per-short-ton) mark again on Monday July 19, supported by strong demand for hot band amid lean supply.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $90.96 per hundredweight ($1,819.20 per short ton) on July 19, an increase of 0.23% from $90.75 per cwt on Friday July 16 and...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis were at a four-month high on Monday July 19 due to an increase in liquidity, with cargoes changing hands at higher prices.Fastmarkets assessed its daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $289.36 per tonne on Monday, the highest since March 19.Demand for cargoes has increased over the past week. But the rise in prices also related to concern in the market abo...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have been expecting us to be reporting sharply-lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.This is not the case, at least in Europe and the Unite...Read More