A sharp increase in inflation expectations for the US Dollar this year have led to heightened volatility across global assets and affected copper and iron ore prices, market sources told Fastmarkets.The rollout of several stimulus measures by the US government to help the economy recover following the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, including various monetary and fiscal policies, had caused infl...Read More
The London Metal Exchange nickel price posted the biggest monthly loss in March, with a fall of 14% as of Wednesday March 31, while tin was up by 8% since the start of the month and 20.6% in the year to date amid increased demand and tightening global supply. "March has been characterized by diminishing risk appetite across stock, financial and commodity markets," LME Desk analyst at Marex Spectro...Read More
Iron ore prices continued their downtrend on Wednesday March 31, with trading sentiment still depressed amid low liquidity at ports, sources said.Market chatter about potential plans to cut steel industry emissions and downgrade more mills in Tangshan also drew market attention, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $165.15 per tonne, down $1.43 per tonn...Read More
More than 60,000 tonnes of aluminium was rewarranted at London Metal Exchange warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, on Wednesday March 31, but prices remained broadly unchanged from Tuesday's closing readings.The rewarranting of about 62,600 tonnes of aluminium follows on from 513,000 tonnes of metal being canceled over the past two weeks, after the delivery of more than 650,000 tonnes on March 11-1...Read More
The London Metal Exchange nickel price posted the biggest monthly loss in March, with a fall of 14% as of Wednesday March 31, while tin was up by 8% since the start of the month and 20.6% in the year to date amid increased demand and tightening global supply. "March has been characterized by diminishing risk appetite across stock, financial and commodity markets," LME Desk analyst at Marex Spectro...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Dalila...Read More
Imports of common alloy aluminium sheet originating from Bahrain, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey have harmed the United States' industry, the US International Trade Commission said.As a result of the ITC's unanimous determination on Wednesday March 31, the Commerce Department will now publish anti-du...Read More
Outokumpu will visit miner Vale's On??a Puma operation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest as part of an ethics 'audit' of its supply chain, the Finland-based steelmaking company said in a press statement on March 25.Vale, the world's largest nickel miner, supplies ferronickel to Outokumpu, one of the top stainless steelmakers in Europe and the Americas.Outokumpu has 9,000 suppliers and, "if there...Read More
Aluminium cast and flat rolled products company Austria Metall AG (AMAG) has announced that it will collaborate with carmaker Audi Hungaria to 'close the loop' on aluminium recycling.The companies have signed a contract that will see production waste generated at the Audi plant in Gy??r delivered to AMAG in Ranshofen in the form of sorted aluminium sheet scrap, AMAG said on Wednesday March 31.It w...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale has concluded the sale of its stake in Vale New Caledonia (VNC), which operates the Goro nickel mine and a processing plant, to the Prony Resources New Caledonia consortium, the company said on Wednesday March 31. The deal includes a $1.1-billion financial package, of which Vale will contribute $555 million, according to a filing with the Brazilian securities and exchange comm...Read More
Blister copper refining charges (RCs) in China rose in March to their highest level since January 2019, with spot buying interest in the country decreasing.Fastmarkets' assessment of the copper blister 98-99% RC, spot, cif China, was $170-185 per tonne on Tuesday March 31, compared with $160-170 per tonne at the start of the month.A deal was reported by a...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were stable day on day on Wednesday March 31, but they were expected to rise in the first half of April, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?836.00 ($981.27) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged day on day.The index was, however, up by ?,?16.00 per tonne...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe increased further in the week to Wednesday March 31 following additional increases to feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?920-950 ($1,079-1,115) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?890-920 per tonne one week previous. "Prices went through the r...Read More
Turkey exported 278,172 tonnes of flat steel products in February 2021, 34.37% less than the 423,881 tonnes exported in February 2020, the Turkish Statistical Institute (T?oeIK) said on Wednesday March 31. The lower volumes leaving Turkey in February reflect market uncertainty in October and November last year, when the orders were placed. In October, demand for Turkish hot-rolled coil was mo...Read More
European steel H-beam prices remained unchanged on Wednesday March 31 in the run-up to the Easter public holidays, sources told Fastmarkets.Despite the recent announcements of ?,?30 per tonne price increases by mills, only a ?,?10 per tonne increase was achieved on March 10, with prices remaining steady since then.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Nort...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in the north of Europe moved up slightly int the week to Wednesday March 31, despite buyer resistance, with any increases expected be absorbed by the seasonal pick-up in demand in April, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?640-660 ($751-775) per tonne on Wednesday, na...Read More
Iranian steel billet producers achieved higher prices in their recent round of tenders, supported by increased demand and therefore prices in Asia, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday March 30.On Tuesday, one of the country's major billet exporters, Khouzestan Steel, finalized a tender for 30,000 tonnes of billet at $560 per tonne fob southern Iranian ports.Esfahan Steel was reported to have closed its t...Read More
Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Friday April 2. After that, because of the UK's Easter holidays, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Wednesday April 7.Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices edged up further on Wednesday March 31 on news of a fresh US cargo, market participants told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked the cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $430 per tonne, shredded at $435 per tonne and plate & structural (P&S) scrap at $440 per tonne cfr. However, the cargo breakdown was not immediately clear at the time of public...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices remained largely stable in both the fob and cfr markets on Wednesday March 31, with little trading activity apparent, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $114.67 per tonne, up $0.30 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $214.15 per tonne, up $0.59 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $107.65 per tonne,...Read More