Demand for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates was poor during the week ending Tuesday March 23 with local rebar producers announcing unchanged prices, sources have told Fastmarkets.Rebar producers in the UAE rolled over their prices with effect from March 22.The country's steel producers were officially offering rebar at 2,530-2,545 dirhams ($689-693) per tonne ex-works, but deals...Read More
Turkish steelmakers have continued to hold back from the deep-sea scrap import markets after the unexpected sacking last weekend of the governor of the country's central bank, which caused a sharp decrease in the exchange-rate value of the lira, market sources said on Tuesday March 23.The Turkish lira crashed at the beginning of the week following the sudden decision by President Recep Tayyip Erdo...Read More
Bulk freight problems and strong billet demand from China have led to a sharp rise in the steel billet-scrap spread in recent weeks, Fastmarkets pricing data shows.The premium that Fastmarkets' assessment price for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast Asia carries over the assessment for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam rose to $165 per tonne on Friday March 19 - the highest level recorded...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices slipped in both the cfr and fob market on Tuesday March 23, with more trading activity at lower prices in the latter market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $111.64 per tonne, down $2.26 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $212.59 per tonne, down $0.64 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $104.65 per tonne, down $1.60 per...Read More
Iron ore prices rose amid more active steelmakers at the Chinese portside because of re-stocking inventories, sources said on Tuesday March 23.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $161.80 per tonne, up $4.79 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $162.00 per tonne, up $4.88 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $146.17 per tonne, up $3.09 per tonne65% F...Read More
Japanese scrapyards are eyeing higher import prices for heavy scrap (HS) in China before offering material again amid rebounds in Chinese domestic billet prices before offering cargoes again, industry sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 23.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China was $460-470 per tonne on Tuesday, widening downward by $10 per t...Read More
China imported 7,106 tonnes of recycled steel raw materials in the first two months of 2021, up by 1,274% from a year earlier, according to data from the country's customs agency.Of the amount, 3,430 tonnes (48%) were from Japan, making it China's biggest scrap supplier.South Korea was second biggest scrap supplier to China in...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Tuesday March 23 while the inactivity in the export segment persisted amid sustained uncertainty over the country's export tax rebate for steel products.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,050-5,080 yuan ($776-781) per tonne, down 10-40 yuan per tonneSeveral Shanghai-based traders said spot sellers in the city had lowered their offers in response...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was up by 1% during morning trading on Tuesday March 23, while aluminium fell to $2,227.50 per tonne, with a combination of macroeconomic factors and fundamentals issues resulting in mixed price movements.Aluminium's price was down by by 1.95% on Tuesday at 9am, nevertheless still above the $2,200 per tonne mark. The light metal hit a year-...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange, as well as spot precious metals prices, were mainly weaker this morning, Tuesday March 23, as were broader markets.Markets looking more nervous after concerted Western government sanctions on China have raised geopolitical tension.Europe braces for further Covid-19 lockdownsBase metals LME three-month base meta...Read More
The Shanghai Futures Exchange's plans to list ferro-chrome futures, potentially this year, will bring welcomed hedging opportunities and may weaken the dominance of China's stainless steel mills in the ore and alloy markets, participants told Fastmarkets.While no definite date or specifications of the ferro-chrome futures have been announced, Fastmarkets asked participants what changes these contr...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade 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....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, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 23.50-24.15 on Tuesday March...Read More
A summary of China's battery raw materials exports for the first two months of 2021.In briefLithium carbonate exports decreased in January-February in a year-on-year comparison with the early months of 2020, with tight domestic supply from most producers and no great improvement in overseas demand.Read More
A summary of China's battery raw materials imports for the first two months of 2021.In briefImports of cobalt metal rose sharply year-on-year early in 2021, with the second round of stockpiling by China's State Reserve Bureau elevating the domestic price of metal in the first two months of the year, triggering a robust import appetite in the country for the blue metal.Imports of cobalt intermediat...Read More
A summary of China Molybdenum Co's annual report filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday March 23.In briefRevenue for mining and processing business totaled 18.48 billion yuan ($2.84 billion), down by 4.06% year on year.Revenue for molybdenum and tungsten segment amounted to 3.55 billion yuan, down by 21.19% from previous year, due to...Read More
Applied Materials (AMAT). a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $124.26 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Hong Kong iShares (EWH) moved below $26.26 completing a double top pattern.Seagen (SGEN), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved below $141.50 extending an intermediate downtrend.U.S. Dollar ETN (UUP) moved above $24.91 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday March...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 22 that are worth another look.Crude steel output in Germany dropped by 10.4% year on year in February 2021 after four consecutive months of recovery, German steel federation WV Stahl said on March 22.The process at...Read More
Aluminium's futures price reached yet another year-to-date high at $2,289.50 per tonne during trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday March 22, with supply concerns for the metal continuing, and with all base metals prices up day-on-day at the close.The price of aluminium closed at $2,272 per tonne, $7 per tonne higher than on Friday, while its intraday high point on Monday was its highest...Read More
The process at the heart of proposals to overhaul the London Metal Exchange's market structure is problematic and suggests the exchange is not putting its users first, the president of the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said. In an interview with Fastmarkets, Mark Loveitt said that it was not clear to the IWCC and its members why the exchange was revisiting plans to change its margin...Read More