Aluminium's price on the London Metal Exchange was up 2.2% at the close to $2,265 per tonne on March 19, with the rest of the base metals complex also benefiting from a short-covering bounce on Friday.The light metal came to $2,275 per tonne on Friday at around 4:30pm, its highest level since June 14 2018, when it reached $2,280 per tonne at a time of deep trade tensions between the United States...Read More
The beneficiaries of the London Metal Exchange's proposal to close the ring, incentivize electronic trade and change its margin methodology are likely to be algorithmic traders and banks, a floor trader at the exchange said.Daniel Messinger, deputy head of trading at LME ring dealer Sucden Financial, said that these market participants already have a significant influence on LME trading."It's virt...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese seamless linepipe prices have jumped by $120 per tonne over the past month because of rising costs. With iron ore prices remaining elevated, scrap costs on the rise, and activity at steel mills curbed by environmental measures, steel billet has become difficult to source, bolstering the prices for seamless linep...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda...Read More
Global steel scrap prices continued to fall over the week ended Friday March 19, with market participants battling against the disruptions in the bulk freight sector.Turkey goes quiet despite rise in available cargoesUS sellers expect Turkey to return for scrap soonLack of free vessels hobbles Vietnam import businessBuying slows in China amid weaker appetite for scrapSellers to Taiwan resist furth...Read More
Proposed changes to the London Metal Exchange's margin methodology would have detrimental implications for collateral and credit lines, increase transaction costs and brokerage fees, and inhibit scrap recyclers' ability to hedge, according to the non-ferrous division of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI).A number of members had expressed "adamant opposition" to any changes that wou...Read More
Aluminium's price on the London Metal Exchange was up 2.2% at the close to $2,265 per tonne on March 19, with the rest of the base metals complex also benefiting from a short-covering bounce on Friday.The light metal came to $2,275 per tonne on Friday at around 4:30pm, its highest level since June 14 2018, when it reached $2,280 per tonne at a time of deep trade tensions between the United States...Read More
A strike by transport workers in Peru has disrupted the movement of metal concentrate between mines and key ports such as Callao, in Lima. The strike by freight carriers began on Monday February 15, affecting commercial trucking for all products and has emerged due to high fuel and toll costs, among other grievances, according to local media outlet El Comercio. Peru was the world's top exporter of...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou and Sybil Pan...Read More
The duty-unpaid aluminium premium in Europe rose to its highest in nearly six years on Friday March 19 due to continued tightness of material and high demand. Fastmarkets assessed aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dup Rotterdam at $160-165 per tonne on Friday, rallying from $145-155 per tonne on the previous day and up 44.44% from $110-115 per tonne at the start of the year. At a current midpoint o...Read More
Operations at the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon in the United Kingdom could restart early next year, its executive team said, while expecting to go public in the second quarter of next year if prices stay as elevated as they are now. Executive chairman Mark Thompson and chief executive officer Max Denning of Tungsten West Ltd (TWL) are looking to raise ?50 million ($69.4 million) over t...Read More
Spot copper concentrate processing charges rebounded for the first time so far this year on Friday March 19, following 11 consecutive weekly declines. Fastmarkets calculated its benchmark copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index, cif Asia Pacific at $28.10 per tonne/ 2.81 cents per lb for the week ended Friday March 19. Last week, the index dipped below $30...Read More
The beneficiaries of the London Metal Exchange's proposal to close the ring, incentivize electronic trade and change its margin methodology are likely to be algorithmic traders and banks, a floor trader at the exchange said.Daniel Messinger, deputy head of trading at LME ring dealer Sucden Financial, said that these market participants already have a significant influence on LME trading."It's virt...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States remain near an all-time high, supported by growing concerns among market participants that supply will be limited until at least the third quarter.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $64.98 per hundredweight ($1,299.60 per short ton) on Friday March 19, down by 0.40% from a record $65.24 per cwt on Thursday March...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices fell by 100-200 rupees ($1-3) per tonne during the week to Friday March 19 on fewer inquiries and weakness in prices for finished products such as rebar.Fastmarkets' assessment of steel billet domestic, ex-works India was 38,500-38,800 rupees per tonne on Friday, down 100-200 rupees from 38,700-38,900 rupees per tonne ex-works last week."There will be a...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe rose day on day on Friday March 19 on a shortage of material combined with good demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?799.38 ($954.46) per tonne on Friday March 19, up by ?,?6.88 per tonne from ?,?792.50 per tonne the previous day.The index was up by ?,?6.38 pe...Read More
Hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) and color-coated coil prices in Turkey increased further during the week to Friday March 19, with several deals made in local and export markets, sources told Fastmarkets.The producers are fully booked until late May, with some mills booked until July.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG coil domestic, ex-works Turkey was $1,155-1,170 per to...Read More
Demand for flat-rolled steel was strong in Turkey's domestic market, and prices kept increasing during the week ending Friday March 19, sources told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil producers in Turkey were accepting orders to be produced in late July, and several import orders were placed.But production was halted by two automotive producers in Turkey - Tofas (March...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland were largely supported over the week to Friday March 19 and sources said they expect continued good end-user demand and higher scrap values to lead prices higher. Rebar In the secondary market, buying activity was reported to be quite good during the assessment period, with some trading sources expecting March to be a record sales month for them, Fastmarkets heard....Read More
The never-before-seen measures meted out by China's Tangshan provincial government could cut hundreds of thousands of tonnes per day in steel output and hit raw material demand in 2021, market sources told Fastmarkets. Tangshan's environmental protection office said on Friday March 19 that it is looking to tighten its grip on air pollution in the city, especially after it found that not all s...Read More