Forward prices for copper and nickel on the London Metal Exchange continued to reach new highs during trading on Thursday January 7, while the rest of the base-metals complex showed smaller increases than those seen at the beginning of the week on a marked rebound in the US dollar index.Nickel's three-month price achieved a new 16-month high of $18,200 per tonne on Thursday, with the uptake of ele...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices increased across the board in the cfr market on Thursday January 7, on higher offer prices, but with storms expected to hit Queensland this weekend, the fob market stayed quiet, with many miners reluctant to sell.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $103.99 per tonne, up $0.07 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $208.19 per tonne...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices maintained their upward trend across the board on Thursday January 7, with lump premiums also continuing to rise because of firm demand, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $171.69 per tonne, up $2.97 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $172.25 per tonne, up $3.50 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices have remained stable in Egypt in the week ending Thursday January 7 because of low levels of market activity, market sources have told Fastmarkets.January 7 was the Coptic Christmas in Egypt, and trading was subdued in the days before the holiday.Market participants now wanted to see the direction that prices might move globally before placing orders.Demand for rebar...Read More
Turkish steelmakers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for February and March shipment at firm prices, sources said on Thursday January 7.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $480 per tonne, 22,000 tonnes of shredded and 10,000 tonnes of bonus at $490 per tonne cfr.And a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo a...Read More
Robust export demand for brass and copper scrap is weighing on the domestic prices of scrap metal in the United States, with brass scrap prices reaching record highs in the first week of the New Year."We have never been busier, and I have never seen prices of copper and brass scrap like this," a brass ingot maker said. "For the first time, we are paying more for brass scrap for melting into ingots...Read More
The blockade at the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru has been partially ended on a temporary basis pending a dialogue between local community members and mining company MMG, Fastmarkets learned on Thursday January 7. But the path to a resolution remains uncertain, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Meanwhile, transport of copper concentrate is still minimal because it will take time...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metals Exchange crossed $18,000 per tonne on the morning of Thursday January 7 and copper continued to stride above $8,000 per tonne in a broadly positive morning for the complex. Nickel's price touched $18,190 per tonne during early trading, the first time the metal has crossed $18,000 per tonne since September 13, 2019, and a 2.3% gain on Wednesday's 5p...Read More
Markets remained upbeat on the morning of Thursday January 7 despite the outbreak of violence in Washington, DC, with nickel joining copper and tin in setting fresh new multi-month highs but gold turning lower.Asian-Pacific equities generally upbeat, along with pre-market western equity index futures as the US Democrats win the Senate US 10-year treasury yields continue to rise Base metals Th...Read More
China Copper's raw materials director Feng Mingrui will be the next group leader of the country's top copper smelters after a tie vote at a recent meeting, sources told Fastmarkets.Feng, who previously worked at Daye Nonferrous and Trafigura, received the same number of votes as Jinchuan Group's Yang Xiangbin at a meeting of the China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) in late December.The CSPT eventua...Read More
China's stainless steel prices increased in the past week on gains in the nickel market, though trading activity fell as a result of the increases.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended the official session on Wednesday January 6 at $17,828 per tonne, up by $990 per tonne from $16,838 per tonne a week earlier. DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domes...Read More
Prices for imported hot-rolled coil in the United States climbed to their highest in more than 12 years amid a lack of offers; meanwhile, prices for imported cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized steel remained flat, and imported plate logged its third consecutive price rise.There have been few import offers for hot-rolled coil, and market participants were concerned that prices might decline...Read More
Steel reinforcing bar spot prices in the United States continue their scrap-driven ascent, according to market participants.Fastmarkets assessed the price of steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US, at $37.75 per hundredweight ($755 per short ton) on Wednesday January 6, up by 2% from the previous assessment of $37 per cwt. Domestic rebar prices are closing in on $38 per cwt, a level which has...Read More
The provisional anti-dumping duties imposed on imports of Turkish hot-rolled coil by the European Commission are neither reasonable nor fair, Turkish steel exporters told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 7.The EC has set provisional duties at 4.8-7.6% on HRC imports originating from Turkey, with effect from January 6."The findings of the anti-dumping case are not reasonable and fair," Ugur Dalbeler...Read More
Domestic long steel prices in Turkey have increased over the past week thanks to rising scrap costs, but demand is weak because local buyers are struggling with the higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Turkey, was 5,500-5,700 lira ($750-777) per tonne on Thursday, widening up from th...Read More
Turkish steel billet prices have increased over the past week due to rising imported scrap costs and despite limited demand, sources said on Thursday January 7.Most of the suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were out of the market at the moment for their year-end holidays.There are public holidays in Russia from January 1 to January 11. January 7 is the last official holiday...Read More
Prices for plate and structural-grade scrap (P&S), known as HS in Japan, have shown a slight increase over the past week on strong demand from mills in both Japan and China, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 7.China booked at least four steel scrap cargoes from Japan in the first week of 2021 following an easing in the country's import regulations, with most of these deals done for HS h...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices increased across the board in the cfr market on Thursday January 7, on higher offer prices, but with storms expected to hit Queensland this weekend, the fob market stayed quiet, with many miners reluctant to sell.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $103.99 per tonne, up $0.07 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $208.19 per tonne...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices maintained their upward trend across the board on Thursday January 7, with lump premiums also continuing to rise because of firm demand, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $171.69 per tonne, up $2.97 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $172.25 per tonne, up $3.50 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More
The Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) released a notice on Wednesday January 6 to amend its coke delivery quality standard, which will apply from the J2201 contract month onwards. The amendments to the exchange's coke futures contract bring it in line with the physical market and enhances the futures market's capability to serve the economy, the DCE said in the notice....Read More