Prices of steel sheet products in the United States held steady over the past week, with buyers showing no urgency to place orders.Fastmarkets AMM's weekly assessment for domestic cold-rolled coil was flat at $42 per hundredweight ($840 per short ton) on Thursday April 4.The domestic hot-dipped galvanized steel base price also was unchanged week on week at $42 cwt, while the all-in...Read More

Indian mills have kept their domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices stable for April sales while cheaper imported material continued to put pressure on domestic product, Fastmarkets heard on Friday April 5.Fastmarkets' assessment of the Indian domestic HRC price was 40,500-41,000 rupees ($586-594) per tonne ex-mill on Friday, the same as last week's assessment."We have tried to keep domestic HRC pr...Read More

Prices for coated-steel products in Turkey decreased in the seven days to Friday April 5, with demand weak in both the domestic and export markets.Demand was weak in March because of market uncertainty ahead of the mayoral elections held across the country on March 31, sources told Fastmarkets.Unofficially, the Justice & Development Party (AKP) - the party of national government - won the majority...Read More

Most prices for steel coil products in Turkey were stable over the week ended Friday April 5, with buying activity remaining subdued.The market was slow in March because of uncertainty in the build-up to Turkey's mayoral elections, that were held across the country on March 31.Unofficially, the Justice & Development Party (AKP) - the party of national government - won the majority of the mayoral v...Read More

Polish steelmakers were expected to increase their domestic offer prices for rebar, supported by strong demand in the construction industry, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 5.In the meantime, Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland was 2,220-2,290 zloty ($581-599) per tonne ex-works on April 5, compared with 2,220-2,320 zloty per tonne ex-works last wee...Read More

Southeast Asia's steel billet market softened over the past week amid a lack of buying interest, though thin trading has kept prices steady in the last few days.Fastmarkets MB's daily import price assessment for billet in Southeast Asia was $475-485 per tonne cfr Manila on Thursday April 4, unchanged for a second day. Last Friday's prices were $5 per tonne higher, at $480-490 per tonne cfr.No deal...Read More

Private capital tracker Preqin says in an report, that contrary to expectations, 2018 was another bumper year for the industry, particularly for natural resources investments.Fundraising by unlisted funds for investment in natural resources - oil and gas, timberland, farmland, water and mines - set a fresh record in 2018, totalling $93 billion, and is likely to top $100 billion as more data become...Read More

Eastern promise for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxThis was the primary finding of research commissioned by the International Copper Association (ICA) and carried out by DMM Advisory Group.Read More

Global steel scrap prices continued to move downward in the week ending Friday April 5, with the exception that prices in the US market remained unchanged on a lack of trading, and with prices in India bucking the downtrend by $0.07 per tonne. Turkish import prices drop by more than $10 per tonne week on week on political uncertainty Lack of fresh trading keeps US exports flat Good availability of...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Friday April 5, while trading has been quiet due to a public holiday in China. Nickel and tin were both up by 0.2%, aluminium was down by 0.3% and the rest were either unchanged or either side of unchanged – with copper flat at $6,450 per tonne.Prices for the red metal are holding up relative...Read More

The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India was stable this week, with deals done at similar levels to the previous week, sources said on Friday April 5.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $334.45 per tonne cfr on April 5, little changed from $334.38 per tonne cfr on March 29.This week deals were heard for shredded done at $333 and $335...Read More

Turkish steel producers largely stayed away from the deep-sea scrap markets this week, with only one cargo sold so far, according to market participants.A steel producer in the Marmara region booked a European cargo, comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $304 per tonne cfr on Friday April 5.As a result of this transaction,...Read More

Prices for light iron steel scrap in the United Kingdom were rolled over for a third week on Friday April 5, with relatively tight availability against firm demand among major shredders supporting prices, sources told Fastmarkets.The move follows the imminent settlement of monthly delivery settlements in the UK to domestic consumers, with a rollover or perhaps a small decrease likely in those cont...Read More

The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has been in wait-and-see mode over the past week, with market participants expecting clarity to emerge in the price trend by the middle of April.Fastmarkets' price assessment for CIS exports of high-manganese pig iron was stable over the week at $340-350 per tonne fob Black Sea on April 4.Offers for this material hav...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices remained flat on Friday April 5, with trading activity limited by a public holiday in China.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $92.90 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.02 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $95.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $82.84 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unch...Read More

The absence of Chinese market participants due to a public holiday kept seaborne coking coal prices largely stable on Friday April 5.A May-loading cargo of branded materials was traded at $202 per tonne fob Australia on Global Coal, sources told Fastmarkets during the day.Offers trended downward throughout the day on the trading platform. A cargo of unbranded materials, for instance, was offered a...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures moved higher following release of the March Employment Report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for March Non-farm Payrolls is an increase to 170,000 from 20,000 in February. Actual was 196,000. Consensus for March Unemployment Rate is unchanged from February at 3.8%. Actual was unc...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly rangebound during morning trading on Friday April 5, with a national holiday in China prompting quiet Asian trading while continued strength in the US dollar above the psychological level of 97 was also limiting commodity investment. Zinc's three-month price continued to find support above the $2,900-per-tonne level amid near record lows...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Friday April 5, while trading has been quiet due to a public holiday in China. Nickel and tin were both up by 0.2%, aluminium was down by 0.3% and the rest were either unchanged or either side of unchanged - with copper flat at $6,450 per tonne. Prices for the red metal are holding up relatively well i...Read More

If you're reading this there's a good chance you're either wearing glasses, contact lenses or some combination. According to the Vision Council of America, approximately 75% of adults use some sort of vision correction. About 64% of them wear eyeglasses, and about 11% wear contact lenses, either exclusively, or with glasses. Over half of all women and about 42% of men wear glasses.I bring this top...Read More