The domestic steel hot-rolled coil price in Europe remained firm on Friday September 25 due to a combination of limited supply and a lack of competitive imports offers, rather than booming demand, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets calculated the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?488.02 ($568.97) per tonne on Friday, up by just ?,?0.21 per tonne from ?,...Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil in Turkish market were flat or lower in the week to Friday September 25, as a result of weak demand and expectations of further declines, sources told Fastmarkets.Some market participants expect a fall in prices due to slower demand, a drop in Chinese prices and a weaker Turkish lira against the United States dollar.Fastmarkets' calculation of the steel HRC index export,...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 14 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the August Durable Goods Orders report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 1.5% versus an upwardly revised gain of 11.7% in July. Actual was an increase of 0.4% . Excluding transportation orders, consensus was an increa...Read More
ArcelorMittal has resumed operations at blast furnace No3 at its plant in Bremen, Germany, after six month of downtime, the company told Fastmarkets this week.The decision to relight the furnace was based on the current recovery in steel demand and the need to boost pig iron output due to the relining of a blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Gent in Belgium, the company said.Read More
Poland's steel rebar producers have pushed for new price increases this week on good buying activity, rising raw materials costs and a lack of competitive imports in the market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 25.The rebar market in the country moved up this week on fresh offers from domestic mills, encouraged by good buying, rising rolling costs and tighter availability of rebar with...Read More
QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong,If this “Great Reset” movement pushes gold underground, what would that mean for gold producers? I recall reading on your blog that when gold was confiscated in the United States to devalue the Dollar, gold producers were happy because governments started buying their product at a fixed price which allowed the producers to avoid market risk. Do you see a s...Read More
The Brazil export pig iron market was subdued in the week to Friday September 25 on reduced demand in China. Fastmarkets assessed the price of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil at $360-370 per tonne on Friday, down by $5 per tonne from $365-375 per tonne one week earlier. In the south of Brazil, export offers were reported $370 per tonne fob. Only one supplier, who has...Read More
The price of shredded scrap imported into India continued to move down this week, with trading slow due to poor market sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 25.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $ 309.58 per tonne on Friday, down from $317.57 per tonne one week previous.Two deals were heard for shredded this week, one at $3...Read More
The market for UK inter-merchant light iron scrap was stable in the week to Friday September 25, with enough domestic demand and limited availability offsetting a recent drop-off in export demand to traditional destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent, industry sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inte...Read More
Early during the week to Friday September 25, pig iron import deal prices in the United States overtook the market level in China, which had been driving the global market since March, but eased later in the assessment period. Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US softened to $380-387 per tonne on Friday from $385-387 per tonne one week earlier. One spot b...Read More
A Turkish steel producer broke the silence in the deep-sea scrap market on Friday September 25 after two quiet weeks, securing deals for two cargoes, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 10,000 tonnes of shredded, 1,000 tonnes of bonus and 1,000 tonnes of busheling at an average price of $299 per tonne...Read More
Sentiment in the Commonwealth of Independent States' (CIS) pig iron export market turned negative amid falling prices in the Chinese raw materials and finished steel product markets in the week to Thursday September 24.The typically strong demand for finished steel products in the September-October period has not appeared in China this year, sources said.Market sources expect the housing market, i...Read More
China imported 263,032 tonnes of alumina in August, up 119% year on year from 120,000 tonnes in August 2019, according to Chinese customs data released on Thursday September 24.This follows China's alumina imports hitting a four-year high of 417,263 tonnes' last month.Alumina importsAugust imports: 263,032 tonnes, up by 119% year on year, down by 40% month on monthJanuary-August imports: 2,619,015...Read More
Mid-grade fines prices made limited movements on limited trading activity but low-grade fines were heard to be popular with the mills again amid shrinking margins, trade sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $115.21 per tonne, up $0.54 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $115.74 per tonne, up $0.28 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao:...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices were relatively steady on Friday September 25 with no transactions heard, however, market participants expect premium hard coking coal prices to increase gradually and higher hard coking coal and pulverized coal injection (PCI) prices in the cfr market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.81 per tonne, down $0.05 per tonne Premium har...Read More
Soft demand sent China's domestic rebar prices falling this week, with those in the eastern region being down by 60-80 yuan per tonne despite holding steady on Friday September 25. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,600-3,640 yuan ($528-534) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 3,570-3,590 yuan per tonne, down by 50 yuan per tonne End users kept their rebar invent...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed but little changed this morning, Friday September 25, this after once again running into dip-buying on Thursday.A late rally in US equities on Thursday lent support to broader markets.US Congress is working on a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that could be voted on next week.Asian-Pacific equities were for the most part stronger this morni...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...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.Fastmarkets assessed cobalt...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More