Steel sales volumes from distributors in Brazil rose by 9.80% during February 2021, compared with the corresponding month last year, with demand still strong, national distributors' association Inda said on Tuesday March 23.Brazilian distributors sold 312,300 tonnes of flat-rolled steel in February, up from 284,600 tonnes a year before. The February figure, however, was down by 3.80% from 324,600...Read More

The export market for CIS-origin steel billet remained quiet this week, with buyers adopting a wait-and-see stance while they await clarity on the direction of prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Billet buyers in Turkey, one of the major markets for CIS-origin semi-finished material have refrained from making any purchases since the sharp devaluation of Turkish lira at the weekend.The dramatic fall i...Read More

Flat steel import offer prices to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased sharply in the week to Tuesday, March 23, although only a few offers were received, sources told Fastmarkets."Most mills in China and India have stopped offering this week and any new offers are expected to be even higher, [but] demand is very weak in our region," a UAE-based trader said.China and India are the m...Read More

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

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 metalsLME three-month base m...Read More

Texas Instruments (TXN), an S&P 100 stock moved above $181.80 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.  Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday March 23rdU.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 13 points in pre-opening trade. Crude oil dropped $2.45 to US$59.11 per barrel in pre-opening trade. Energy stocks are expected to respond in early t...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

The Federal Reserve met last week and voted to keep interest rates unchanged. What a shock!The Fed also gave an upbeat forecast of economic growth, predicting that the U.S. economy will grow 6.5% this year, its highest rate in nearly 40 years. Its December 2020 forecast projected 4.2% growth.The Fed also expects that the economy could return to full employment next year and that inflation could hi...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