Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Friday December 11. Key drivers: European sellers reported strong export demand to Asia as the key tailwind for higher offers for 226 ingots, with some indicating that Asian buyers are increasing offers by ?,?100 ($121) per day. Aluminium scrap prices have increased amid tightening supply after many cargoes were delayed due to a s...Read More
An overview of the new energy raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Susan Zou, Sybil Pan, and Sally...Read More
Spot copper concentrate treatment and refining charges were largely unchanged over the week to Friday December 11, reflected in hand-to-mouth buying from smelters. Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific was $44 per tonne on Friday, down from $44.80 per tonne a week before. Deals reported to Fastmarkets continue to show smelter buying between $47 and $49 per tonne for clea...Read More
Deliverable base metals stock volumes in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses were mostly lower on a weekly comparison in the seven days to Friday December 11, with copper and zinc registering the biggest fall in percentage terms of 16%. Copper stocks declined by 15,691 tonnes to 82,092 tonnes from 97,783 tonnes the week before. The Shanggang Wuliu warehouse in Shanghai saw the largest...Read More
Waiting times for aluminium at Istim warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, fell to just 30 days at the end of November, according to the London Metal Exchange's latest queue report.This queue time is significantly lower than the 71 days recorded at the end of October. There has been a queue for aluminium at Istim warehouses in Port Klang every month so far in 2020.Queues for aluminium ...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price came close to $8,000 per tonne during early morning trading before retreating by 9am on Friday December 11, with the complex hovering around recent highs on positive Covid-19 vaccine news out of the United States. The copper price touched $7,973.50 per tonne on Friday morning, setting a new 2020 high and returning to levels not seen since late Feb...Read More
Rails made from "green steel" by Liberty France, a subsidiary of the Liberty Steel Group, have been approved for use on the French rail network by national service supplier SNCF R?(C)seau, the company said on Thursday December 10.The key focus for Liberty after it acquired the operations in August this year was to connect the Ascoval steelworks near Saint-Saulve with the Hayange rail mill in Mosel...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States spiked after mills figured out just how little spot tonnage they will be able to offer in the new year.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US jumped to $52 per hundredweight ($1,040 per short ton) on Thursday December 10, from $49.50 per cwt ($990 per ton) the week before. The assessment ha...Read More
ArcelorMittal restarted blast furnace No2 at its Dunkirk operations in northern France this week, in a bid to increase hot-rolled coil output to meet growing demand, the company said.The 1.4-million-tonnes-per-year blast furnace was restarted after having been idled in spring 2020 due to falling demand for steel in Europe caused by restrictions put in place to combat the spread of&n...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased day on day in Northern Europe on Friday December 11 due to a materials shortage in the market combined with good demand from distributors, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?606.25 ($734.10) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?1.25 per tonne day on day from ?,?605.0...Read More
Flat steel prices in the Turkish market continued to increase sharply in the week to Friday December 11, on strong demand, low stock levels and expectations that prices will rise further, sources told Fastmarkets.Most flat steel buyers believe prices have more room to increase because of strong demand and prices in the global market.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel hot-rolled coil index export,...Read More
Demand for coated steel products in the domestic Turkish market was strong in the week to Friday December 11 while supply was still limited, sources told Fastmarkets.As a result, prices kept increasing during the week, reaching their highest levels since the end of 2012.Some coated coil producers sold limited quantities of product at the beginning of the week, and then closed their orderbooks.The...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 26 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the U.S. November Producer Price Index. Consensus was an increase of 0.1% versus a gain of 0.3% in October. Actual was up 0.1%. Excluding food and energy, consensus for the November Producer Price Index was an increase of 0.2%...Read More
Global steel scrap prices continued to increase throughout the week to Friday December 11 on active purchasing from steel mills and tight supply in the spot market.Turkey purchases at increasingly higher prices on tight supplyUS exporters see brisk trade on East CoastTaiwan sees continued shortage in containerized scrap supplySurge in Kanto Tetsugen auction cause H2 offers to spike in VietnamIndia...Read More
The import market for pig iron in the United States increased in the week to Friday December 11 on strong demand, with buyers forced to search for alternative supply, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $470-480 per tonne on Friday, up from $455-465 per tonne a week earlier.Three pig iron bookings were re...Read More
The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap in the UK and Europe increased significantly this week because of higher nickel costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday December 11. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK rose to ?980-1,040 ($1,305-1,385) per tonne on Friday, up by ?30-60 per tonne week on week from ?950-980 per to...Read More
The price of shredded steel scrap imported into India and Pakistan crossed $400 per tonne on Friday December 11 as a result of high international prices and tight shipping availability, sources told Fastmarkets. India Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India at $401.81 per tonne on Friday, up from $380.65 per tonne one week earlier. Deals were he...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have continued to climb, reaching highs not seen since early January 2014, on the fresh European cargoes sold at the end of the week, sources said on Friday December 11.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a European cargo - comprising 15,000 tonnes of a 75:25 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap, 7,500 tonnes of a mixture of HMS 1 and plate and structur...Read More
The export pig iron price from the Commonwealth of Independent States went up again during the week to Thursday December 10 on a shortage of material with further increases expected, according to market sources.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS was $450-460 per tonne on Thursday, narrowing upward from $433-460 per tonne a week ea...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices stayed on an upward trend on Friday December 11, despite environmental restrictions being imposed on steel mills in the steelmaking hub of Tangshan, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $160.13 per tonne, up $3.55 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $160.41 per tonne, up $3.62 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grad...Read More