China's domestic rebar prices increased sharply on Monday November 9 to their highest since December 2019 on rising futures. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,030-4,060 yuan ($609-614) per tonne, up by 140 yuan per tonneStock and commodity markets in China strengthened during the day amid a bigger appetite for higher-risk investments among punters following the outcome to the United States presi...Read More
Steelmakers in Turkey stepped back from deep-sea purchases on Monday November 9, after the value of the Turkish lira increased by just under 4% in one day, sources told Fastmarkets.Turkish steelmakers booked eleven deep-sea cargoes last week.However, the Turkish currency rebounded sharply after the news of the resignation of Turkey's economy minister and the replacement of the central bank go...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices have edged further upward in line with imported scrap values over the past week, while ship scrap prices were fairly stable, sources said on Monday November 9.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was 2,210-2,455 lira ($259-288) per tonne on Monday, widening upward from 2,210-2,380 lira per ton...Read More
Iron ore prices increased in both the futures and seaborne markets on Monday November 9, sources told Fastmarkets, supported by rising steel prices and despite stronger sintering restrictions in China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.75 per tonne, up $3.95 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $122.25 per tonne, up $4.2...Read More
An uptrend in the finished flat steel products sector, both in some customers' markets and in the CIS region itself, has resulted in higher merchant slab prices from CIS mills, Fastmarkets learned on Monday November 9.Last week, Turkish mills were heard offering hot-rolled coil to foreign customers at $550-560 per tonne fob, up from $520-530 per tonne fob in late October. Turkish sources noted tha...Read More
Peter Krauth looks into what Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine efficacy announcement could mean for gold and silver. Believe it or not, the big deal for precious metals this week was not the U.S. election.It was news that Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine was over 90% effective in preventing the virus, and would likely be among the first to receive FDA authorization.Monday was massivel...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 9 that are worth another look.The European Commission (EC) has ended an anti-subsidy investigation into hot-rolled stainless steel sheet and coil originating from China and Indonesia, the EC said on November 9.TradeCloud chief operating officer...Read More
Seaborne prices for both low and high-grade manganese ore in China continued to trend down in the week to Friday November 6 after miners lowered offer prices for December shipments on persistently weak sentiment, partly due to record high port inventories, sources told Fastmarkets.Lower offers sparked some buying interest and led to improved liquidity in the past week as a result, sources said. Fa...Read More
After seven consecutive weeks of decline, portside prices for low- and high-grade manganese ore in China halted their downtrends with the high-grade one even registering slight gains in the week to Friday November 6 on increased buying interest from alloy smelters. Fastmarkets' manganese ore port index, base 37% Mn, range 35-39%, fot Tianjin, China was 30.60 yuan ($4.63) per dry metric tonne...Read More
Below is a chart (source) showing a 10-year history of silver prices. The prices are adjusted for inflation… As you can see, the price of silver today is well below its peak price in 2011. At $24 per ounce, silver is down fifty-six percent since August 2011. When the silver price collapsed almost forty percent in just a few weeks earlier this year, its price briefly broke below $12 per ounc...Read More
With China significantly ahead of the curve in terms of economic recovery after Covid-19, its ambitious infrastructure investments have been under the spotlight because of the enormous boost to domestic consumption - especially demand for steel products. During Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Virtual Conference on November 9, Una Yin, a steel market analyst in the Fastmarkets Research team...Read More
Brace yourselves, winter is coming!This is what Ned Stark in the Game of Thrones told his people to prepare themfor the leaner times he saw coming. While one of the biggest threats in GOTwere the White Walkers, in our reality, the pandemic is again the greatest danger. As the chart below shows, the second wave of the coronavirus infections is no longer a mere possibility – it’s happeni...Read More
China will set standards for the quality of steel rebar used for reinforcing concrete in the construction sector by 2022, according to a notice released by the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT) on Saturday November 7.The standards for the product, which it describes as hot-rolled ribbed steel bar in Chinese, will be drawn up by China Metallurgical Information & Standardization I...Read More
Some container shipping lines are refusing to give rates for December shipments of scrap metal into South Asia and are even cancelling some existing orders, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 6.Four steel scrap traders that speak to Fastmarkets said they have either been unable to get December shipment quotations from their freight forwarders or are aware of others facing a similar situat...Read More
Finished steel inventories at member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) fell by 11.26% in late October from the middle of the month, according to data released on Wednesday November 4.October 21-31 outputCrude steel: 2.16 million tonnes per day, down 0.77%Finished steel: 2.14 million tpd, up...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 9 that are worth another look.The European Commission (EC) has ended an anti-subsidy investigation into hot-rolled stainless steel sheet and coil originating from China and Indonesia, the EC said on November 9.TradeCloud chief operating officer...Read More
During a review of its specifications, Fastmarkets has identified a necessary clarification to the specification for its arsenic price assessment.Fastmarkets has updated the price description of its fortnightly price assessment for arsenic to Arsenic, 99% min As, in-whs Rotterdam, $ per lb, to match the quality listed in the detail specification list. It previously, and erroneously, was listed as...Read More
An uptrend in the finished flat steel products sector, both in some customers' markets and in the CIS region itself, has resulted in higher merchant slab prices from CIS mills, Fastmarkets learned on Monday November 9.Last week, Turkish mills were heard offering hot-rolled coil to foreign customers at $550-560 per tonne fob, up from $520-530 per tonne fob in late October. Turkish sources noted tha...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange remained the standout performer at the close of trading on Monday November 9, while a steady incline in the US dollar index resulted in declines in LME copper and aluminium over the afternoon.The price of nickel rose by more than 2%, reacting positively to news of a prospective vaccine against Covid-19 and the election of Joe Biden to the U...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 9 that are worth another look.The European Commission (EC) has ended an anti-subsidy investigation into hot-rolled stainless steel sheet and coil originating from China and Indonesia, the EC said on November 9.TradeCloud chief operating officer...Read More