Domestic transaction prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe increased on Tuesday December 17, supported by a lack of lower offers as well as solid demand, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, ex-works Northern Europe was ?,?436.47 ($486.17) per tonne on Tuesday December 17, up from ?,?431.88 per tonne on Monday.The index was based on deals...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday December 17 that are worth another look.Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia were stable during the past week, as suppliers' attempts to achieve higher prices failed despite the recovery in downstream hot-rolled coil prices.Market observers do not expect planned interruptions to power supply in South Afri...Read More

Sabic Hadeed expects local steel consumption to increase gradually over the next 10 years thanks to stronger demand from the private sector and not only via government spending or the oil sector, the state-owned Saudi Arabian steel producer said at Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron and Steel conference in Dubai last week.Consumption of steel including rebar, wire rod and flat products, in Saudi Arabia...Read More

The nickel price closed down more than 1.6% on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday December 17, seemingly succumbing to inventory pressure.The three-month price ended at $13,960 per tonne after stocks in LME-listed warehouses rose by another 6,090 tonnes.The contango in the benchmark cash/three-month spread widened to $61 per tonne this afternoon from $41.25 per tonne earlier today and $57 per to...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were largely rangebound on Tuesday December 17 despite pollution curbs being removed in Tangshan.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.07 per tonne, up $0.03 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.16 per tonne, up $0.03 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.95 per tonne, up $0.28 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Q...Read More

Prices of seaborne premium hard coking coal slipped on a fob Australia basis on Tuesday December 17 while cfr China rates remained underpinned by decent demand and the strength of the coke market in China.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.16 per tonne, down $2.42 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $147.33 per tonne, down $0.37 per tonneHard coking coal, fob...Read More

The nickel price closed down more than 1.6% on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday December 17, seemingly succumbing to inventory pressure.The three-month price ended at $13,960 per tonne after stocks in LME-listed warehouses rose by another 6,090 tonnes.The contango in the benchmark cash/three-month spread widened to $61 per tonne this afternoon from $41.25 per tonne earlier today and $57 per to...Read More

Export prices of hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil from the Commonwealth of Independent States have climbed further because of tight availability and rising local prices at outlet regions, market sources said on Monday December 16.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, export, fob Black Sea was $460-470 per tonne on Monday, up from $425-435 per tonne a week earlier.One sale of Russ...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday December 17 that are worth another look.Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia were stable during the past week, as suppliers' attempts to achieve higher prices failed despite the recovery in downstream hot-rolled coil prices.Market observers do not expect planned interruptions to power supply in South Afri...Read More

Market observers do not expect planned interruptions to power supply in South Africa by Eskom to affect deliveries from South32's Hillside aluminium smelter, they told Fastmarkets.State power utility Eskom implements load shedding - controlled power blackouts - to reduce pressure on the country's electricity grid when power is severely constrained.Last week it was forced to implement stage 6 load...Read More

Kris Vansanten, a Belgian entrepreneur specializing in restructuring distressed assets, has built up a 3.42% holding in the voting rights of Nyrstar NV, Nyrstar said in a notice on December 17.Vansanten notified the company, which in turn published a notice on the Euronext exchange to inform investors, that his shareholding exceeds the 3% required...Read More

London Metal Exchange aluminium stocks continued to climb on Tuesday December 17, with 42,500 tonnes of material delivered into warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia.Total LME aluminium stocks, now at 1,444,300 tonnes, are up by 53% from 942,125 tonnes on November 11, when sizeable deliveries first emerged in response to LME aluminium nearby spreads being in backwardation.But while the benchmark cash...Read More

Benchmark alumina prices have failed to trade above $300 per tonne since August 2019 and are likely to remain under pressure in 2020 partly because aluminium companies are diversifying along the supply chain, market participants said. There has been a sharp drop in alumina prices in 2019 - Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina index, fob Australia averaged $279.56 per tonne in November, 26.8% lower...Read More

Sabic Hadeed expects local steel consumption to increase gradually over the next 10 years thanks to stronger demand from the private sector and not only via government spending or the oil sector, the state-owned Saudi Arabian steel producer said at Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron and Steel conference in Dubai last week.Consumption of steel including rebar, wire rod and flat products, in Saudi Arabia...Read More

Some flat steel import prices to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased this week on higher offers, but demand was moderate as end-user consumption remained subdued, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday December 17.No new bookings were heard this week because buyers wanted to see if the price increases were sustainable.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China were heard in...Read More

RAPAPORT... Gemfields auctioned 12 parcels of rubies backed by G? 1/4 belinGem Lab's Provenance Proof program, the first blockchain-enabled rubies theminer has sold, it said Tuesday. "[The stones] have become the first Gemfields rubies ever topioneer the use of blockchain in facilitating improved supply-chaintraceability," Adrian Banks, Gemfields' managing director of product and sales,expla...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa's supervisory board has approved a three-yearstrategy for its cutting-and-polishing divisions, including the integration of newacquisition Kristall. The plan, which it will implement between 2020 and 2022,will improve the efficiency of the Russian miner's cutting andpolishing units, Alrosa said Monday. The strategy includesmeasures aimed at optimizing the product mix and pr...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alrosa will help launch a blockchain-based provenance program offering Chinese consumers greater transparency when buying jewelry via WeChat. The e-commerce program, apartnership with blockchain platform Everledger and Chinese Internet giantTencent Holdings, will be available to nearly a billion WeChat users, thecompanies said Monday. WeChat, which is owned by Tencent, is a m...Read More

Prices for steel billet imported to the United Arab Emirates have increased slightly over the past week amid strong demand, market sources said on Tuesday December 17.Market participants in the UAE expect prices to increase further due to the global rise in production costs and low stock levels in the country.Local rebar producers will announce new prices around December 20 and expectations are fo...Read More

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has appointed Peter Hill as non-executivechairman, succeeding company founder Adonis Pouroulis, who is stepping down,the company said Tuesday. Hill is currently non-executive chairman of geotechnicalcontractor Keller Group and of building-products company Volution Group. Hewill begin with the miner as non-executive director and chairman-designate onJanuary 1, and will be...Read More