The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry announced permanent duties on steel billet, rebar and wire rod on October 10, effective from October 12, Egyptian sources told Fastmarkets.The permanent safeguard duty is 16% of the cif price and a minimum of $74 per tonne for steel billet from October 12, 2019 until April 11, 2020. The duty will fall to 13% and $60-per-tonne minimum payment on April 12,...Read More

Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) fell in the week to Friday October 11, with demand remaining weak, sources have told Fastmarkets.The price for hot-rolled coil, the base product for coated coil, has continued to fall as well this week, and coated coil prices have followed the downtrend.Domestic pricesDemand in the country's local market was...Read More

China's steel mills posted a fall in profits in the first eight months of the year on weakening steel prices and costly raw materials. Profit in the country's steelmaking industry totaled 179.94 billion yuan ($25.17 billion) in January-August 2019, down by 32.3% year on year and deepening the drop in the month prior of 26.4% on an annual basis, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Most...Read More

Turkish prices for hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil (HRC, CRC) have continued to fall over the past week on low demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 11.The uncertainty in the market persisted after Turkey started a military operation in Syria.On October 9, Turkey launched "Operation Peace Spring" in the area east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria, intended to secure its own bor...Read More

Subsequent to the launch of thenew VDrivePlus and AlphaDrive-Micro variable-speed drives(VSDs) from Hudaco Group company Varispeed, bearings and accessories distributor Bearings International (BI) has embarked on a training and sample-distribution campaign at its 50 BI branches in South Africa. Two training sessions have been conducted at BI’s head office inBoksburg, Gauteng, with a furthert...Read More

Golden Mile goes back to the futureSPONSOREDgolden mile resourcesThe blockade, which began on September 22 by the Chumbivilcas community some 150km from the mine means vital supplies cannot enter the mining operation, with other communities undertaking similar measures at other points of the transportation corridor."While there has been no impact on the production of copper concentrate to date, mi...Read More

The $2-billion Venetia Diamond Mine Underground project remains on track and within budget to achieve first production in 2021. At steady-state production, 5.9-million tonnes of ore will be treated in the existing process plant to produce some 4.5-million carats a year.Anglo American subsidiary De Beers Group hosted a Young Diamantaires Visit at the mine last month, providing the media and visitor...Read More

China has been ramping up its imports of merchant iron metallics in recent months because of the price competitiveness of such products as October progresses, market participants have told Fastmarkets.In August alone, China imported 234,601 tonnes of direct-reduced iron (DRI), more than its annual volumes in each of the past four years, according to customs data. Imports of DRI for January-August...Read More

The inter-merchant spot market for UK-origin light iron scrap was steady in the week ended Friday October 11, extending stability after losses in September against a small recovery in European export prices to traditional markets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?60-80 ($74-98) per tonne on Friday.European steel scrap p...Read More

There is some cautious optimism over United States-China trade negotiations after US President Donald Trump described the talks as “very, very good” and said he would meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in the White House on Friday October 11.But, we have been here before so it is probably best not to anticipate too much - indeed, with the base metals generally rangebound this morning that...Read More

Steelmakers in the UK have won a round of price cuts in their monthly intake of ferrous scrap from domestic suppliers for October delivery contracts, amid a slowdown across the European steels sectors, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 11.The UK monthly steel scrap market to domestic consumers has settled with prices down by an average of about ?35 ($43) per tonne.Persistent weakness in consume...Read More

Prices for ferrous scrap imported into India have begun to inch up for the first time in 13 weeks on a change in sentiment that developed after prices stabilized on the international scrap markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 11.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $253.56 per tonne on Friday, up from $251.34 per tonne...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to stay out of the deep-sea scrap markets at the end of the week despite increasing offers for the material, sources said on Friday October 11.The most recent confirmed transaction was done from the United States on October 9. A Turkish steel producer booked a cargo comprising 23,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $233 per tonne and 17,000 tonnes of shredded at $238...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were largely steady on Friday October 11 as participants mulled drivers, with Chinese buyers staying on the sidelines.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $146.62 per tonne, up $1.23 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $159.50 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123.13 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134.0...Read More

Physical iron ore prices were rangebound on Friday October 11, with some low-alumina products showing signs of recovery.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.76 per tonne, up by $0.08 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.25 per tonne, down by $1.98 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.90 per tonne, up by $0.82 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premi...Read More

The Singapore Exchange's (SGX) 65% Fe iron ore derivative contract registered its first 2020 trades this week as well as posting its highest single-day of traded volumes since its launch. A total of 5,670 lots or 567,000 tonnes of the contract were traded and cleared on Friday October 11 as of 7pm Singapore time.A day earlier, 670 lots of January and February 2020 month contracts were also traded...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped on Friday October 11 with participants cautious on price trends despite robust demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,570-3,580 yuan ($499-501) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tangshan): 3,520 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonne Spot prices dropped in line with declines in the futures market, with participants being cautio...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 29 points in pre-opening trade. Futures advanced on news that U.S./China trade negotiations are continuing.Apple is expected to lead the advance in U.S. equity markets at the opening. The stock is scheduled to open above its all-time high at $232.07.The Canadian Dollar added 0.26 to U.S. 75.54 following release of Cana...Read More

The spot silicon price in the United States has fallen into what many consider troubling territory, reaching a nearly three-year low on Thursday October 10 due to weak demand and surplus supply. Overseas suppliers have increasingly been sending silicon to the US at levels that undercut domestic producers' prices, further weighing on the market, sources said."There's a flood of impor...Read More

Key data from the October 11 pricing session in London.Key drivers:- A steady run of spot business concluded, mostly for smaller volumes either side of 5 tonnes, in the high $17s and low $18s over the course of the week. Offer prices...Read More