Seaborne iron ore prices continued to retreat on Tuesday August 13 below the $90-per-tonne-cfr mark.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.25 per tonne, down $4.87 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.75 per tonne, down $4.87 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe low alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.52 per tonne,...Read More

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The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreVale, Global Ore, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Brazilian...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were steady on Tuesday August 13, though Chinese market participants remained bearish about the market.Buyer and trader sources in the country cited weak downstream markets, ample supply and import restrictions on coal at Chinese ports as the main reasons for their pessimistic outlook for prices over the next few weeks."The margins for steel mills in China have narrowed...Read More

The economic and geopolitical clouds are getting more widespread and darker with unrest in Hong Kong and debt default concerns in Argentina adding to market concerns that are already stressed by the continuing US-China trade dispute, poor global economic data, stalemate over Iran and the potential for a hard Brexit. Gold has pushed up to another fresh multi-year high on Tuesday August 13, of ...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 5 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the July U.S. Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.3% versus a gain of 0.1% in June. Actual was an increase of 0.3%. Excluding food and energy, consensus was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of 0.3...Read More

US domestic mills resoundingly won the tug-of-war with ferrous scrap sellers this month and successfully limited the upside on prices, yet the outlook for September remains unclear, with some sellers hopeful for further increases while others believe the market may have peaked.Ferrous scrap markets across the country - including Detroit and Chicago - saw a $20-per-gross-ton increase on most grades...Read More

News of a Europe-origin cargo of ferrous scrap booked at lower prices by a Turkish steel mill came to light on Monday August 12, only the second such cargo to be traded this month, sources have told Fastmarkets.News of the cargo came to light late on Friday after the deadline for the indices on that day.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices picked up some strength on Tuesday August 13 amid early gains in the futures market. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,680 yuan ($517-521) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,610-3,640 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneRebar futures picked up late on Monday and stayed high for the rest of the day. The most-traded October contract stay...Read More

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China's shock currency devaluation last week begs the following questions: Is China a rising giant of the twenty-first century poised to overtake the United States in wealth and military prowess? Or is it a house of cards preparing to implode?Conventional wisdom espouses the former. Yet, hard evidence suggests the latter.Your correspondent in the world famous Long Bar on the Bund in Shanghai, Chin...Read More

Markets are still digesting last week's Chinese devaluation that sent the Dow crashing over 700 points last Monday.And as everyone knows by now, the Trump administration labelled China a currency manipulator.The ironic part of it is that China has been manipulating its currency to strengthen it against the dollar.Here's the dynamic you need to understand…The Chinese yuan is softly pegged to...Read More

Silicon prices in the United States logged their 17th consecutive month of declines in August, a trend sources attributed mostly to surplus supply.Fastmarkets' price assessment for silicon, ddp US, dropped to $1.01-1.07 per lb on Friday August 9, down from $1.05-1.10 per lb on July 10 and its lowest since the price stood at $1.01-1.03 per lb in February-March 2017.The price had climbed to $1....Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday August 9.  US Key drivers  Excess supply endures, with contracted material, silicon-rich scrap alternatives and grade 5-5-3 increasingly coming to the United States from numerous overseas suppliers.  Business remains subdued for automakers, lowering their demand for secondary aluminium...Read More

It's happened several times in the last couple of months - someone approaches me, clipboard in hand, and asks if I'm a California voter. Then, barely waiting for my response, they start asking me to sign a petition related to rent control.The first time it happened, at my local organic market in Santa Barbara, I just politely said "no thanks."The most recent time, at a professional women's surfing...Read More

Under the cloud of the continuing US/China trade dispute, which has no end in sight and is weighing on global economic activity, market sentiment is subdued. But numerous events are buffeting prices - with nickel supported by short-covering and fresh buying against concerns about present and future supplies, while copper mine supplies may be affected by strikes at ports in Peru. Zinc and tin, rema...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week ended Friday August 9. China Key drivers The price of antimony MMTA standard-grade II, ddp China ended a month of stability last week, dropping after some domestic suppliers lowered their offer prices to secure sales.  Concerns over the possible outflow of antimony stocks held in Fanya Metal Exchange warehouses in the nea...Read More

A summary of the financial results for Austrian steelmaking group Voestalpine for the first quarter of its 2019-20 year, April 1 to June 30.In briefEarnings were down due to the fallout from international trade conflicts and the growing weakness of the global economy, which affects Europe's export-oriented industries.Profit margin came under presure from strong increases in...Read More

The Chinese ferro-silicon market softened over the past week in line with weaker demand, in turn fueling expectations of further price weakness in the near term.In Europe, however, the ferro-silicon market was steady after recording a small bounce in the prior week after suppliers held their offer prices ahead of expected uptick in demand. Chinese market prepares for further losses Europe awaits r...Read More

The upward momentum in global ferro-vanadium markets stalled in the week ended Friday August 9, with prices in Europe and China edging down. Chinese, European FeV prices edge down after spot activity slows V2O5 prices weaken in China while European market continues to riseUS ferro-vanadium prices soften amid renewed activityAfter rising for three consecutive weeks, the export price for ferro-vanad...Read More