Turkish domestic rebar and wire rod prices have continued to weaken due to the sluggish demand in the country, sources said on Thursday February 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,100-3,150 ($584-594) per tonne ex-works on February 21, down from last week's TRY3,180-3,250 per tonne.Domestic rebar prices in the Izmir and Karab? 1/4 k regions were TRY3,100-...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) remained strong but restocking activity slowed down during the week ended Thursday February 21, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for CIS exports of high-manganese pig iron was $335-340 per tonne fob Black Sea on February 21, unchanged week on week.Only small bookings to trading companies we...Read More
The Turkish scrap import market was quiet on Thursday February 21 because of the sluggish markets for finished and semi-finished long steel and the subsequent downturn in prices.This week's only transaction so far was a UK cargo sold at $316 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) on Wednesday. After this, the market prices went down by around $8-9 per tonne.The mills were showing almost no buying inter...Read More
Iron ore prices continued to retreat on Thursday February 21, with Chinese steelmakers cautious abouthigh costs.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $86.68 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.32 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $86.08 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.32 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $88.36 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.74 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $77.23...Read More
Steel billet prices in the Turkish markets have been weakening over the past seven days because of softening demand and the latest downturn in scrap prices, sources said on Thursday February 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $450-473 per tonne cfr on February 21, down from last week's $475-480 per tonne.Only one cargo from the CIS region to Turkey was heard...Read More
Steel billet import prices in Egypt have decreased over the past seven days with demand being weak, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday February 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $480-490 per tonne cfr on Thursday, falling from $485-495 per tonne cfr last week.Billet producers in the CIS region offered the material to Egypt at $490-495 per tonne...Read More
Major Vietnamese integrated steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel has increased its new hot-rolled coil offers by $40 per tonne for April-delivery and shipment cargoes due to the recent increases in raw materials costs.The producer's SAE1006 HRC is now on offer at $535 per tonne on a cif basis, up $40 per tonne from $495 per tonne cif for iMarch-shipment materials. And its SS400 and pipemaking...Read More
Domestic stainless steel prices in China increased slightly over the past week amid an uptick in demand.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,700-15,000 yuan ($2,185-2,230) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday February 20, narrowing upward by 100 yuan per tonne from 14,600-15,000 per to...Read More
Major Vietnamese integrated steel producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel has increased its new hot-rolled coil offers by $40 per tonne for April-delivery and shipment cargoes due to the recent increases in raw materials costs.The producer's SAE1006 HRC is now on offer at $535 per tonne on a cif basis, up $40 per tonne from $495 per tonne cif for iMarch-shipment materials. And its SS400 and pipemaking...Read More
Major Chinese mills' daily crude steel output edged up in late January, but finished steel inventories dropped sharply.Members of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) produced crude steel at an average rate of 1.82 million tonnes per day during the last 11 days of January, up 0.55 % from 1.81...Read More
Eastern China's Shagang has increased the prices for its long steel products for orders booked in late February. The mill is selling its HRB400 16-25mm rebar at 3,950 yuan ($587) per tonne over the February 21-28 period, up 50 yuan per tonne from its last set of prices released on February 1,...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) remained strong but restocking activity slowed down during the week ended Thursday February 21, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for CIS exports of high-manganese pig iron was $335-340 per tonne fob Black Sea on February 21, unchanged week on week.Only small bookings to trading companies we...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday February 21, with strong afternoon performances in the prices of three-month aluminium, tin and lead amid a slowdown in copper and nickel activity.The three-month aluminium price climbed by 2% over the afternoon to reach its highest point since February 7, while a fresh cancelation of more than 17,000 to...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe have moved up over the past week due to higher costs for steel slab, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday February 21.Although demand remained rather slow, the steelmakers - particularly re-rollers in Southern Europe - had to increase their prices for plate, market participants said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic grade-S235J...Read More
With the vast majority of the world's diamonds estimated to be conflict-free following the development of certification procedures under the Kimberley Process, the mining industry is now developing a blockchain-based solution to track the supply chain of the precious stones. The industry still faces challenges from insurance fraud, the financing of global pipelines and the tampering of official ce...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday February 21 that are worth another look.Canada has established surtax-free quotas for imports of energy tubular products and wire rod originating from Mexico effective from February 2, an official from Canada's Ministry of Finance said.French mining and metallurgy company Eramet generated lower operating income f...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday February 21, with strong afternoon performances in the prices of three-month aluminium, tin and lead amid a slowdown in copper and nickel activity.The three-month aluminium price climbed by 2% over the afternoon to reach its highest point since February 7, while a fresh cancelation of more than 17,000 to...Read More
Copper price moves on the United States' Comex trading system reversed in morning trading on Thursday February 21 after recent trade talks between the US and China gave no boost to metal prices.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped on Thursday by 2.30 cents per lb to $2.8970 per lb.Senior officials from the US and China are engaged i...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Thursday February 21, with positive steps in US-China trade talks doing little to support slumping prices although both copper and nickel futures held ground. Copper's three-month price consolidated lower over the morning but remains well supported above $6,300 per tonne by LME inventory which is at a decad...Read More
The Turkish scrap import market was quiet on Thursday February 21 because of the sluggish markets for finished and semi-finished long steel and the subsequent downturn in prices.This week's only transaction so far was a UK cargo sold at $316 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) on Wednesday. After this, the market prices went down by around $8-9 per tonne.The mills were showing almost no buying inter...Read More