Coated steel prices in Turkey increased in the week ended Friday February 1, with some producers closing their sales books because they were short of the hot-rolled coil (HRC) base material.The producers had low stocks of HRC, and they wanted to wait and see how much the price of this commodity will increase before announcing new prices for coated coil, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly...Read More
The growth in apparent steel consumption in the EU will slow to only 0.5% in 2019, followed by a 1.2% rise in 2020, European steel association Eurofer said on Thursday January 31.Europe's apparent steel consumption was forecast to reach 164 million tonnes in 2019 and 166 million tonnes in 2020.These numbers are "less than one-third of the compound annual growth rate of apparent steel consumption o...Read More
The Friday Market Minute Global stocks mixed as investors weigh progress in U.S.-China trade talks over slowing growth signals in the world's second largest economy.Asia stocks hold four month highs despite the weakest reading for China business and manufacturing activity in three years as the U.S. hails "substantial" progress in talks with Beijing.European stocks hit a two-month high, but...Read More
The levels of the quotas set as definitive measures by the European Commission (EC) will not stop the rise in the region's import volumes, European steel association Eurofer said on Friday February 1.The EC will impose definitive safeguard measures from February 2 on a list of imported steel products, in the form of tariff rates and a range of quotas that are partly annual and country-specific and...Read More
Domestic prices for rebar in Poland have been stable over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 1.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland was steady at 2,170-2,240 zloty ($583-601) per tonne ex-works on February 1.The steelmakers, however, were expected to raise their offers because of expected growth in scrap costs and the effects of the Eu...Read More
Global scrap prices pushed upward during the working week from Monday January 28 to Friday February 1, driven by heightened demand due to restocking activity from steel mills worldwide. Steelmakers in Turkey secured at least 17 ferrous scrap cargoes over the past week, pushing Turkish scrap import prices and US ferrous scrap export prices higher during that period. Asian and Indian import pri...Read More
Courts in Brazil have ruled that up to 12.6 billion Reais ($3.44 billion) of Vale's assets and resources will be frozen after the rupture of a tailings dam at Vale's C??rrego do Feij??o iron ore mine, the miner stated on Friday February 1.The federal prosecutors' office, state prosecutors and the state government of Minas Gerais, where Feij??o is located made most of the complaints. Additionally,...Read More
Light iron steel scrap prices in the United Kingdom increased for the second consecutive week on tighter availability because collection rates have dropped off amid freezing temperatures in the week to Friday February 1.The move to higher prices is only the second increase since the start of November 2018, and puts the market at a level last seen on December 14. Major shredders need a high, steady...Read More
Turkish domestic rebar and billet prices continued to rise this week in response to rising deep-sea scrap costs, although demand for steel was weak due to the seasonal slowdown in the country's construction sector.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY2,970-3,005 ($555-560) per tonne ex-works on Thursday January 31, up from TRY2,820-2,850 ($531-537) per tonne ex-...Read More
Turkish producers of steel billet, rebar and wire rod continued to increase prices for foreign customers following the uptrend in imported scrap values - despite customers appearing unwilling to accept any rises.However, there was little demand from customers for the higher prices and no significant bookings have been heard over the past week, sources said on Thursday January 31.Export billet...Read More
China's rebar prices were unchanged on Friday February 1 with both the domestic and export markets at a virtual standstill due to next week's Chinese New Year holiday. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,710-3,750 yuan ($553-559) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,700-3,740 yuan per tonne, unchangedVery few sellers were still offering materials during the day, and only transactions i...Read More
Despite the fact that European steel mills published significantly lower alloy surcharges to come into effect on Friday February 1, prices have remained unchanged, Fastmarkets has heard.Transaction prices for grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheets remained at ?,?2,000-2,040 ($2,295-2,341) per tonne delivered on the day.Whether the lower surcharges will be reflected in transaction prices...Read More
China's crude stainless steel output rose 3.6% to a new high in 2018, according to data released by the China Stainless Steel Council.The country produced 26.71 million tonnes of crude stainless steel last year, up 940,000 tonnes from 25.77 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the statistics released late on Thursday January 31. Of the total, 48% or 12.82 million tonnes consisted of 300-ser...Read More
Courts in Brazil have ruled that up to 12.6 billion Reais ($3.44 billion) of Vale's assets and resources will be frozen after the rupture of a tailings dam at Vale's C??rrego do Feij??o iron ore mine, the miner stated on Friday February 1.The federal prosecutors' office, state prosecutors and the state government of Minas Gerais, where Feij??o is located made most of the complaints. Additionally,...Read More
China's crude stainless steel output rose 3.6% to a new high in 2018, according to data released by the China Stainless Steel Council.The country produced 26.71 million tonnes of crude stainless steel last year, up 940,000 tonnes from 25.77 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the statistics released late on Thursday January 31. Of the total, 48% or 12.82 million tonnes consisted of 300-ser...Read More
Eastern China's Shagang has increased the prices for its long steel products for orders booked in the first 20 days of February.The mill is selling its HRB400 16-25mm rebar at 3,900 yuan ($582) per tonne over the February 1-20 period, up 20 yuan per tonne from its last set of prices, it said on Friday February 1.Shagang is also...Read More
Global scrap prices pushed upward during the working week from Monday January 28 to Friday February 1, driven by heightened demand due to restocking activity from steel mills worldwide. Steelmakers in Turkey secured at least 17 ferrous scrap cargoes over the past week, pushing Turkish scrap import prices and US ferrous scrap export prices higher during that period. Asian and Indian import pri...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Despite the fact that European steel mills published significantly lower alloy surcharges to come into effect on Friday February 1, prices have remained unchanged, Fastmarkets has heard.Transaction prices for grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheets remained at ?,?2,000-2,040 ($2,295-2,341) per tonne delivered on the day.Whether the lower surcharges will be reflected in transaction prices...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Friday February 1, with most futures prices ending the week higher amid continued weakness in the US dollar index and LME stock drawdowns. Despite consolidating 0.5% lower over the afternoon, copper's three-month price remains well supported above $6,100 per tonne. While on-warrant material is now above 100,000 t...Read More