The Comex copper price softened during US morning trading on Friday February 8 with trading volumes reduced due to Lunar New Year. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.45 cents to $2.8240 per lb. Yet the copper price has experienced short-covering so far this year, according to Fastmarkets MB research."While investors were ex...Read More

Aluminium producer UC Rusal's profits from aluminium sales in the fourth quarter of 2018 were down by 16% year on year because the company was operating under trading sanctions imposed by the United States, according to an earnings statement published on Friday February 8. Rusal's aluminium production in October-December totaled 943,000 tonnes, up by 0.4% quarter on quarter. Smelters in Siberia co...Read More

Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange continued to trend lower during morning trading on Friday February 8, with the metal's midweek surge largely attributed to a sharp rise in iron ore prices while consumer demand remains hampered by a dearth in Chinese stainless steel production. Nickel's three-month price has since corrected itself during the latter part of the week, falling m...Read More

US cold-rolled coil and coated base prices have continued to hover in the $40- to $41-per-hundredweight range, despite domestic mills announcing $2-per-cwt price increases in late January, market participants said.Fastmarkets AMM's assessments for domestic cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized base prices stayed flat week on week at $40.50 per cwt ($810 per short ton) and $40 per cwt ($8...Read More

The definitive measures taken by the European Commission (EC) in its safeguard case against steel product imports will not result in changes to the imported volumes or domestic prices of hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil or plate, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.The situation, however, is different in hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG), for which import volumes might decline, giving suppor...Read More

Coated-steel prices in Turkey continued to increase in the week ended Friday February 8, with some producers continuing to close their sales books because they were short of the hot-rolled coil (HRC) used as a base material.Coated-steel producers had low stocks of HRC, and chose to wait and see how much the price of HRC would increase before announcing their new prices for coated coil, sources tol...Read More

Ukraine's largest long steel producer, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, sold almost 80% of its steel output to foreign outlets in 2018, the company said in a report published on Thursday February 7.The company's steel product sales totaled 4.5 million tonnes in 2018, of which just 22% was sold domestically, the report showed.Of the total volume, around 2.9 million tonnes were long steel products, mainly...Read More

Steel coil prices in Turkey increased again this week because of the high cost of scrap alongside other global price increases, with local demand strong because of restocking, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 8.Stocks of hot-rolled coil (HRC) were low in the country because buying has been weak for a long time, with prices falling. But now that prices are increasing rapidly, buyers are...Read More

Global scrap prices were likely to show further increases because of surges in iron ore prices, Fastmarkets heard during the week ended Friday February 8.Integrated steelmakers were expected to raise their offer prices for downstream steel products due to the increased costs of iron ore and pellets. They were also expected to be able to digest higher ferrous scrap prices to secure more steelmaking...Read More

European alloy steel scrap prices continued their upward trajectory this week on the back of further gains in the nickel market. Having fallen throughout the second half of 2018, nickel prices have risen largely unchecked since the turn of the year. This, in turn, has pulled up austenitic alloy scrap prices, with nickel being the primary alloy component in these grades of stainless steel. In...Read More

Export pig iron prices from Brazil have gone up due to mills being sold out until April, while iron ore costs have increased following an incident at one of Vale's mines in Brazil, Fastmarkets was told on Friday February 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the southeastern Minas Gerais region was $316-325 per tonne fob on February 8, increasing from $310-316 per tonne...Read More

The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India rose for the third consecutive week, mirroring the uptick in Turkish scrap prices, market participants said on Friday February 8.Fastmarkets MB's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $342.67 per tonne cfr on February 8, up by $14.26 per from $328.41 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on February 1.Deals heard for shr...Read More

Light iron steel scrap prices in the United Kingdom increased for the third consecutive week, tracking strengthening European export prices to Turkey and India in the week to Friday February 8.The move to higher prices is the third increase since the start of November 2018, and puts the market at a level last seen on December 8. The market was at annual peak of ?100-130 per tonne in March 2018.Fa...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices went up on Friday February 8 following several new transactions at higher levels, sources told Fastmarkets MB. A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo comprising 4,000 tonnes of heavy melt scrap (HMS) 1&2 (90:10) and 21,000 tonnes of shredded for an average price of $335.50 per tonne cfr. Another US cargo was booked by a steel mill in the Iskenderu...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices stayed largely flat on Friday February 8 with China's week-long public holiday coming to an end, though there was some activity in the high-grade segment.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $86.37 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $87.32 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchange...Read More

Fears over a possible disruption of supply among seaborne coking coal market participants largely subsided on Friday February 8 amid improving weather conditions in North Queensland, Australia, keeping prices unchanged.Sources said berthing operations at the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) in the Australian state were set for resumption during the day following interruptions attributed to adver...Read More

Comex copper prices rallied for the third straight session on Thursday February 7 with the market growing more optimistic on the red metal's prospects through the first quarter. The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.05 cents to $2.8470 per lb. Market activity remains stunted with Chinese participants sidelined due to the Lunar New...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday February 8:Minor metalsCadmium MB free market min 99.95%, cents/lb: 133-143 cents per lb from 127-132Cadmium MB free market min 99.99%, cents/lb: 133-143 cents...Read More

European stainless steel producers expect the definitive EU safeguarding measures to reduce the volume of imports arriving in the EU, while distributors were less convinced that these measures will be any more effective than the provisional ones that preceded them.The definitive measures, which came into effect on February 2, 2019 and will run until June 30, 2021, differ from the provisional measu...Read More