Long-term contract and import prices for ferro-chrome rose again in China in the week ended Friday March 22 on higher tenders from stainless steel mills and load shedding by South Africa electricity company Eskom. April tenders push up long-term contract prices in ChinaCharge chrome import prices rise on protracted power constraintsAlloy prices rise in South KoreaEuropean alloy prices flatline de...Read More
Martin Riesen, head of trading at storied metals merchants MRI, left the company on Monday March 25, Fastmarkets understands.Riesen was promoted into the role in March 2017. His departure follows that of head of copper concentrates trading...Read More
Investing.com - Gold prices gained on Monday in Asia as recession fear sparked safe-haven demand.Gold futures traded up 0.3% at $1322.05 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange by 1:25 AM ET (05:25 GMT). The precious metal last week posted its third consecutive weekly gain and rose 1%, the most since early February.On Friday, the spread between 3-month Treasury bills and 10-year...Read More
The market for flat steel exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was calm and stable over the past week because material availability continued to be restricted by planned maintenance outages at rolling units in Russia, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) was $510-520 per tonne fob Black...Read More
The CIS steel slab market continued to be quiet over the week ended Monday March 25 with offers and bids moving in opposite directions.Ukraine's Metinvest kept its offers above $500 per tonne fob Black Sea, Fastmarkets learnt on Monday March 25.Meanwhile, Russia's Evraz was offering material at $495-500 per tonne fob Black Sea, sources said."They offered several sizes of slab. That's why...Read More
CIS export prices for rebar and wire rod picked up in the week ended Monday March 25 when producers managed to achieve higher sales prices.Offers of Ukraine-origin rebar were heard within the range of $480-490 per tonne fob Black Sea.A small cargo scheduled for shipment in late April-May was reported sold to West Africa at $485 per tonne fob Black Sea at the end of last week.There was another carg...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 25 that are worth another look.A motion to undo United States President Donald Trump's blanket tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium has been denied, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) said in a ruling dated Monday March 25.A ramp-up in Chinese zinc production is expected to accelerate in the second quarter...Read More
A ramp-up in Chinese zinc production is expected to accelerate from the second quarter of this year, boosted by the completion of upgrades at smelting facilities across the country and a surge in treatment charges (TCs) amid a relatively oversupplied raw materials market, sources told Fastmarkets.A large amount of refined zinc capacity in China has been shut or suspended over the past two years du...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Monday March 25, capped by low-volumes trading while risk appetite continues to falter in the wake of last week's US Federal Reserve policy meeting. Volumes traded were low over the day's trading, with copper leading the complex at just over 12,000 lots changing hands by the close, down from 26,065 lots on...Read More
The Comex copper market was listlessly trading on Monday March 25 morning in the United States, with the market in a general state of paralyses. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was flat at $2.8425 per lb. Without fresh catalysts, the red metal has been unable to generate a consistent direction over the last few weeks, which has continue...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were generally suppressed during morning trading on Monday March 25, continuing on the downward trajectory from last week.Weakening European and United States' economic data continue to exert downward pressure on all metals, but nickel and tin bore the brunt of this downturn, recently trading down by $100 per tonne and $175 per tonne respectively. "I...Read More
Rebar suppliers have increased their prices for buyers in Russia's Central federal district, the major steel-consuming region in the country, on seasonally improved demand in the secondary market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic 12mm A500C rebar in Russia, including 20% VAT, was 39,000-40,000 roubles ($603-618) per tonne cpt Moscow on Monday March 25, up from 38,500-39,000 roubles...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Monday March 25, capped by low-volumes trading while risk appetite continues to falter in the wake of last week's US Federal Reserve policy meeting. Volumes traded were low over the day's trading, with copper leading the complex at just over 12,000 lots changing hands by the close, down from 26,065 lots on...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 25 that are worth another look.A motion to undo United States President Donald Trump's blanket tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium has been denied, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) said in a ruling dated Monday March 25.A ramp-up in Chinese zinc production is expected to accelerate in the second quarter...Read More
Cargoes of copper scrap for import into China have been trading at a bigger discount in March, with buyers staying on the market sidelines on worries they may not get approval to import scrap before new restrictions come into effect this summer.The discount for No2 copper scrap, birch and cliff, comprising 94-96% copper, rose to $0.32-0.38 per lb cif China on Monday March 25. That compared with $0...Read More
The Comex copper market was listlessly trading on Monday March 25 morning in the United States, with the market in a general state of paralyses. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was flat at $2.8425 per lb. Without fresh catalysts, the red metal has been unable to generate a consistent direction over the last few weeks, which has continue...Read More
The premium for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) for the second quarter of 2019 has settled at $105 per tonne, representing a 25% increase from the first-quarter benchmark of $83-85 per tonne. Deals for a total of 48,850 tonnes of aluminium for April-June delivery between at least one consumer, several traders and three major producers have been reported to Fastmarkets as of Mo...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Monday March 25*Copper -$118.25 (-795.69 yuan) Aluminium -$276.78 (-1,862.40 yuan) Zinc -$157.80 (-1,061.80 yuan) Nickel -$219.56 (-1,477.40 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were generally suppressed during morning trading on Monday March 25, continuing on the downward trajectory from last week.Weakening European and United States' economic data continue to exert downward pressure on all metals, but nickel and tin bore the brunt of this downturn, recently trading down by $100 per tonne and $175 per tonne respectively. "I...Read More
The Mexican government has officially reinstated a 15% safeguard duty on imports of certain steel products from countries with which it does not have free trade agreements, according to a decree published on the country's official gazette on Monday March 25.The ruling will impose 15% import duties on steel goods classified under 186 tariff codes, including heavy plate, sheets, hot-rolled coil, col...Read More