Global cobalt prices came under mounting pressure in December, with the bearish outlook for 2019 and forecast oversupply showing no signs of relenting and sellers rushing to get stocks off their books ahead of the year-end. Price moves Benchmark cobalt prices slumped in December following relative stability in October and November as year-end book-squaring created even greater competition for scan...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for standard-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for alloy-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lbIn light o...Read More

The European Commission (EC) intends to impose definitive measures in the form of tariff-rate, partially country-specific and quarterly quotas for 26 steel product categories for its safeguard case against steel dumping in Europe, the EC said on Friday January 4.The EC has notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of its findings in the safeguard investigation on certain steel products. The leve...Read More

Domestic prices for steel coil products in Turkey were stable this week on continued slow demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 4."This week everyone has preferred to wait to see what the price direction will be," a source told Fastmarkets. "The expectation is that we will see more price falls."Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for Turkish domestic hot-rolled coil was $500-510...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil exporters kept their offer prices largely unchanged in the week to Friday January 4, amid stable domestic prices, sources told Fastmarkets MB.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,640-3,650 yuan ($529-531) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,560-3,580 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneTrading was moderate on Friday, with a slight uptick in activity bec...Read More

As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in December 2018.The case list below includes only updates. For other...Read More

European alloy surcharges for stainless steel products have fallen for the sixth consecutive month in January because of weak market fundamentals resulting from high volumes of imports.The January alloy surcharge for 2mm grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheets - based on data published by producers Outokumpu, Aperam and Acerinox - is ?,?1,242-1,294 ($1,413-1,472) per tonne, accordin...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices remained unchanged on Friday January 4, but export prices dropped further due to softening demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,700-3,750 yuan ($538-545) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,600-3,650 yuan per tonne, unchangedTraders in the spot market kept their prices flat, although futures and billet prices both increased because deman...Read More

Global spot prices were on a downtrend over the week ended Friday January 4 because of weak demand in many scrap importing markets.There was limited liquidity in the key markets of Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam because some market participants had not returned from new year holidays.Market participants expected prices to continue on the downtrend in the coming weeks, in the face of subdued downstream...Read More

The light iron steel scrap market in the United Kingdom has been stable over the week ended Friday January 4, extending a steady performance in prices for the third consecutive week.But downward pressures pose a threat, with January delivery settlements expected to be at lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant b...Read More

Alloy steel scrap prices in Europe and the UK have been assessed as either stable or moving downward amid continued weak demand from mills, and market participants have little hope of any improvement in the near future.In the UK market, domestic prices for 18/8 alloy steel scrap solids were assessed on Friday January 4 at ?770-800 ($969-1,007) per tonne...Read More

Export prices for Brazilian steel slab remained unchanged on Friday January 4, with most companies still preparing to launch offers for March shipments in the next few days.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of Brazilian slab export prices was stable at $430-475 per tonne fob on Friday.But the market was not yet back to work at full speed in the first days of the week, with many...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices remained unchanged on Friday January 4, but export prices dropped further due to softening demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,700-3,750 yuan ($538-545) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,600-3,650 yuan per tonne, unchangedTraders in the spot market kept their prices flat, although futures and billet prices both increased because deman...Read More

Transaction prices in Europe for grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) sheets decreased this week on the back of sharp reductions to the January alloy surcharges.The January alloy surcharge for 2mm grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheets - based on data published by producers Outokumpu, Aperam and Acerinox - is at ?,?1,242-1,294 ($1,413-1,472) per tonne, down by ?,?58-91 per tonne from the December...Read More

Due to a reporter error, the following fortnightly prices were inadvertently published by Fastmarkets on Friday January 4 and therefore should be ignored. Ferro-chrome 0.10% C average 65-70% Cr major European destinations $ per lb Cr  Ferro-chrome 0.06% C max - 65% Cr European low carbon in warehouse $ per lb Cr Ferro-chrome Low phosphorous Cr min 65%, C max 7%, Si max 1%, P max 0.015%,...Read More

European alloy surcharges for stainless steel products have fallen for the sixth consecutive month in January because of weak market fundamentals resulting from high volumes of imports.The January alloy surcharge for 2mm grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheets - based on data published by producers Outokumpu, Aperam and Acerinox - is ?,?1,242-1,294 ($1,413-1,472) per tonne, accordin...Read More

A proposed definitive decision in the European safeguard case against certain steel product imports "does not take into account the needs of the automotive sector and will affect the competitiveness of EU automobile manufacturers," the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Friday January 4.The European Commission (EC) notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on January 4...Read More

Demand for flat steel in Turkey is expected to remain slow throughout January, and prices are not expected to increase because global flat steel prices are falling, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 3.Local producers have filled their order books until late February, they added.The price falls in December resulted in part from weak demand in the local market as well as the h...Read More

Turkey's flat steel export volumes rose by 139.17% year on year in November, according to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).The reason for the increase in export volumes was strong overseas demand, especially in Europe, as well as weak domestic demand in Turkey, market participants told Fastmarkets.Additionally, export prices for Turkish flat steel products were highly...Read More