Rebar producers in the United Arab Emirates have decreased their prices for January shipping, effective from Thursday December 20.The country's biggest producer Emirates Steel is now offering rebar at 1,899 dirhams ($517) per tonne ex-works, down from the previous 2,016...Read More

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday December 21.Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday December 20, with a continued retreat in the United States dollar index failing to spur upward price action amid broadly moderate volumes. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:It...Read More

It's been nine months since the United States announced Section 232 tariffs, and over six months since a 10% tax was applied to imports of aluminium from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. There's been a huge debate over how successful the tariffs - imposed on the grounds of national security and also applied at a 25% rate to steel - have been. Much depends on who you talk to, and what their s...Read More

Expectations of further recovery in Brazilian aluminium demand are prompting investments that will increase production capacity in the country, while companies try to strengthen competition with imports.Novelis and Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) are expanding at their sites in the southeastern state of S??o Paulo on estimates that consumption from packaging, transportation and constructio...Read More

The Comex copper price failed to maintain momentum after the US Federal Reserve increased interest rates and signalled a hawkish monetary policy strategy for 2019.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 2.00 cents to $2.69 per lb."Both the Fed's policy statement and Jay Powell's news conference came across as more hawkish than...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has initiated a process of market feedback following the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) intention to remove sanctions against UC Rusal and En+ Group, issuing both a member note and press statement on Wednesday December 19. In accordance with OFAC's decision to notify Congress of its plans to terminate sanctions - inclusive of...Read More

Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Monday December 24. After that, because of public holidays, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Thursday January 3, 2019.Read More

Weak demand for finished long steel products in both the domestic and the export markets together with bearish sentiment for import scrap forced Turkish consumers to seek lower import billet prices. Fastmarkets MB's weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was at $420-440 per tonne cfr on Thursday December 20, down from last week's range of $435-445 per tonne cfr. Market partici...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transaction: billetBillet CIS, export, billet,...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transactions: rebar, wire rodRebar Egypt, domestic (Ezz Steel), rebar, offered at E ?11,850 ($660) per tonne ex-works, including 14% VAT. Egypt, domestic (El...Read More

The European Commission (EC) extended the deadline for a final decision over safeguards for a number of steel products imports, to February 1, 2019, the EC said.The EC started an investigation into safeguards for a number of steel products on March 26, 2018 to prevent steel shipments being redirected to the EU, after Section 232 import tariffs imposed by the United States.The initial deadline for...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, tender, 170,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, sold at $70.93 per tonne cfr China, laycan January 3-12.Vale, Global Ore, 100,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Iron Ore Carajas, traded at $87...Read More

Steelmaker Tosyali Algeria has announced the completion of a 'state-of-the-art' direct reduced iron-making (DRI) plant with a nameplate capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per year. In a press release this week, Suhat Korkmaz, chief executive officer of Tosyali Holdings, the Turkey-headquartered parent company of Tosyali Algeria, said the plant, "provides Tosyali Algeria with greater flexibility to pro...Read More

Singapore Exchange's 65% Fe iron ore derivative contract continues to lend transparency to the high-grade segment, with trades registered for August-December 2019 months on Thursday December 20 and physical prices up amid active trading.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $72.26 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.11 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $72.09 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.14 per tonne....Read More

The seaborne coking coal market remained in a stalemate on Thursday December 20 with offers made at prevailing levels failing to pique the interest of buyers."I was offered three cargoes of premium low-vol hard coking coal at around $210-212 per tonne cfr China during the day. Though sellers said there is room for negotiation, I'm not ready to commit yet," a northeastern Chinese mill source said.A...Read More

Ferrous futures in China fell during morning trading on Thursday December 20, apart from the iron ore contract which posted small gains during the session.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,433 yuan ($498) per tonne, down 13 yuan per tonneMay hot-rolled coil: 3,438 yuan per tonne, down 22 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange May iron ore: 490.50 yua...Read More

China Molybdenum's acquisition of trading house IXM is central to the company's growth strategy for the coming years and it will continue to survey the market for more M&A opportunities, the company told Fastmarkets.The Chinese mining company, which has spent $4.65 billion in the past two years on an acquisition rampage, remains open to buy new assets if the right ones appear."We are looking for m...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher during morning trading on Thursday December 20, with a weaker US dollar index sustaining buying momentum while the potential removal of US sanctions against UC Rusal pressured aluminium to a fresh 2018 low. Reaching an intraday low of $1,905.50 per tonne, aluminium's three-month price fell to its lowest level of the year ami...Read More

Fastmarkets' low-grade cobalt price assessment for Friday December 14 was published later than scheduled due to a technical error. The low-grade cobalt price is correct and now appears as normal in the Fastmarkets MB price book. To provide feedback on this pricing notice or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter, please contact Charlotte Radford by email at: pr...Read More

Chinese customs officials continue to clamp down on antimony smuggling, with more material seized and more arrests made this week, Fastmarkets understands. Two suspects were arrested and 20 tonnes of antimony ingot seized on Wednesday December 19 amid China's latest efforts to stop the illegal movement of goods via the China-Vietnam border, sources familiar with the matter told Fastmarkets MB on T...Read More