Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States might have peaked on high output and market predictions that ferrous scrap prices might weaken in February, some sources warned.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $29.69 per hundredweight ($593.80 per short ton) on Tuesday January 21, down by 0.8% from $29.94 per cwt on Friday January 17 and down by 2.7% from $3...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday January 21.Please click...Read More
Prices for steel plate in the United States were flat after producers continued to experience slow bookings in the new year.Attaining the full extent of announced price hikes has posed a challenge for mills after some buyers stocked up in the early stages of an upswing that started in December 2019. A post-New Year's bounce has been elusive so far, with distributors reporting that material has bee...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday January 21 that are worth another look.China's hot-rolled coil market was quiet on January 21, with producers suspending their operations before the Chinese New Year, while concerns have emerged over post-holiday demand due to the spread of a mysterious respiratory virus that has claimed several lives.SolGold chief executive off...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will on February 1 introduce a reporting process that will increase transparency into levels of off-warrant stocks. The exchange announced the plans in November 2019 and aims to attract more metal back in LME sheds. It is controversial, but its passage into the LME rulebook on February 1 follows a consultation last year. Some market participants are now saying the LME sho...Read More
Zinc and lead smelter Nyrstar has appointed Simon Dent, a longtime sales manager and trader, as its new head of commercial as of January 2020.The role will see Dent leading a commercial team that is responsible for all acid and byproduct...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Tuesday January 21, settling at its lowest price since December 10 against moderate turnover, while a fresh inflow of some 40,000 tonnes pushed copper futures lower.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $13,665 per tonne in the afternoon, settling at its lowest level for more than a month, while t...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market kept steady on Tuesday January 21 even though Australian rail freight operator Aurizon flagged train cancellations following a derailment on Sunday January 19.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.23 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $160.13 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $127.01 per tonne, unchangedHa...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell over 1.5% during morning trading on Tuesday January 21, declining below nearby support at the $6,200-per-tonne level, while nickel futures similarly weakened. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently at $6,152 per tonne, a 1.7% drop since yesterday's close and more than $100 per tonne against high turnover. A fresh inf...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Tuesday January 21, settling at its lowest price since December 10 against moderate turnover, while a fresh inflow of some 40,000 tonnes pushed copper futures lower.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $13,665 per tonne in the afternoon, settling at its lowest level for more than a month, while t...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have jumped, with support coming from good order books at mills, solid demand and a lack of competitive import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday January 21.Fastmarkets' daily steel HRC index domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, rose by ?,?13.93 per tonne day on day to ?,?463.41 ($513.95) per tonne on Tuesday, from ?,?449.48 per tonne....Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday January 21 that are worth another look.China's hot-rolled coil market was quiet on January 21, with producers suspending their operations before the Chinese New Year, while concerns have emerged over post-holiday demand due to the spread of a mysterious respiratory virus that has claimed several lives.SolGold chief executive off...Read More
Beginning in 2020, Fastmarkets will review its pricing methodologies and price specifications across all its Price Reporting Agency (PRA) divisions - Metals & Mining and Forest Products - on an annual basis rather than twice per year. The decision is in line with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for PRAs, which sets out global standards for orderly and fa...Read More
Zinc and lead smelter Nyrstar has appointed Simon Dent, a longtime sales manager and trader, as its new head of commercial as of January 2020.The role will see Dent leading a commercial team that is responsible for all acid and byproduct...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell over 1.5% during morning trading on Tuesday January 21, declining below nearby support at the $6,200-per-tonne level, while nickel futures similarly weakened. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently at $6,152 per tonne, a 1.7% drop since yesterday's close and more than $100 per tonne against high turnover. A fresh inf...Read More
Profit-taking ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday and nervousness over the outbreak of a new coronavirus in China have led to the market becoming more risk-off this morning, Tuesday January 21.Asian equities are weaker, led by a 2.7% decline in the Hang Seng.Hong Kong's credit rating was cut one position to Aa3 by ratings agency Moody's for its handling of the unrest in the country.Base metalsThre...Read More
With the exception of those for tin, base metals prices on Shanghai Futures Exchange were down at the close of morning trading on Tuesday January 21, with investor sentiment dampened after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its global growth forecasts for this year and the next.The IMF on Monday downgraded its forecast for global economic growth in 2020 to 3.3%, down from its previous e...Read More
Recent mill price hikes have continued to drive up high-carbon wire rod prices in the United States, while rising ferrous scrap costs have boosted cold-heading quality (CHQ) wire rod prices.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel wire rod (high carbon), fob mill US, rose to $35 per hundredweight on Friday December 20, up 2.9% from $34 per cwt one month earlier.Over the same pricing period, Fastmarkets'...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas has announced a 10% average price increase for all flat-rolled products effective from March, the president of national steel distributors' association Inda, Carlos Loureiro, said on Tuesday January 21.A mismatch between current global and domestic prices, coupled with the rising cost of slab purchases, would justify the rise, Loureiro said in an announcement on Monda...Read More
Sales volumes from Brazilian flat steel distributors rose by 34.2% in December over the corresponding month in 2018, while purchases increased by 47.9% on the same basis of comparison, distributor association Inda said on Tuesday January 21.Sales in December totaled 253,200 tonnes, against 188,600 tonnes the year before, amid unusually high activity at the year-end, Inda data showed. Purchases cam...Read More