The price of steel billet fell in most regions in the week ended Friday January 17 due to an unexpected drop in ferrous scrap prices in Turkey.The downturn in Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices affected scrap prices in other regions and put downward pressure on the global billet markets.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo of 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) at $295 per tonne cfr la...Read More

Offers for CIS-origin billet started to slide on Monday January 20, following last week's drop in scrap prices and weakening sentiment in the finished long steel market.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, tumbled by around $15 to $288.80 per tonne last Thursday, after a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo of 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (9...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Monday January 20 amid a pre-holiday lull, though some optimism has emerged over demand for the long steel product after the Chinese New Year. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,640-3,670 yuan ($531-535) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,540-3,560 yuan per tonne, unchangedLocal governments in China have issued 655.7 billion yuan worth of speci...Read More

Samancor Chrome has provisionally decided to restructure its mining and smelting operations in a move that will reduce staff and production levels due to the deteriorating chrome markets and rising power costs, Fastmarkets has learned. South Africa's largest ferro-chrome producer wrote to employees and unions on Friday January 17, in letters seen by Fastmarkets, warning that it had made the provis...Read More

China's steel refining and rerolling industry's capacity utilization rate was 80.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019, above the national industrial average of 77.5%, according to figures from the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Friday January 17.The country's industrial capacity utilization rate of 77.5% was 1.5 percentage points higher than the corresponding period a year e...Read More

Chinese steel production increased in 2019 amid stronger demand from the construction sector, according to data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics on Friday January 17.2019 outputCrude steel: 996.34 million tonnes, up 8.3%Finished steel: 1.2 billion tonnes, up 9.8% ...Read More

Market participants in China say they are not worried by the expected increase in steel imports from the United States, even after the two major economic powers signed the phase one economic and trade agreement on Wednesday January 15. While the agreement does not set out the increase in quantity of US-origin steel exports China will accept, Chinese market participants do not expected the increase...Read More

The price of steel billet fell in most regions in the week ended Friday January 17 due to an unexpected drop in ferrous scrap prices in Turkey.The downturn in Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices affected scrap prices in other regions and put downward pressure on the global billet markets.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo of 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) at $295 per tonne cfr la...Read More

High demand for pig iron, mainly in Asia, has supported further price growth in the export pig iron market in Brazil, sources told Fastmarkets during the week ended Friday January 17.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, was $320-325 per tonne on Friday, up by $5 per tonne from $315-320 per tonne a week earlier.A cargo of 60,000 tonnes was bought for t...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday January 20, back above the $14,000 per tonne threshold against the lowest turnover since December 24 last year.In contrast, lead futures edged lower against a similar absence of liquidity.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $14,025 per tonne on Monday afternoon, back above nearby resista...Read More

The pig iron import market in the United States has gone up because suppliers have increased their offers, citing low availability of material for February and March shipments, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 17.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $350 per tonne on Friday, up from $340-345 per tonne a week earlier.Suppliers from the Commonweal...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

Prices in Asia's hot-rolled coil market are poised for more upticks immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday, according to industry sources."There is a sense of tightness in HRC supply in Asia, especially with fewer cargoes heading to the region from March and April," a source at a major re-roller in Vietnam said.This is largely due to an expected decrease in shipments from Indian steelmakers...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday January 20, back above the $14,000 per tonne threshold against the lowest turnover since December 24 last year.In contrast, lead futures edged lower against a similar absence of liquidity.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $14,025 per tonne on Monday afternoon, back above nearby resista...Read More

The total traded volume for the high-grade 65% Fe iron ore futures on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) rose in January 2020, with 25,750 lots - or 2.575 million tonnes - being cleared as of January 20 at 2:30pm Singapore time. The latest total traded volume is the second highest recorded since its launch in December 2018, and represents a 13.9% increase from 2.26 million tonnes in September 2019, whic...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were largely stable on Monday January 20, with Chinese participants gradually withdrawing from the market ahead of a week-long break for the Chinese New Year that starts on Friday.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.23 per tonne, down $0.84 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $160.13 per tonne, up $0.23 per tonneHard coking coal, fob...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have increased with support from good demand and a lack of competitive import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday January 20.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, rose to ?,?449.48 ($498.39) per tonne on January 20, up by ?,?5.70 per tonne from ?,?443.78 per tonne on January 17.The index was...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday January 17.ChinaKey drivers The price of antimony, MMTA standard grade II, ddp China, gained some upward momentum in the latest assessment period, ending Wednesday January 15, after many suppliers raised their offer prices amid a growing number of inquiries.Several antimony consumers, who had maintained low inventorie...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday January 20 that are worth another look.High-grade iron ore derivative reaches second highest monthly traded volumes. The total traded volume for the high-grade 65% Fe iron ore futures on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) rose in January 2020, with 25,750 lots - or 2.575 million tonnes...Read More

The Chinese government published the long-awaited non-ferrous scrap metal renaming criterion on its website late on Friday January 17. This is the latest policy adopted by the world's biggest scrap metal importer. Copper scrap, of copper content ranging 94-99.9% and meeting certain impurities thresholds, will be renamed under five categories of renewable materials. Below is a table translated and...Read More