Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday January 15. Key drivers The prices of ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets were steady in the second week of January, a level it has maintained since December 18. Alloy suppliers achieved higher prices in the United Kingdom compared with deals done lower in the current range in continental Europe, although trading a...Read More
Hollow steel sections prices in Europe moved up this week, following increases from producers, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?600-630 ($668-701) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?590-600 per tonne one week previously.Various section producers have created new pric...Read More
Central China-based Henan Luoyang Iron & Steel is to sell its 1.04 million tonnes per year of crude steel capacity to a mill in southern China's Guangdong province, according a notice released by the Henan Industry & Information Technology Department on Tuesday January 14.Seller: Luoyang Iron & SteelLocation: Luoyang city, Henan...Read More
The Chinese steelmaking industry will focus on six key areas in 2020 to maintain its structured and orderly development, China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) chairman Gao Xiangming said in a speech at a conference last weekend.These are meant to round out the final year of China's 13th Five-Year Plan and contribute to the stable growth and reform of the Chinese economy.1. Maintain stable, efficie...Read More
China's finished steel exports in December tumbled on a year-on-year basis despite being higher compared with a month earlier.For the whole of 2019, exports are also lower in comparison with 2018, according to...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States continued to climb due to tightened supply in the domestic market, but buyers - who believed prices were doomed to go down - seemed reluctant to accept the higher prices, according to market participants.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $30.91 per hundredweight ($618.20 per short ton) on Wednesday January 15,...Read More
Global tin premiums remained flat in the week ended Tuesday January 14, with European market participants maintaining lackluster demand against strong availability of ingots across the region, while both the domestic markets in both the United States and China have shown a slow pickup in demand to start the year.Strong warrant availability cools European ingot demandUS market sentiment gains tract...Read More
The three-month price of lead on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday January 15, climbing by more than 2.5% to close at its highest level since November 2019 amid high turnover, while a similar upswing in nickel futures saw the price breach nearby resistance.Lead's outright price on the LME closed at $1,999 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, its highest settlem...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
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 15 that are worth another look.The Chinese steelmaking industry will focus on six key areas in 2020 to maintain its structured and orderly development, China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) chairman Gao Xiangming said in a speech at a conference last weekend.Lower Chinese production is set to fuel supply deficits in As...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
Jeremy Goldwyn has left his role as managing director at Hong Kong-based emerging commodity and financial futures broker Bands Financial, he told Fastmarkets.Citing personal reasons for his departure, effective Wednesday January 15, Goldwyn thanked the management at Bands Financial for their support since joining them in 2017. "I would like to wish them good fortune and firmly believe they are uni...Read More
Global tin premiums remained flat in the week ended Tuesday January 14, with European market participants maintaining lackluster demand against strong availability of ingots across the region, while both the domestic markets in both the United States and China have shown a slow pickup in demand to start the year.Strong warrant availability cools European ingot demandUS market sentiment gains tract...Read More
The three-month price of lead on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday January 15, climbing by more than 2.5% to close at its highest level since November 2019 amid high turnover, while a similar upswing in nickel futures saw the price breach nearby resistance.Lead's outright price on the LME closed at $1,999 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, its highest settlem...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
The domestic price of steel rebar in Northern and Southern Europe moved higher this week with mills trying to reflect the price rise in ferrous scrap in early December, which was yet to affect rebar prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday January 15. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?475-490 ($529-545) per tonne...Read More
An overview of the noble alloys markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 15 that are worth another look.The Chinese steelmaking industry will focus on six key areas in 2020 to maintain its structured and orderly development, China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) chairman Gao Xiangming said in a speech at a conference last weekend.Lower Chinese production is set to fuel supply deficits in As...Read More
Lead and zinc scrap prices remained relatively steady in the United States in the first half of January, but a combination of strained supply and firming lead prices on the London Metal Exchange gave battery prices a boost."It hasn't been terribly cold, so there aren't many batteries coming back in," one US-based consumer said, noting that with supply tightening, prices have increased. "They're ha...Read More
The lead premium increased in India on Tuesday January 14 with availability of Iranian lead reduced in line with the US-Iran trade tension, while both Southeast Asian and Italian zinc premiums rose for the first time since the first half of 2019. The Indian lead premium rose amid an open import arbitrage Southeast Asia zinc premium rose on pick-up in spot trading. Italian premium edges h...Read More