Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia rose during the week to Monday December 9 despite concerns that a potential supply glut could emerge after United States President Donald Trump threatened to restore tariffs on steel imports from Argentina and Brazil.Sources told Fastmarkets that the uptrend in prices has already been disrupted by concerns that Brazilian steelmakers may...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices picked up on Monday December 9 amid rising iron ore and coke futures.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,930 yuan ($554-558) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,640-3,680 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneThe Dalian Commodity Exchange launched iron ore options during the day, which stimulated trading activity for the steelmaking raw materials' f...Read More

Brazilian vehicle production decreased by 7.1% year on year in November, according to figures released by national automotive association Anfavea.Vehicle output totaled 227,455 units, compared with 244,771 units in November 2018 and 288,519 units in October. Exports totaled 31,734 units last month, a 7.9% decrease from 34,441 units in November 2018. ...Read More

China's finished steel exports decreased on a year-on-year basis in November, according preliminary Chinese customs data released on Sunday December 8.November exports: 4.56 million tonnes...Read More

Tomasz Wi?>niewski9 hours ago (Dec 09, 2019 3:47 PM GMT)In the long-term, gold is still on the positive side of the market though. The price is locked inside of the wedge formation, which is promoting the breakout to the upside. Especially as long as we stay above the major support on the 1380 USD/oz. In the shorter term, situation here is negative. The price bounced from the 1480 USD/oz resistanc...Read More

Tender price cuts by leading stainless steel mills in China have prompted lower spot prices for ferro-chrome and chrome ore.Tender price cuts by leading stainless steel mills in China have prompted lower spot prices for ferro-chrome and chrome ore. Alloy markets weaken following tender price cuts Chrome ore prices track alloy prices lower Alloy prices down in South Korea, Japan European alloy pric...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday December 9, holding firmly above the $6,000 per tonne support level while turnover topped the base metals complex. The red metal's outright price closed at $6,075 per tonne this afternoon, its highest close since May while volumes traded topped 20,000 lots exchanged by the close. Copper...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe in the week to Friday December 6.ChinaKey drivers The export price for Chinese silicon 5-5-3 was unchanged from the previous week in a quiet market. This is because the price range of $1,480-$1,530 per tonne had no export advantage compared with silicon prices in Europe.The quantity of silicon available for export is restricted by China's domes...Read More

Fastmarkets' 2019 International Ferro-alloys Conference in November brought participants from throughout the global ferro-alloys market to Budapest for meetings and contract negotiations.Delegates gained insight into how declining manganese ore prices have benefited European alloy producers; how the falling price of manganese flake has triggered output cuts in China; how next year's poor steel dem...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday December 9 that are worth another look.Brazilian steel demand is set to grow in 2020 and support higher domestic prices, Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) said in a presentation filed with securities commission CVM.Rising secondary aluminium prices in Asia helped drive European secondary aluminium ingot prices up last week fr...Read More

James Hyerczyk14 hours ago (Dec 09, 2019 10:58 AM GMT)Gold is easing higher on Monday shortly before the regular session opening. Earlier in the session, sellers attempted to follow-through to the downside, following Friday’s steep sell-off, but there wasn’t much volume behind the move.Stocks are edging lower along with Treasury yields. This is helping to make the U.S. Dollar less-at...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday December 9, holding firmly above the $6,000 per tonne support level while turnover topped the base metals complex. The red metal's outright price closed at $6,075 per tonne this afternoon, its highest close since May while volumes traded topped 20,000 lots exchanged by the close. Copper...Read More

The mid-grade seaborne price rose above the $90-per-tonne mark on Monday December 9, for the first time since November 25, while Chinese futures saw strong gains on the Dalian Commodity Exchange.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.93 per tonne, up $4.87 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.02 per tonne, up $4.87 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingd...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were largely steady on Monday December 9, with buying activity from China setting the direction and pushing cfr China prices marginally higher.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $136.21 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $149 per tonne, up $1.78 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.33 per tonne, unchangedH...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases at the beginning of the week at strengthening prices, sources said on Monday December 9.A steel producer in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $289.25 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $299.25 per tonne cfr.This compares with the previous Baltic Sea...Read More

Turkish domestic scrap prices have gone up once again this week on the back of rising imported scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday December 9.Steel producers and a major scrapyard all increased their buying prices for auto bundle scrap by 45-120 Turkish lira ($8-21) per tonne over the past week because of costlier imports.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday December 9 that are worth another look.Brazilian steel demand is set to grow in 2020 and support higher domestic prices, Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) said in a presentation filed with securities commission CVM.Rising secondary aluminium prices in Asia helped drive European secondary aluminium ingot prices up last week fr...Read More

Rising secondary aluminium prices in Asia helped drive European secondary aluminium ingot prices up last week from its recent decade-long low. Tight aluminium scrap supply in China due to shrinking scrap import quotas in the country have led to more expensive production costs for secondary aluminium ingots in the region. That has prompted market participants in Asia to seek potentially cheaper met...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday December 9, with prices holding above nearby support levels against high turnover, while nickel futures fell by 2%.Copper's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $6,009 per tonne, while volumes traded were high over the morning at more than 7,500 lots as of 9:05am London time. The red met...Read More

A strong United States employment report at the end of last week gave most markets something to be cheerful about and that has flowed through into Asian trading on Monday December 9.Trading is likely to remain nervous this week while the manufacturing sector prepares for the holiday season and businesses focus on whether US President Donald Trump follows through with his threat to put 15% tariffs...Read More