The alumina price on a fob Australia basis has stabilized just below $280 per tonne in the week ending Friday October 18, after a flurry of deals over the past week. Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia at $278.25 per tonne on Friday, down from $277.14 per tonne on Thursday. It has hovered between $277 and 278 per tonne over the past week. Key drivers: ...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for UK-origin light iron scrap was steady in the week ended Friday October 18, extending a run of stability into a third week amid a recovery in European steel scrap export prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?60-80 ($77-102) per tonne on Friday. The market is around where it was when...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap bookings for November shipments at steady prices, sources said on Friday October 18.Steel mills in the country had resumed their deep-sea purchases on Thursday October 17 with slightly higher prices amid tight supply.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a UK cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $240 per tonne cfr.Ano...Read More
An increase in copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) so far this month reflects a drop in the number of spot deals ahead of annual contract negotiations that are set to start during the annual London Metal Exchange Week gathering. With major smelters well stocked, bids are close to the new quarterly price floor set by the China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT). Traders, meanwhile...Read More
Three-month prices of base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, with the exception of tin and lead, were buoyed by a weaker US dollar to close up at the afternoon kerb on Friday October 18.The LME three-month copper price finally began to make gains, closing up 1.1% at $5,806 tonnes from yesterday's $5,739 per tonne close. Much has been made of copper futures' lack of reaction to tightening...Read More
The alumina price on a fob Australia basis has stabilized just below $280 per tonne in the week ending Friday October 18, after a flurry of deals over the past week. Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia at $278.25 per tonne on Friday, down from $277.14 per tonne on Thursday. It has hovered between $277 and 278 per tonne over the past week. Key drivers: ...Read More
Base metal stock movements in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were mixed in the week to Friday October 18, with lead stocks gaining the most in percentage terms, followed by copper while aluminium and zinc inventories fell marginally. Lead stocks rose by 25.2% or 3,936 tonnes in the seven days from October 11 to 19,558 tonnes. The largest inflow in lead inventories was registered at...Read More
China has approved a fifth round of copper scrap import quotas to allow an additional 57,365 tonnes of copper scrap into the country by the end of this year, the environment ministry said on Friday October 18. The latest quota, larger than the fourth round of 31,658 tonnes, but still smaller than the third one of 87,680 tonnes, brings the total volume of copper scrap imports allowed in the second...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price was subdued during the morning trading session on Friday October 18 despite significant outflows and a large fresh cancelation of material.The LME three-month copper price recently traded up a marginal $5 per tonne - or 0.08% - at $5,744 per tonne compared with Thursday's close, failing to be supported by inventory movements.A net outflow of 6,700...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly up during the morning trading session on Friday October 18, after a possible Brexit deal and moderately bullish headlines on United States-China trade talks helped boost sentiment.Tin gave the best performance of the complex in terms of percentage gains, with market participants continuing to digest the news that China's Yunnan Tin C...Read More
US cold-rolled coil and galvanized base prices have fallen to their lowest point in three-and-a-half years, with prices for value-added products catching up to declines already seen in the hot-rolled coil market.Prices for both products have also declined for the fourth week in a row.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob US mill, fell to $34 per hundredweight ($680 p...Read More
Export prices of Brazilian slab have fallen as renewed bids and a decrease in flat steel prices in the United States has led to lower sentiment.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, fell to $360-365 per tonne fob on Friday October 18, from $370-380 per tonne fob the previous week.The US market was quiet until last week, as buyers avoided committing to d...Read More
Indian local secondary steel billet prices rose by 400 rupees ($6) per tonne over the past week after a rise in finished long product prices and in expectation of production cuts by billet manufacturers, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet domestic, ex-works India, was up by 400 rupees per tonne to 26,600-26,800 rupees per tonne...Read More
Demand for flat steel was still soft in Turkey in the week ended Friday October 18 because of falling steel prices globally, but sentiment was better than in previous weeks because of the halting of a Turkish military operation in Syria.International politics have a significant bearing on trade in the region at the moment. US President Donald Trump has been widely criticized for his decision to wi...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) fell in the week ended Friday October 18, with demand remaining weak, sources have told Fastmarkets.International politics have a significant bearing on trade in the region at the moment. US President Donald Trump has been widely criticized for his decision to withdraw US forces from an area of northern Syri...Read More
Import prices for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates narrowed over the past week, with domestic rebar prices falling due to a lack of demand, sources said on Tuesday October 15. New domestic prices for rebar for the month were announced by the country's producers on September 26. Both Emirates Steel and Conares reduced their prices. Billet imports Billet bookings were made from Oma...Read More
Prices in the CIS steel billet export market climbed in the week to Thursday October 17 amid reduced availability following last week's sales to the Middle East and Asia (including to China).Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $360 per tonne on October 17, up by $5 per tonne day on day.Last week, at least one cargo CIS-origin billet was reported sold to Turkey la...Read More
Sentiment in the export pig iron market from southern Brazil has remained positive this week on stronger scrap prices and full order books, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 18.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $272-275 per tonne on October 18, down slightly from $275-280 per tonne a week before.Another sale of 60,000 tonnes of...Read More
Prices for ferrous scrap imported into India have moved up for the second week in a row following a series of deals completed at higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 18.Fastmarkets' calculation of the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $261.17 per tonne on Friday, up from $253.56 per tonne one week ago and $251.34 per tonne on October 4.Deals for...Read More
UK and mainland European alloy steel scrap prices fell in the week to Friday October 18, due to the decline in nickel costs and limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK, was ?760-800 ($879-925) per tonne on October 18, down by ?20 per tonne from ?780-820 per tonne."De...Read More