Seaborne iron ore prices fell across the board on Wednesday February 20 amid a quiet trading day, while Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) announced its product discount levels for March.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $88 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.21 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $87.40 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.21 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $89.10 per tonne...Read More

Steel beam prices in the domestic Northern European market were stable-to-soft this week, with poor demand continuing to outweigh rising raw material costs, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday February 20.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm, category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe was ?,?600-630 ($679-713) per tonne delivered on February 20, widening downward by ?,?10 p...Read More

Copper's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was up over 1% at the close of trading on Wednesday February 20, breaching $6,400 per tonne for the first time since July 2018 amid high volumes and dwindling LME stocks. Total volumes traded in copper led the complex with more than 21,000 lots changing hands by the close, the most since January 4. Despite significant buying over the aft...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday February 20 that are worth another look.A blockchain pilot project designed to demonstrate the presence of artisanal and small-scale mining sites in the tungsten supply chain is scheduled to be completed in May 2019. Glencore expects healthy future demand for cobalt and a bottoming out of prices after a difficul...Read More

A blockchain pilot project designed to demonstrate the presence of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sites in the tungsten supply chain is scheduled to be completed in May 2019.The SustainBlock trial started in May 2018 and is focused on a tungsten supply chain originating from Rwanda.Funded by the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM), a multi-stakeholder grouping set up to cr...Read More

The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday February 20:Aluminium ingotLM6/LM25 gravity diecasting ingot: ?1,700-1,780 per tonne from ?1,710-1,790...Read More

The global refined zinc market deficit shrank by 13% year on year in 2018 to 384,000 tonnes from 2017's 442,000 tonne deficit, caused by dampening demand in China, South Africa and Turkey, the International Lead & Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) said on Wednesday February 20. World production of refined zinc last year was roughly flat with 2017, increasing just 0.1% year on year to 13,279,000 tonnes from...Read More

The Comex copper market continued to move in a positive direction on Wednesday February 20, with global trade talks between the United States and China showing progress.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange increased 2.25 cents to $2.8970 per lb. Additionally, the red metal's price remains elevated against a backdrop of falling London....Read More

Wire rod prices in the United States have decreased due to slower market activity while import pricing remains firm due to a lack of fresh offers, market sources said.Fastmarkets' assessment for industrial quality low-carbon rod was $38.25-40 per hundredweight ($765-800 per short ton) fob mill on Tuesday February 19, down from $39.25-41.25 per cwt previously. Prior to the latest drop, wire rod pri...Read More

Argentina's sole flat steel producer, Ternium Siderar, expects its steel shipment volumes to decrease in the first quarter of 2019, and to start a recovery only in the second quarter, due to continuing inventory adjustments among clients."The company expects steel shipments to continue decreasing during the first quarter of 2019, reflecting the usual seasonality of the first quarter and the effect...Read More

Ternium does not expect that the iron ore supply disruptions in Brazil will have any early effects on output from its slab-producing unit in the country, chief executive officer M??ximo Vedoya said during a conference call to discuss results for 2018.The local branch of the Latin American group, called Ternium Brasil, is supplied with some 7.3 million tonnes per year of iron ore from Vale, he adde...Read More

The price for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe remained flat on Wednesday February 20, with producers still unable to pass on higher raw materials costs - even with the added pressure of exhausted import quotas for Turkish rebar.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe stayed at ?,?510-520 ($577-588) per tonne delivered on Wednesday.Producers r...Read More

Turkish scrap import prices went down as expected on Wednesday February 20, following news of a fresh deal for a deep-sea cargo.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a UK cargo of 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $316 per tonne cfr.The news of this cargo sent the daily scrap indices down sharply on Wednesday.The daily index for Northern Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) was...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices fell across the board on Wednesday February 20 amid a quiet trading day, while Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) announced its product discount levels for March.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $88 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.21 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $87.40 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.21 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $89.10 per tonne...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were largely stable on Wednesday February 20 with market participants describing supply and demand as being in a tight balance.A prompt cargo of premium hard coking coal was sold at $203.20 per tonne cfr China earlier in the day to an end user in Tangshan, in China's Hebei province. This is just $0.30 per tonne below a transaction involving the same brand of materials t...Read More

China's steel and iron ore futures fell during morning trading on Wednesday February 20, while the coking coal and coke contracts ended the session a tad higher than their opening prices.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,592 yuan ($531) per tonne, down 38 yuan per tonneMay hot-rolled coil: 3,591 yuan per tonne, down 27 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity Ex...Read More

BHP expects metallurgical coal prices to remain above long-term marginal costs with the support of Chinese policies and incremental demand from India and Southeast Asia despite volatility within and across the years.The Chinese government's focus on pollution controls has continued to drive sales of its high-quality coking coal in the 2018 calendar year, the miner said on Tuesday February 19. The...Read More

BHP does not see a case for any major new investment for the iron ore sector in its long-term view of the market despite recent supply disruptions in Brazil."[...] we have been concentrating for some time on maximizing the capacity of our existing investment, and we continue to do that and [...] have no plans we would change as a consequence of what is happening and the current high price, because...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher during morning trading on Wednesday February 20, with market sentiment benefiting from continuing trade negotiations between the United States and China. Both copper and nickel futures are trading higher so far this morning, with the former comfortably above $6,300 per tonne, and up by more than 6% since the beginning of the...Read More

Export prices for Chinese hot-rolled coil edged up further on Wednesday February 20, with exporters insisting on high offers amid expectations that the domestic market - though it weakened during the day - would pick up due to rising costs upstream.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,720-3,750 yuan ($550-554) per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,670-3,700 yuan per tonne, do...Read More