Nyrstar will write down the value of its zinc-copper-gold Myra Falls mine by an additional ?,?30 million ($34.18 million), it said on Saturday June 22, bringing total 2018 impairment on assets to ?,?130 million. Specifically, the company is impairing ?,?117.2 million on its Myra Falls and Langlois mines, with its metal smelting unit taking a ?,?11.4 million write-down. "The company has continued t...Read More
Koniambo Nickel SAS, 49%-owned by commodity firm Glencore, has evacuated and temporarily ceased production at its North Plant in New Caledonia after a leak that occurred at 6.22am local time on Monday June 24. The leak, the cause of which is currently unknown, lasted approximately one hour across both of the plant's production lines and constituted a mixture of molten materials from the plant incl...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Monday June 24, with thin volumes capping the complex in narrow trading ranges amid a weaker US dollar index.Despite this morning's fresh cancelation of some 14,200 tonnes of aluminium, the light metal's three-month price remains subdued, recently trading at $1,769 per tonne.Some 10,400 tonnes were booked o...Read More
Plate prices in the United States have fallen again, but sources questioned whether the decline was due to similar declines in hot-rolled coil prices or to plate market fundamentals.Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic cut-to-length plate dropped to $38.50 per hundredweight ($770 per short ton) on Friday June 21, down by 2.5% from $39.50 per cwt ($790 per ton) a week earlier and it...Read More
Declining raw material costs, weakening demand from the automotive end market and competitively priced imported material have driven down prices for cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod in the United States. Fastmarkets AMM's monthly pricing assessment for cold-heading quality wire rod dropped to $41.50 per hundredweight ($830 per short ton) North American delivered duty p...Read More
Crude steel production in Argentina fell by in May due to a weak economy, national steel association Acero Argentino said.The country produced 406,800 tonnes of crude steel last month, down by 7.1% from 438,100 tonnes a year earlier, the association said on Friday...Read More
The export market for hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has weakened during the week ending Tuesday June 18 amid slow market demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for HRC exported from the CIS was $470-485 per tonne fob Black Sea on June 18, moving down from $475-490 per tonne fob on June 10. "Demand is weaker than expected after [the Isla...Read More
The export market for hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has remained moderate during the week ending on Monday June 24 amid slow market demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for HRC exported from the CIS was $470-485 per tonne fob Black Sea on June 24, unchanged week on week. Steel mills in the CIS have almost closed sales for July product...Read More
Turkish steel producers remained out of the deep-sea scrap markets at the beginning of the week, while suppliers were trying to keep offers firm, sources said on Monday June 24.Mills slowed their bookings last week, with almost 80% of all their July requirements booked. Although, this means they still need to book scrap, sources told Fastmarkets.As a result, suppliers were keeping their offers as...Read More
The Turkish domestic scrap prices continued to weaken over the past week in line with falling imported scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 24.Several steel producers in Turkey have reduced their buy prices for local auto bundle scrap by around TRY30-85 ($5-15) per tonne over the past seven days.Long and flat steel mill ??olakoglu cut its buy price for auto bundle scrap to TRY1,83...Read More
United States buyers resumed pig iron purchases in the week to Friday June 21 at higher prices on reduced pig iron availability, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' import price assessment for pig iron in the US was $345-354 per tonne cfr on Friday, compared with $345 per tonne cfr in the week prior. Several purchases of 100,000 tonnes in total of Russia-origin pig iron for July-Augus...Read More
Iron ore prices weakened on Monday June 24 amid worries new restrictions on blast furnaces in China's steel hub will dent demand for the steelmaking raw material. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $116.77 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.21 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $115.57 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.21 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $117.78 per tonne cfr Qingdao,...Read More
Export pig iron sales from the south of Brazil resumed at lower prices on a weak scrap market and long lead times, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exported from the southeastern Minas Gerais region of Brazil was $315 per tonne fob on June 21, narrowing downward by $5 per tonne week on week.One sale of high-phosphorous pig iron for August...Read More
Fresh production cuts in China's steel-heavy region of Tangshan in Hebei province worsened sentiment in the seaborne coking coal market on Monday June 24."Mills have been asked to follow the output restrictions guidelines according to the categories they have been classified under, so mills in Category A will have to slash output by 20% while the other mills will have to slash by at least 50%," a...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets rose last week in accordance with the strengthening of the wider iron ore market, though the situation for these niche products has yet to improve amid ample supply of domestic equivalents in China.ConcentrateThe weekly Fastmarkets MB 66% Fe Iron Ore Concentrate Index stood at $123.05 per tonne cfr China last Friday June 21, up $4.56 per tonne f...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil surged on Monday June 24 after news spread that mills in Tangshan, the steelmaking hub in the country's northern region, will start production cuts to curb air pollution.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,890-3,910 yuan ($566-569) per tonne, up 110 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,830-3,850 yuan per tonne, up 60-70 yuan per tonnePrices surged nationwide after the...Read More
China's rebar market regained some upward momentum on Monday June 24 amid fresh production cuts in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,950 yuan ($568-575) per tonne, up 70-80 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,730-3,770 yuan per tonne, up 40-50 yuan per tonneAll steelmakers in Tangshan have been instructed to lower their production by at lea...Read More
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East showed no sign of abating over the weekend after the United States claimed that it had carried out a cyber-attack on Iranian weapons systems in retaliation for the latter shooting down a US drone last week.While the threat of a war between the two remains a possibility, global investors have taken refuge in haven assets amid the rising uncertainty in the re...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Monday June 24, with trade and macroeconomic uncertainty keeping investors cautious at the start of a new trading week.The rising uncertainty follows a ratcheting up of tensions in the Middle East at the end of last week, while market participants eagerly await any developments on the US-China trade war from a...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday June 21. China Key drivers Domestic antimony price in China was flat for the third consecutive week despite sparse trading activity. Many Chinese antimony suppliers remained resolute in refusing to sell their cargoes at below 40,000 yuan ($5,822) per tonne, citing mounting difficulty in sourcing cheap ore m...Read More