Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) dropped in Southern Europe due to slow trading, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic HRC in Southern Europe was ?,?460-480 ($520-542) per tonne ex-works on Wednesday March 27, down from ?,?480-490 per tonne ex-works a week earlier. Italian steelmakers were reported to offer HRC at ?,?460-465 per tonne ex-works to...Read More

The price range for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe stayed flat on Wednesday March 27, and traders are becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of opportunities in the market. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe remained at ?,?540-550 ($610-621) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, with little hope for traders of finding agreeable prices...Read More

Turkish trader and steel service center Galva Metal has started production of cold-rolled coil at its facility in Kartepe, in the north-western Turkish province of Kocaeli, the company told Fastmarkets this week.The unit's capacity for CRC production is 60,000 tonnes per year, in coils of 850-2,000mm width and 0.25-6.00mm gauge.The line started production in January 2019, and has now begun commerc...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices gained some strength on Wednesday March 27 following some gains in the futures market. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,870 yuan ($570-576) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,830-3,880 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneRebar futures rebounded during the day and stayed above Tuesday's settlement price of 3,700 yuan per tonne fo...Read More

Iron ore shipments from Chilean iron ore and steel producer Compa???-a de Acero del Pac?-fico (CAP) fell by 13.20% in 2018, compared with the previous year, due to logistics problems.Shipments from CAP's 75%-owned mining subsidiary, Compa???-a Minera del Pac?-fico (CMP), reached 14 million tonnes last year, compared with 16.14 million tonnes in 2017, CAP said late last week.The effect of the lower...Read More

Western Atlas drill-ready in NunavutSPONSOREDwestern atlas resourcesSocial opposition remains key industry hurdle in ColombiaSPONSOREDverisk maplecroft"Tshisekedi would be a relatively positive figure for mining investment"SPONSOREDverisk maplecroftGlobal Atomic's 'transformational discovery' changes everythingSPONSOREDglobal atomic corpThe miner has warned it would declare f...Read More

Eastern promise for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxAltech ticks boxes on path to production SPONSOREDaltech chemicalsFitch expects disruption from Vale's tailings dam failure at Feijao to reduce net iron ore supply from Brazil by about 30-50 million tonnes a year, and other supply cuts in the country at Usiminas, Companhia Siderurgica Nacional and Gerdau to weigh down output.The agency upped its p...Read More

Physical iron ore prices remained relatively stable for the third day in a row on Wednesday March 27, while supply lines from Australia began to recover from the impact of Cyclone Veronica.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.11 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.12 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $84.23 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.12 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $87.10...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were steady on Wednesday March 27, although Chinese buyers cited the drop in domestic coke prices as the reason for their bearish outlook on the steelmaking raw material's price.On the Global Coal platform, an offer for an April-laycan branded cargo was heard at $209 per tonne fob Australia while a May-laycan unbranded cargo was offered at $205 per tonne fob Australia....Read More

Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has resumed shipments of its port inventories with the reopening of the Port of Port Hedland this week, the miner said on Wednesday March 27.Operations at the port were halted last Friday due to the approach of Cyclone Veronica. The port reopened on Tuesday morning following an infrastructure assessment - after a closure totaling 92.5 hours...Read More

Following a shift to the 65% Fe fines index as the base price for some pellet contracts, Fastmarkets will begin publishing an implied spot blast furnace pellet premium over its MB 65% Fe Brazilian Iron Ore Index alongside the existing implied premium over its 62% Fe index.Fastmarkets will publish both implied premiums from April 5 - the first Friday of 2019's second quarter. The implied spot pelle...Read More

Comex copper prices rebounded in the midweek session on March 27 morning in the United States, despite disappointing US and Chinese data and with the market experiencing a bout of technical buying.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.05 cents to $2.8645 per lb. The contract has hovered around $2.90 per lb over the last several weeks...Read More

Copper premiums in the United States have risen to their highest since January 2014 due to expectations of higher demand prompting gains, while the Asian and European markets dip. US premiums at five-year high Shanghai premiums drop while expected demand influx fails to materialize Supply uptick in Europe means premiums dip in ItalyUS premium hits five-year highThe US copper cathode premium has lo...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Wednesday March 27, with price action broadly rangebound due to continued concerns over global economic growth. Weaker-than-expected manufacturing data from the United States, China and Europe in March has continued to limit commodity investment, while the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has in...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices dipped on Wednesday March 27 amid subdued sentiment, with market participants expecting supply to pick up with the lifting of winter production restrictions in April.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,860 yuan ($573-575) per tonne, narrowing downward 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,790-3,800 yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneTrading activity w...Read More

The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday March 27:Minor metalsAntimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $7,300-7,600 per tonne from $7,400-7,700Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $7,250-7,550 per tonne from $7,300-7,600Antimony MB Chinese free market MMTA standard grade II, yuan/tonne: 44,000-45,000...Read More

Key data from the Wednesday March 27 pricing session in Europe.Key drivers The European ferro-titanium market has been steady over the past week, consolidating earlier gains after hitting a five-month high a week ago. There was persistent consumer demand for prompt shipment, and buying inquiries for second-quarter deliveries. Some sources reckoned that the price of prompt ferro-titanium may reach...Read More

China's new energy vehicle (NEV) subsidies in 2019 will only be payable for electric vehicles with higher driving range and energy density, while the value of the subsidy will be reduced by 50% to a maximum of 25,000 yuan ($3,725) per vehicle produced. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the new subsidy policy for 2019 on Tuesday March 26, which shows another re...Read More

Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia remained steady over the past week amid a lack of trading activity, with sellers maintaining their offer levels despite buying interest being weak due to nickel's downtrend.Fastmarkets' weekly import price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil in East Asia was unchanged at $2,040-2,130 per tonne cif on Wednesday Marc...Read More

Chinese industrial profits were down by 14% in January-February compared with a year ago, marking the biggest fall since 2011. The data paints a worrying picture while the negative economic impact from China's deleveraging activities in 2018, as well the bitter US-China trade war, continue to take a heavy toll on major industrial sectors.The overnight release of this data put base metals prices un...Read More