The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price closed at its lowest level since May 2019 on Monday February 10, dipping below the key $1,800-per-tonne support level, while nickel futures struggled to breach resistance against thin trading volumes. Lead's underlying price on the LME closed at $1,796 per tonne, with its price action slipping from an intraday high of $1,825 per tonne while turnover...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices eased on Monday February 10 amid the de-escalation of Tropical Cyclone Damien which hit Western Australia at the end of last week.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.88 per tonne, down $0.71 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.21 per tonne, down $0.71 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.07 per tonne, down $0.95 per...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were unchanged on Monday February 10, with the market having a quiet start after the weekend following last week's activity that saw over 650,000 tonnes of spot cargoes changing hands.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $151.58 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $160.61 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $127.01 p...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price closed at its lowest level since May 2019 on Monday February 10, dipping below the key $1,800-per-tonne support level, while nickel futures struggled to breach resistance against thin trading volumes. Lead's underlying price on the LME closed at $1,796 per tonne, with its price action slipping from an intraday high of $1,825 per tonne while turnover...Read More
The ferro-chrome price in China has jumped in the week to Friday February 7 after road travel restrictions imposed by the authorities to control the spread of the novel coronavirus led to problems with raw material supply and deliveries of alloy to stainless steel mills.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, was 5,900-6,100 yuan ($844-872) per tonne o...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 10 that are worth another look.The United States Department of Commerce on February 10 issued affirmative final determinations in its anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of carbon and alloy steel threaded rod from China and India.LME Week Asia 2020 could be in doubt due to the coronavirus out...Read More
Chinese multi-metal company Jingchuan Group produced the first batch of nickel chloride from its newly-commissioned high-end nickel salt project on Sunday February 9.The size of the first nickel-chloride yield was not stipulated but the resultant material constitutes part of the group's efforts to ramp up battery-grade nickel production for the much-lauded electric vehicle (EV) boom, according to...Read More
The waiting time to take metal out of London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses across Asia rose at the end of January 2020, according to the latest LME queue report. Fresh queues have emerged at warehouses in South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore due to further cancellations - mainly for aluminium. South Korea In Gwangyang, South Korea, there is an 18-day wait to deliver copper, lead, aluminium and...Read More
Nickel producers in Indonesia continue to operate at full capacity amid China's ongoing Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, but concerns that logistical delays will exacerbate the already poor projections for material demand in 2020 loom large, participants say.Indonesia-based nickel producers including Chinese stainless steel giant Tsingshan and domestic producer PT Antam have confirmed to Fastmarkets th...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday February 10, testing support above $13,000 per tonne against moderate turnover, while zinc came under further pressure from continued deliveries. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $12,990 per tonne this morning after briefly climbing to an intra-morning high of $13,080 per...Read More
LME Week Asia 2020 could be in doubt due to the coronavirus outbreak, with Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing evaluating all their events taking place over the next few months. "HKEX is currently evaluating all its events over the next few months, given the backdrop of the coronavirus," a London Metal Exchange spokeswoman said. "Where postponements or cancellations are put in place, all relevant parti...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index rose to its highest level since October 2019 this week, with Chinese smelters staying on the sidelines amid a murky outlook on production plans and product sales following the coronavirus outbreak. A weekly brief on the Fastmarkets' copper concentrate index: Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC/RC index ticks up with more...Read More
Fastmarkets outlines five key takeaways from SteelOrbis' 11th Annual Rebar and Wire Rod Conference that was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 3.Panelists included Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America; Philip Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA); and Vince Pappas, president of Stone Steel Corporation. Steel imports currently sub...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States declined on Monday February 10, with distributors holding off on purchase orders in expectation of lower prices later. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $29.17 per hundredweight ($583.40 per short ton)on Monday February 10, down by 1.6% from $29.64 per cwt on Friday February 7 and down by 1.9% from $29.75...Read More
Steel plate prices in the United States retreated after ferrous scrap indicators were lower and buyers demonstrated a reluctance to stock up in the face of price hikes in the new year.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US weakened to $31 per hundredweight ($620 per short ton) on Friday February 7 from $32 per cwt on January 31 - ...Read More
Falling scrap costs in Turkey as well as low demand in the major sales outlets negatively affected steel billet producers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the first week of February.Chinese customers' cancelling orders stoked negative sentiment in and added pressure to the Asian market.Up to 100,000 tonnesof steel billet initially orderedfor China is now being offered to Southe...Read More
Fastmarkets has amended the publication date of its Brazilian domestic steel price assessments, ex-works Brazil, reais per tonne, following market feedback.The publication of the Brazilian domestic flat steel and rebar price assessments has moved from the first Friday of each month to the second Friday of each month, allowing Fastmarkets to capture price changes more quickly and accurately.The nex...Read More
Some rebar producers in Egypt have decreased their prices in effect from Monday February 10 amid falling billet prices and a strong domestic currency, sources told Fastmarkets.The country's biggest producer Ezz Steel is now offering rebar at E ?9,900 ($626) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT, down from E ?10,000 per tonne ex-works.El Marakby...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap from the United States and Europe for end of February and early March shipments, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 10.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo of 20,000-25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $252 per tonne cfr.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of H...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle and ship scrap prices have continued to slide over the past week in line with the falling cost of imported scrap, sources said on Monday February 10.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was 1,510-1,715 lira ($251-285) per tonne on February 10, down from 1,560-1,800 lira per tonne last week.The Turkish stee...Read More