The United States' ferrous scrap export market shows no signs of recovery, with sales from the East and West Coast over the past week concluded at discounts to the prior week.At the same time, Turkey returned to the deep-sea ferrous scrap market, buying from the United Kingdom at a discount.Two sales were reported from the US West Coast. One exporter sold 45,000 tonnes of No1 h...Read More
Scrap suppliers succumbed to lower bids from Turkish steel mills and deep-sea scrap import prices have fallen by almost $10 per tonne in the latest transactions as a result, sources said on Wednesday September 18.A UK supplier sold two cargoes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) to two Turkish steel mills in the Iskenderun region at $228 per tonne cfr - one of 17,000 tonnes and the other 20,000 tonn...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices softened further on Wednesday September 18 amid a roller-coaster ride in the futures market.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.42 per tonne, down by $0.75 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.81 per tonne, down by $0.75 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.43 per tonne, down by $1.70 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-prem...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Global Ore, 140,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Iron Ore Carajas, sold at the...Read More
Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market this week is showing how brand-conscious Chinese mills are, with the price gap across different products widening to about $20 per tonne.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $144.08 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $163.81 per tonne, up $3.18 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $131.75 per tonne, unchangedHard coking c...Read More
India has given the go-ahead to the state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL), to sell up to 7 million tonnes of iron ore annually , to maintain security of raw material supplies ahead of the expiration of 31 mining leases in the country next year. "The Ministry of Mines has allowed SAIL to offload in a year up to a quantity equivalent to [a] maximum [of] 25% of [the] total iron ore production i...Read More
There are no signs of ferrous scrap import prices bottoming out in Asia any time soon, sources told Fastmarkets this week."Ferrous scrap prices in Asia are trapped in a bottomless pit," a source at a Japanese scrapyard said on Wednesday September 18. "It seems like there is no end to the price falls."Sellers have continued to offer lower prices this week into major import markets, with key pr...Read More
Active trading in China's domestic hot-rolled coil market kept prices unchanged on Wednesday September 18. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,700 yuan ($521-522) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,600-3,620 yuan per tonne, unchangedHRC futures were trending upward for most of the day before finally diving in the last 20 minutes of trading. The earlier uptrend led sellers to ma...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Wednesday September 18, edging back above the $17,000-per-tonne resistance level despite moderate turnover, while the rest of the complex consolidated lower. Nickel's outright price was recently seen at $17,170 per tonne, while trading volumes over the morning were modest at some 2,400 lots exchanged as...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday September 18:Antimony MMTA standard grade II, in-whs Rotterdam, $/tonne: $5,800-6,085 per tonne from $5,700-6,000Antimony MMTA standard grade II, ddp China, yuan/tonne: 38,000-38,500 yuan per tonne from 37,500-38,000 yuanCadmium 99.95% min, cif global ports, cents/lb: 105-115 cents...Read More
Ahead of Fastmarkets' Battery Materials Europe conference in Amsterdam, find out what our industry experts think are the key drivers in the market and what's on the horizon. Fastmarkets will host a free web seminar on Wednesday September 18 at 3pm London time to discuss recent market moves in the battery raw materials sector. Click here to register for the webinar. Date Wednesday September 18, 201...Read More
The markets were in limbo this morning, Wednesday September 18, while they wait for developments on trade talks, the direction of oil prices and the outcome of this evening's US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and rate decision.Once again the recent show of strength in most of the metals has run into resistance, suggesting confidence is not strong enough to chase prices higher and tha...Read More
Export prices for Chinese stainless steel edged have downward over the week ended Tuesday September 17 amid poor demand after the price of nickel tumbled from a five-year high attained earlier in the month.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Tuesday's trading session at $16,925-16,950 per tonne, compared with $17,980-18,000 per tonne a week earlier. The price of nick...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday September 18. Key drivers The ferro-titanium market was stable for the third consecutive week, with spot prices seemingly cemented until fourth-quarter delivery tenders are settled with consumers. One deal for a truckload of ferro-titanium was reported sold at $4.80 per kg ddp. Fourth-quarter tenders may be settled as la...Read More
The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday September 18:Aluminium scrapCommercial pure cuttings, delivered consumer UK, ?/tonne: ?850-900 per tonne from ?870-920Loose old rolled cuttings, delivered consumer UK, ?/tonne: ?590-620 per tonne from ?610-640Baled...Read More
Equity index futures mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Initial Jobless Claims was 210,000 versus 204,000 last week. Actual was 208,000. Consensus for September Philly Fed Index was 10.0 versus 16.8 in August. Actual was 12.0.Microsoft gained $1.83...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday September 17.Read More
Fastmarkets incorrectly published weekly assessments for its Southeast Asian zinc premium over the past two months when the price should have been published every two weeks.Following a market consultation, Fastmarkets reduced the frequency of publication of a number of base metals price assessments in July in response to low transaction liquidity and a lack of price volatility.As a resul...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.5% at the close of trading on Tuesday September 17 but held above nearby support levels, while aluminium futures were the only positive mover in a predominantly weaker base metals complex. Copper traded volumes were relatively low over the day at 14,000 lots by the close. Although the red metal's closing price was lower than Monda...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 17 that are worth another look.Fastmarkets looks at the key takeaways from the seventh Fastmarkets Asian Nickel conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 11-12, from who will fill the Asian supply gap from 2020 to emerging demand for nickel from the electric vehicle battery sector.Import prices for steel slab in S...Read More