The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price lost gains made over the course of the trading day to close at $15,665 per tonne on Friday August 23, down 1.3% from the intraday high of $15,860 per tonne, despite a healthy 11,294-lot turnover, the highest since August 8. A significant 22,620 lots were traded on August 8 when a short-covering rally driven by Chinese investment buyers pushed the...Read More
Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for spot copper concentrates rose marginally in mid-August following five consecutive weeks of declines, with few smelters in the market buying tonnages at stable terms.Fastmarkets' copper concentrate TC/RC index basis cif Asia Pacific rebounded to $50.20 per tonne/ 5.02 cents per lb on August 23, up from $49.60 per tonne/ 4.96 cents per lb a week ago - whic...Read More
China's state council announced on Friday August 23 it would apply an additional 5% and 10% tariff on $75 billion of United States imports, including copper scrap and aluminium scrap. The move came as a retaliation to the United States' announcement on August 13 that it would impose additional 10% tariffs on approximately $300 billion of Chinese imports. Starting December 15, 2019, China will...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday August 23:Aluminium scrapMixed turnings, delivered consumer...Read More
Barring zinc and nickel, base metal stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were lower week on week on Friday August 23, with the biggest fall in deliverable lead stocks, which slumped by 9.6% or 3,544 tonnes to 33,065 tonnes. According to the SHFE's latest inventory report, the Zhejiang Tianchuan warehouse in Zhejiang recorded the most lead stock withdrawals this week with 3,401 t...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized flat-rolled steel have slipped for the first time in two months due to concerns about demand and lower substrate prices.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US, was at $37.50 per hundredweight ($750 per short ton) on Thursday August 22, down by 1.3% from $38 per cwt a week earlier and off by 25% from $50 per cwt a year earlier.Galv...Read More
Turkish import prices for hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil decreased over the week ended Friday August 23, while the price of HRC exports increased with higher offers, sources told Fastmarkets. Turkey was celebrating the Islamic religious holiday of Eid-Al Fitr on August 12-14, leaving the market steady last week. This week, domestic demand was moderate, but sources said this is because buyers...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and color-coated coil were stable over the week ended Friday August 23, with the market still slow after the Eid al-Adha religious holiday, sources told Fastmarkets.Turkey was on eid holiday on August 12-14, and the market was stable over the other two working days of last week.The country's main export market, Europe, was also in its holiday sea...Read More
Turkish steel billet prices fell this week on sluggish demand and a downturn in imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday August 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet import, cfr main port Turkey, was $410-415 per tonne on Thursday, August 22, down from last week's $420-425 per tonne cfr. Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have lowered their offer pri...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland remained unchanged this week, with the seasonal summer slowdown inhibiting market activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland remained at 2,150-2,200 zloty ($547-559) per tonne on August 23.The assessment...Read More
Eastern China's hot-rolled coil prices picked up further on Friday August 23, but sellers remained worried about the market weakening again soon on the belief that the recent strength was due in large part to speculation. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,720-3,730 yuan ($525-527) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,700 yuan per tonne, unchangedRising futures propped u...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market declined on Friday August 23 after Indian producers reduced their offer prices, although buying interest remained weak."Buyers in the Philippines are expecting prices to fall further and have [so far] resisted the lower offers because [off poor demand and low prices in] the domestic long steel market," a trader in the Philippines said."However, market...Read More
Export sales of pig iron from the south of Brazil have resumed but activity was still limited by uncertainty about which direction prices will move in the near future, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob Vitorio/Rio, Brazil was $325-327 per tonne on Friday, widening upward slightly from $325 per tonne a week before..One sale o...Read More
European alloy steel scrap prices widened downward this week to reflect lower nickel costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 23.This week, nickel prices retreated slightly from the four-and-a-half-year high reached on August 16. Given the rapid increases seen previously, traders were cautious and only some transactions reflected these losses in the prices of alloy steel scrap.The price...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for UK light iron scrap remained steady in the week to Friday August 23 - for the ninth week in row - due to stable summer market conditions, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was flat week on week at ?80-100 ($97-121) per tonne on Friday August 23. Market sources...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India has fallen for a sixth consecutive week to a new year-to-date low, although a potential recovery could be in sight, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 23.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $292.71 per tonne on Friday, down from $300.67 per tonne on August 16.There...Read More
The Turkish steel mills have continued to make bookings for September delivery at fairly stable prices, sources said on Friday August 23.A steel mill in Izmir booked a European cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $274 per tonne and bonus at $284 per tonne cfr late on Thursday. The cargo was 25,000 tonnes in total but the composition was not clear...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rebounded for a second day on Friday August 23 amid derivatives gains, but market confidence is yet to recover. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.81 per tonne, up $3.39 per tonne. 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.19 per tonne, up $3.39 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.57 per tonne, up $3.44 per tonne. 58%...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were flat on Friday August 23, leaving segments of the market wondering if they have bottomed out.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $153.67 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $166.12 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $138.76 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $153 per tonne, unchangedLow-vol PC...Read More
While most base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange rose during the morning session on Friday 23 due to a marginal 0.19% increase in the United States' Dow Jones Industrial Average index, the LME three-month tin price hit its lowest since February 2016.The LME three-month tin price continues to buckle under the weight of continual stock inflows and is now trading around $15,885 per tonne, d...Read More