Slab export prices from Brazil narrowed downward this week amid lower prices of finished steel in the United States.Fastmarkets MB's weekly assessment of Brazil's slab export prices was $430-475 per tonne fob on Friday December 14, down from $430-485 per tonne fob a week before.In the US market, companies were heard...Read More

Billet prices have fallen in most regions due to low demand in Southeast Asia, Turkey and North Africa, but a slight recovery was seen in Chinese prices.CIS, Turkey, EgyptIn the Commonwealth of Independent States, prices continued to fall this past week despite efforts from local mills to hold back the decline.Cargoes of Russian billet were sold in Thailand and Indonesia at $465 per tonne cfr earl...Read More

Cold-rolled coil and coated steel prices in the United States fell further after holding steady for one week, driven by weakness in hot-rolled coil and soft demand. Fastmarkets AMM assessed the domestic cold-rolled coil price as $43 per hundredweight ($860 per short ton) on Thursday December 13, down from $43.50 per cwt a week earlier; the domestic coated steel base price fell...Read More

Domestic prices for steel coil products in Turkey fell this week on continuing slow demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday December 14. "Prices are not important," a source told Fastmarkets. "Buyers are refraining from buying because of uncertainty in the market."December will be a slow month for the sector, and many people [also] expect January to be slow," he added. Fastmarkets' we...Read More

Domestic prices for coated-steel coil products in Turkey were stable in the week to Friday December 14, with demand remaining limited. The local Turkish market has been slow for a long time and no significant improvement is expected in December, sources told Fastmarkets, because buyers usually postpone bookings towards the end of the year to avoid building up inventories. Domestic prices One...Read More

CIS export billet prices continued trending downwards on Friday December 14 in spite of producers' attempts to hold back the decline.Some mills were still insisting on offers around $427-430 per tonne fob Black Sea, but these prices were called barely workable by the market participants."I do not see the markets that are ready...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday December 14. China  The domestic ferro-chrome spot price was unchanged from last week after sellers were heard to have become unwilling to cut their prices further because the current price level has left them limited room for profits.  The imported charge chrome market was lackluster. Sel...Read More

The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday December 14:Noble alloysMolybdenum Europe drummed molybdic oxide, $/lb: $12.10-12.20 per lb from $12.20-12.30Molybdenum US canned molybdic oxide, $/Ib $12.20-12.30 per Ib from $12.30-12.40Ferro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg Mo: $28.80-29.00 per kg from $29.20-29.40Ferro-vanadium basis...Read More

Manganese ore prices dropped by as much as 8% on Friday December 14 after miners slashed offer prices to entice cautious buyers before the end of the year. Fastmarkets MB's 37% manganese ore index, fob Port Elizabeth dropped by 53 cents to $5.50 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu)Fastmarkets MB's 37% manganese ore index, cif Tianjin dropped 51 cents to $6.22 per dmtu.Fastmarkets MB's 44% ma...Read More

Chinese domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate prices moved up slightly on Thursday December 13 on reduced producer stocks near the end of the year whilst lithium hydroxide prices softened week on week on slow demand. Lithium carbonate prices moved slightly up due to lower availability near the end of the year.  Lithium hydroxide prices dropped on slow demand and lower offers from prod...Read More

Tianqi's recent purchase of a stake in SQM is the latest in a series of deals showing how participants at different stages of the supply chain are opting to strengthen their position through vertical partnerships. Meanwhile, consumers are keen to lock in feedstock supply through offtake agreements. The global lithium industry is growing rapidly, but at the same time competition is consolidating, w...Read More

Major steel mills in China have concluded their ferro-silicon tenders for December at levels similar to those in November, Fastmarkets MB has learned. Both Hebei Steel, the country's largest mill, and Jiangsu Shagang last week released their tender purchase prices for ferro-silicon this month. Hebei Steel's latest tender price is 7,010 yuan ($1,013) per tonne for December, for 5,100 tonnes of ferr...Read More

There was little activity in the pig iron market in the United States this week because buyers were cautiously optimistic about the possibility of a price reduction.Fastmarkets' import price assessment for pig iron in the US  was $370-380 per tonne cfr on Friday December 14, down from $375-385 per tonne cfr a week earlier. The most recent booking of CIS-origin material in the US was hear...Read More

Turkish steel producers have ended another week without making any deep-sea purchases because of the continued lack of demand for finished steel in the country's domestic and export markets, sources said on Friday December 14.Domestic mills have been holding back from scrap purchases for three weeks now, with only one cargo booked since November 23, which was a European cargo at an average price o...Read More

The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India fell this this week, reflecting lower offer prices to entice buyers, market participants said on Friday December 14.Fastmarkets MB's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $337.50 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on December 14, down from $342.78 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on December 7.Offers ranged from $330 to $345...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices surged above the $70 per tonne cfr mark on Friday December 14 amid bullish trading in both physical and futures markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $70.74 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.09 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $70.54 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $3.62 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $72.17 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.29 per tonne.MB 58%...Read More

Interest in Singapore Exchange's (SGX) high-grade iron ore derivative was robust in the second week of trading, with 7,000 lots traded and cleared by 5.53pm Singapore time on Friday December 14.This accounts for 700,000 tonnes traded and cleared this week as of 5.53pm Singapore time, according to SGX data.Trading was done in each calendar month from January 2019 to June 2019 this week, in line wit...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 oreRio Tinto, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), 170,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, sold at $69.40 per tonne cfr China,...Read More

The divide between cfr China and fob Australia prices widened further on Friday December 14 amid persistent concerns over potential supply disruptions.A cargo of a top Australian brand was traded at $208.20 per tonne cfr China during the day, various sources told Fastmarkets. A cargo of a similar brand had changed hands at $230 per tonne fob Australia just a day earlier.The Abbot Point Coal Termin...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices continued to rise on Friday December 14, capping a week of gains that appears to have led to a drop in trading activity in the export market. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,830 yuan ($555-557) per tonne, up 30-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,620-3,630 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonnePrices rose further due to buyers constantly...Read More