Seaborne iron ore prices buckled on Tuesday October 13, amid soaring port inventories in China and weakened demand for finished steel, according to trade sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.15 per tonne, down $3.08 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.30 per tonne, down $3.14 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $112...Read More
The domestic United Arab Emirates rebar price broke the steady streak held since mid-September this week after the low end of the range fell on weak demand, sources said on Tuesday October 13.Domestic rebar The country's biggest steel producer, Emirates Steel, continued to offer rebar at 1,936 dirhams ($527) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in October, stable since September 15. Fellow...Read More
Traders in China have returned from the country's Golden Week holiday hungry for steel imports although there are significant gaps between bids and offers for major products, market participants have told Fastmarkets.Climbing Chinese steel prices, bullish sentiment over market conditions in the months ahead and production cuts in China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan are the main reasons given for C...Read More
Liberty Steel UK has started producing "green" rebar at its Rotherham mill, targeting domestic infrastructure projects, it said on Thursday October 8.The site has an electric arc furnace (EAF) and rolling mill that last week started to make what the company says is "sustainably produced" reinforcing bar that will be used to support concrete structures in major construction and infrastructure proje...Read More
The numbers of cases of Covid-19 infection have begun to grow once more across Europe, and Fastmarkets has heard the fears of various market participants about the consequences that any new restrictions or lockdowns could have for the steel sector.Earlier this year, when the Covid-19 pandemic first took hold across Europe, many countries brought in strict nationwide lockdowns, which had the effect...Read More
Brazilian iron ore producer Vale will enter into a 50:50 joint venture with China-based Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co to double capacity at the Shulanghu port in the eastern Chinese city of Zhoushan, 290 kilometers south of Shanghai, it said on Friday October 9. Capital expenditure for the project, called West III, is estimated at 4.3 billion yuan ($633 million) to install a stockyard and loading berths...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 13 that are worth another look.The numbers of cases of Covid-19 infection have begun to grow once more across Europe, and Fastmarkets has heard the fears of various market participants about the consequences that any new restrictions or lockdowns could have for...Read More
Aluminium premiums in the United States and Europe fell in the week to Tuesday October 13, with a narrowing cash/three-month contango on the London Metal Exchange and a backwardation on the December/three-month spread incentivizing market participants to sell off metal.Narrow LME spreads bring Rotterdam premium down 10% week on week.US Midwest premium also drops on narrowing contango.Main Japanese...Read More
A shortage of chrome ore in India has caused domestic alloy prices to ratchet upward but has reduced export volumes, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 13.But an expected resumption of ore production should induce Indian ferro-chrome producers to return to their traditional export markets, they added.India traditionally produces around 1.3-1.4 million tonnes per year of high-c...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday October 13.Please click...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 13 that are worth another look.The numbers of cases of Covid-19 infection have begun to grow once more across Europe, and Fastmarkets has heard the fears of various market participants about the consequences that any new restrictions or lockdowns could have for...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices with the exception of aluminium were lower at the close on Tuesday October 13, following the downward course of United States equities markets over the course of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed more than 100 points or 0.3% on Tuesday amid news that coronavirus cases in the US had exceeded 8 million on the same day. A stronger doll...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices slumped on Tuesday October 13, with the latest transactions agreed at lower prices while other participants watched the market for developments.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $125.04 per tonne, down $6.04 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $135.76 per tonne, down $4.38 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $111.02 per to...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices buckled on Tuesday October 13, amid soaring port inventories in China and weakened demand for finished steel, according to trade sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.15 per tonne, down $3.08 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.30 per tonne, down $3.14 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $112...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were fairly stable day on day on Tuesday October 13 because buyers were staying in "wait-and-see" mode until the price trend became clear, sources have told Fastmarkets.The mills, however, continued to push for higher prices because they had good order books. The majority of Northern European steelmakers claimed to be sold out for December rol...Read More
The Turkish steel mills have purchased further deep-sea scrap material at firmer prices, market sources said on Tuesday October 13.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo consisting of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $285 per tonne and bonus at $295 per tonne cfr.The supplier did not wish to disclose the composition of the cargo when contacted.This compared with the previous US cargo sold on October...Read More
Global supply chain and logistics management company Mercury Resources LLC has combined forces with major national asset-based trucking company Beemac Inc to create Mercury Transportation Solutions LLC (MTS). The joint venture results in the enlarged company becoming Mercury Group, expanding its activities from global supply chain management and consultancy to include trucking...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices with the exception of aluminium were lower at the close on Tuesday October 13, following the downward course of United States equities markets over the course of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed more than 100 points or 0.3% on Tuesday amid news that coronavirus cases in the US had exceeded 8 million on the same day. A stronger doll...Read More
Argentinian aluminium producer Aluar reached 60% of capacity utilization for primary aluminium in October after running at 50% for more than six months amid action in the country to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Friday October 9. "[We will] continue to gradually seek a production program that enables the partial resumption of the remaining capacity," Aluar stated in a filing wi...Read More
Europe's largest copper producer, Aurubis, sees sustainable copper production as a focal point for the development of the industry, safeguarding the future of copper supply while it recovers from one of the most challenging periods in history, the company's newest senior vice president of commercial, Michael Hellemann, has told Fastmarkets.The Hamburg-based copper producer's latest results stateme...Read More