Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Friday October 9 after the return of active trading from Chinese market participants and post-holiday restocking activities, trade sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.72 per tonne, up $2.25 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.79 per tonne, up $2.30 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $116....Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday October 9, with China quiet due to the week-long Golden Week holiday. Europe The European market was steady over the week, consolidating gains from the week prior when prices tipped ?,?1,000 per tonne, a high last seen...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The US Midwest aluminium premium fell slightly on Friday October 9, after some traders revised offers down following a contraction on the London Metals Exchange's (LME) aluminium spreads and an uncertain market outlook.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US at 12-13.5 cents per lb on October 9, down 3.7% from 12.5-14 cents per lb where it had been steady for over a week....Read More
The United States Department of Commerce issued affirmative preliminary determinations in its anti-dumping duty investigations on common alloy aluminium sheet imports from 18 countries, following the department's affirmative countervailing duty determinations for four of those countries in August."The Department's aluminum sheet investigations constitute the broadest US trade enforcement action in...Read More
Prices of secondary aluminium scrap edged upward week on week in the United States as a result of tightening supply and growing spot demand, sources told Fastmarkets."I have had a lot of offers, but prices are way too high to have any margin," one buyer said.Fastmarkets assessed the buying prices for old sheet, delivered to Midwest secondary smelters and old cast, delivered to Midwest secondary sm...Read More
The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange rallied at the close of trading on Friday October 9, with a steady decline in the US dollar index supporting a flurry of Asian buying, while a similar upsurge in aluminium saw the metal close at its highest price since July 2019.Nickel's outright price closed at $15,221 per tonne in the afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $14,665 p...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index edged up on Friday October 9 amid thin trading observed during China's Golden Week holiday that ended on Thursday.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific was at $45.60 per tonne/4.56 cents per lb on Friday, up from $45 per tonne 4.5 cents per lb on October 2.Parcels of concentrates...Read More
Production at Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil will ramp back up now that maintenance at the Paragominas bauxite mine has finished, the producer said on Friday October 9. "On October 8, Hydro resumed operation of the pipeline transporting bauxite from Hydro Paragominas bauxite mine to the Hydro Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil," Hydro said. Production at Paragominas bauxite mine has...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Deliverable zinc stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses increased the most in percentage terms by 3% or 1,423 tonnes to 49,370 tonnes in the week to Friday October 9.The main inflows came into the R&S Logistics warehouse in Shanghai - which received 1,134 tonnes to total 4,418 tonnes on October 9, up from 3,284 tonnes the week before - and the Kangyun Xiaoshan warehouse in Zheji...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States strengthened for the ninth consecutive week, with market participants increasingly anticipating tight spot availability to persist into 2021. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was at $39.50 per hundredweight ($790 per short ton) on Thursday October 8, up by 1.3% from $39 per...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Poland were stable in the week to October 9, despite a slowdown in buying activity, with producers reluctant to cut prices due to short supplies, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday.Buying activity in Poland slowed down after widespread restocking last week, they added.Customer were asking for lower prices due to a decline in scrap costs, but producers...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe moved down day on day on Friday October 9 amid slow trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers have been largely holding back from making new deals until a further price trend becomes clear. Domestic HRC prices, however, are unlikely to move down substantially, market sources said.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel HRC index, domest...Read More
Indian domestic prices for secondary steel billet have gone up by 400 rupees ($5) per tonne week on week following rises in the costs of raw materials such as direct-reduced iron (DRI).The price of steel billet, domestic, exw India, was assessed by Fastmarkets on Friday October 9 at 29,700-29,900 rupees ($403-406) per tonne, compared with 29,300-29,500 rupees per tonne last week."Billet prices had...Read More
Scrap prices across the global markets moved down in the week ended Friday October 9, largely due to Turkey's return to the market, although making purchases at lower prices than previously.Turkish steel mills purchase cargoes at lower pricesUS export market follows Turkish leadVietnam reports thin tradingTaiwanese scrap import market dips ahead of holidayIndian material booked at lower prices.Tur...Read More
The price of austenitic stainless steel scrap in the UK domestic market edged up this week on higher nickel costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 9. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment of stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?850-900 ($1,000-1,058) per tonne on Friday, up by ?20 from ?830-880 per tonne a week ago.Read More
The import pig iron market in the United States was calm during the week to Friday October 9 with both buyers and sellers preferring to wait and see where the Chinese market will turn after their return from the Golden Week holiday.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $370-375 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week."Nothing has happened this week [in...Read More
Brazil's export pig iron market was quiet in the week to Friday October 9 because market participants in China were away for the National Day holiday and due to long lead times for delivery, sources said. Fastmarkets assessed the price of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil at $352-355 per tonne on Friday, widening upward from $352-353 per tonne one week earlier. Offers for Braz...Read More
Prices in the market for inter-merchant light iron scrap in the UK softened over the week to Friday October 9 after a steady run since September 11, industry sources have told Fastmarkets.Weaker conditions in the European steel scrap export markets to Turkey and the Indian subcontinent have pulled British domestic offer prices downward, they said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scra...Read More