The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Thursday October 8, breaching nearby resistance levels amid growing concerns over instability at Malaysian commodities hub Port Klang, while the metal's forward curve continued to shrink into the afternoon.Aluminium's outright price on the LME closed at $1,804 per tonne on Thursday af...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were fairly stable day on day Thursday October 8 as buyers held back from making new deals, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?496.35 ($583.31) per tonne on October 8, down by ?,?1.15 per tonne from ?,?497.50 per tonne on Wednesday October 7.Still, the index wa...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 8 that are worth another look.The European Commission (EC) has set definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of hot-rolled flat stainless steel products from Indonesia, China and Taiwan, it announced in a document published on Tuesday October 6.Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Thursday October 8, breaching nearby resistance levels amid growing concerns over instability at Malaysian commodities hub Port Klang, while the metal's forward curve continued to shrink into the afternoon.Aluminium's outright price on the LME closed at $1,804 per tonne on Thursday af...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices in the fob Australia market fell on Thursday October 8 amid limited demand, especially with China being absent, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $135.12 per tonne, down $2.48 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $145.10 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $111.02 per tonne, down $2.50 per tonneHard coking coal,...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer during morning trading on Thursday October 8, with hopes of an impending US stimulus package supporting the complex, while a fresh cancellation of 260 tonnes kept LME tin futures firmly above $18,000 per tonne. Nickel's underlying price on the LME was recently trading at $14,760 per tonne, climbing just over 1.5%...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Although we correctly forecast a significant rise in hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in the United States in September 2020, our price forecast proved too conservative.An impressive V-shaped recovery in key economic fundamentals critical to steel consumption is driving stronger demand for steel at the start of the fourth quarte...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the iron ore market, supply issues including heavy rains at the start of the year, followed by staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected exports from Brazil. This has helped Australia gain a larger market share, but since June, Brazilian export volumes have returned to levels last seen before the...Read More
Turkish domestic long steel prices have been giving mixed signals between the effects of falling scrap costs and the weakening of the country's lira, sources said on Thursday October 8.Domestic rebar prices have gone down due to weak demand and the negative sentiment in the scrap markets, despite the weakening lira pushing them upward.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar...Read More
Vale New Caledonia (VNC) will cease operations at the onset of 2021, parent company Vale's chief financial officer Luciano Siani Pires said on Thursday October 8.The news comes exactly one month after the asset's proposed sale to Australian zinc miner New Century Resources fell through.Vale announced its failure to successfully negotiate the sale of a 95% stake in VNC to the Australian miner on Se...Read More
Premiums for P1020-grade aluminium in Rotterdam have fallen in the week to Thursday October 8, with recent stock cancellations and a Covid-19-related lockdown in Port Klang, Malaysia, creating narrower spreads on the London Metal Exchange.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dup Rotterdam, at $110-120 per tonne on Thursday, down from a two-year high of $115-120 per tonne last...Read More
Peruvian copper production volumes fell back into decline in August due to lower output from Southern Peru Copper Corp and Antamina, but the country continued to produce more zinc and tin, according to data from the ministry of energy and mines, Minem, published on Wednesday October 7.Peru produced 193,852 tonnes of copper in August, a 10% year-on-year decrease from 215,426 tonnes. Output was also...Read More
The world's largest metals stockpile is becoming more difficult to finance. That is a problem for those who trade it, and for metal markets in general.Shanghai's Yangshan bonded zone is currently home to at least 245,000 tonnes of copper, more than double the amount housed in all London Metal Exchange warehouses combined, as well as heaps of nickel, zinc and aluminium worth $2.1-2.3 billion at tod...Read More
Members of the Mine Workers Union at Candelaria, a Chilean copper-gold-silver mine 80%-owned by Lundin Mining, have decided to go on strike after a 5-day mediation for labor negotiations ended without success, the company said late on Wednesday October 7.According to the mining company, the trade union represents about 350 workers. The previous labor agreement with them expired on September 30. No...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer during morning trading on Thursday October 8, with hopes of an impending US stimulus package supporting the complex, while a fresh cancellation of 260 tonnes kept LME tin futures firmly above $18,000 per tonne. Nickel's underlying price on the LME was recently trading at $14,760 per tonne, climbing just over 1.5%...Read More
Steel billet prices in Turkey have been falling over the past seven days due to limited demand and a downturn in scrap values, sources said on Thursday October 8.Turkish steel mills had been staying away from deep-sea scrap purchasing since the week prior, especially with China absent from the market. The country's steelmakers booked three deep-sea cargoes at the end of last week, putting the HMS...Read More
ArcelorMittal will permanently close its Krakow steelworks' hot area due to the dramatic effects of Covid-19 on the European steel market, but coke plant and rolling mills will remain operational, the company said on Thursday October 8. ArcelorMittal said that despite the recent rebound in steel demand in Europe, it remains considerably below pre-pandemic levels. "The Covid-19 pandemic has had unp...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices were stable in Egypt in the week to Thursday, October 8 while demand failed to improve because buyers were expecting prices to fall, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand for rebar and billet has been slow in the country since the imposition of a construction ban on May 25. Although, the Egyptian government decided to ease the rules of the ban on September 29.Buying was wea...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have gone down over the past week on weak demand and the downturn in scrap costs, sources said on Thursday October 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey was $440-450 per tonne on October 8, down from the $455-460 per tonne of last week.Turkish steel mills were reported to have reduced their of...Read More
Limited demand is keeping European plate producers from achieving substantial transaction price increases, sources say.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was ?,?480-495 ($564-582) per tonne on Wednesday October 7, widening upward by ?,?5 per tonne from ?,?480-490 per tonne a week earlier.The assessment represents a few deals heard in the mark...Read More