Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were fairly stable day on day on Friday October 2, while buyers have stepped out of the market due to long lead times for material, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?491.03 ($576.55) per tonne on Friday October 2, up by ?,?0.26 per tonne from ?,?490.77 per tonne on...Read More
The import pig iron market in the United States softened again during the week to Friday October 2 amid a global slowdown, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, softened to $370-375 per tonne on Friday, from $380-387 per tonne one week earlier."The US market [for pig iron] is very quiet these days and, with...Read More
The price of shredded scrap imported into India dipped again in the week to Friday October 2 on negative market sentiment resulting from uncertainty in the Turkish scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India at $308.27 per tonne on Friday, down from $ 309.58 per tonne one week prior and the third consecutive move lo...Read More
Brazil's export pig iron market declined over the week to Friday October 2 on weaker market demand in China, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets assessed the price of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil at $352-353 per tonne on Friday, down from $360-370 per tonne one week earlier.The only sale heard during the week was done...Read More
The market for inter-merchant light iron scrap in the UK was steady for the third consecutive week on Friday October 2, with tighter supplies meeting firm demand from major shredders, industry sources told Fastmarkets.The supply issues were due to lower volumes being generated from heavy industry while the demand was for material to be used as feedstock in the steelmaking sector, they added.Fastma...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued booking deep-sea scrap at the end of the week after achieving lower deal prices, sources said on Friday October 2.A steel mill in the Marmara region paid $289 per tonne cfr for a Baltic Sea cargo of HMS 1&2 (80:20), while another mill in the same region booked two European cargoes at $284 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis. ...Read More
A new judicial ruling has allowed Vale to reopen the concentration plant at its Viga iron ore mine, in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state, after six days of downtime, the company said on Thursday October 1.The judge at the Entre Rios de Minas court determined that the city of Jeceaba, where the mine is located, was to issue the necessary permits for Vale to use the B7 dam for tailings dispos...Read More
Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market was muted on Friday October 2, which was the second day of China's "golden week" holiday marking the country's 71st national day.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $137.71 per tonne, up by $3.16 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $145.10 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $114.02 per tonne, up by $1....Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were flat on Friday October 2 during the Chinese holiday, however, US president Donald Trump's positive Covid-19 test result caused panic in the markets and iron ore swaps went down again, sources said. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.47 per tonne, unchanged62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.49 per tonne, unchanged58% Fe fines high-gra...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price dipped during morning trading on Friday October 2, down by 1.5% against continued selling pressure, while a slight recovery in copper buying led the red metal's price back above the $6,300-per-tonne threshold. LME nickel's outright price was recently at $14,085 per tonne on Friday morning, falling from $14,343 per tonne at Thursday's close, while...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker this morning, Friday October 2, but our focus is on the broader markets because US President Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19, which in itself is a major development, but is also going to have ramifications on the run-up to the presidential election on November 3.Pre-market major western equity index futures...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it...Read More
The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets...Read More
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 was expected to be an important year for the rollout of 5G networks, with more operator launches globally and declining prices for smartphones and other 5G devices.While the rollout has been disrupted in the short term, the increase in remote working caused by lockdown measures has underscored the need for greater bandwidth capacity along with fast and reliable...Read More
Umicore will consolidate its production of cobalt-derived chemicals in Europe and the United States, the company said on Wednesday September 30.The Belgian speciality chemicals company will move its cobalt refining capacities from the Olen plant in Belgium to the Kokkola refinery in Finland.The move to "one of the largest cobalt refineries globally" will allow "the business unit to produce at a la...Read More
Europe's monthly alloy steel surcharges for October have surged from September levels on significantly higher nickel costs, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 2.Fastmarkets' stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304, alloy surcharge, domestic, Europe was calculated at ?,?1,456-1,462 ($1,710-1,716) per tonne for October, up by ?,?85-89 per tonne from the September range.The average Lo...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in September 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for August, July, June, May, April, March,...Read More
Prices for cargoes of steel scrap imported to Vietnam held largely stable in the week to Friday October 2 following a reduction in volumes offered by Japan. Participants in Taiwan and South Korea have been away from the market for much of the week due to their Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, leaving only Vietnam among major purchasers of Japan scrap, but no new deals were heard closed this week. Off...Read More
Import prices for containerized ferrous scrap in the key Taiwanese market were unchanged in the week to October 2 due to a major holiday in the territory, sources said.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for containerized cargoes of steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), US material import, cfr main port Taiwan was $270 per tonne on Friday October 2, unchanged from Thursday and down by $2-5 per tonne from...Read More