Turkish export prices for steel rebar and wire rod have remained steady over the past week, but mills were trying for higher prices due to firmer costs for scrap raw material, sources said on Thursday August 27.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $430-440 per tonne fob on Thursday, unchanged from last week.Rebar export offers we...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have taken a break from deep-sea scrap purchases after booking a number of cargoes earlier in the week, sources said on Thursday August 27.The mills in Turkey booked six deep-sea scrap cargoes from various destinations at slightly higher prices this week, totalling around 220,000 tonnes.The most recent bookings brought the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price to $287.50 per tonne cfr...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the year 2020 to date in late August, the Fastmarkets 62% Fe iron ore benchmark has powered along and reached six-year highs, supported by Chinese demand, and despite the global economic uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Iron ore demand has weakened almost everywhere except in China, where it has continued to...Read More
Prices for bulk cargoes of scrap imported to Bangladesh moved up again over the last week with offer prices from key exporters on the rise, market participants told Fastmarkets.At least two mills have been shopping around the market for bulk cargoes this week, Fastmarkets understands, with offer prices from both Japan and the United States at higher levels than last week.Sellers in the US West Coa...Read More
Iron ore fines prices declined on Thursday August 27, with market sources saying that the further restrictions on sintering in the Tangshan area of northern China have depressed trading sentiment.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $122.22 per tonne, down $1.98 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.69 per tonne, down $1.96 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were relatively flat across the board despite recent transactions done in the fob market, although market participants agreed that India alone cannot support the premium for mid-volatility hard coking coal prices for long. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $105.92 per tonne, up $0.01 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $114.70 per tonn...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 applies. Fastmarkets assessed...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade 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 assessed...Read More
The publication of Fastmarkets' European cobalt price assessments for August 27 will be delayed because of a technical issue.Fastmarkets' pricing database, MInD, will be updated at the earliest possible moment to reflect the below assessments for the following prices: MB-CO-0004 Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbAugust 26 price: $15.25-15.70 per lbAugust 27 price: $15.25-15.70 per lbMB-CO-...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in China on Wednesday August 26. Key driversSome producers continued to raise their offer prices while several others held back from offering, and therefore limited the availability of spot cargoes.A number of consumers in the magnet sector asked around only to find it is difficult to source material and had to accept some high offers to meet prompt produ...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Shanghai on Wednesday August 26. Key driversDomestic suppliers raised their offer prices significantly following substantial gains in the futures market.The September indium contract on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange closed at 1,198 yuan ($173.75) per kg on August 26, up by 24.8% from 960 yuan per kg at the close on August 19.A number of consumers w...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices maintained their upward momentum in the week ended Wednesday August 26, after major mills in the country sharply increased their ex-works prices.Costlier nickel also provided support to the stainless steel market.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday's official trading session at $15,077 per tonne, up by $319 per tonne...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points in pre-opening tradeU.S. equity indices were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM. Consensus for July Personal Income was an ease of 0.2% versus a decline of 1.1% in June. Actual was a gain of 0.4% Consensus for July Personal Spending was an increase of 1.5% versus an increase of...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 26 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel producer Usiminas has restarted its No1 blast furnace (BF) in Ipatinga city, in the country's southeastern Minas Gerais state, it said on August 26.Following recent concerns on the...Read More
Global tin premiums were static in the week to Tuesday August 25, with the metal's subdued three-month price on the London Metal Exchange doing little to spur buying activity, while a returning backwardation and concerns over tight supply further limited interest in spot sales.Backwardation pressure keeps European market quietUS market eyes upside amid falling stocksImport losses cool Chinese buyi...Read More
The three-month nickel and tin prices on the London Metal Exchange were the standout performers at the close of trading on Wednesday August 26, with an 11.2% uptick in US durable goods orders supporting the base-metals complex.Meanwhile, steady buying in LME copper futures saw the metal's outright price approach key resistance at $6,600 per tonne.Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $15,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 26 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel producer Usiminas has restarted its No1 blast furnace (BF) in Ipatinga city, in the country's southeastern Minas Gerais state, it said on August 26.Following recent concerns on the...Read More
UK secondary aluminium prices continued to rise on Wednesday August 26, with a regional supply squeeze pushing LM24 ingot prices above the levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic began.The UK secondary aluminium market has suffered considerably as a result of Covid-19 and its associated industrial lockdown.All related UK industry effectively ground to a halt in March when carmakers, the main cons...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.These include an increase in our copper mine disruption estimates, upgrades to our production outlook for Indonesian nickel pig iron (NPI), a smaller refined zinc surplus, and an upgrade to our zinc price forecasts.Aluminium: Big disconnect between price and fundamentalsAluminium has extended its uptrend on the London Metal...Read More
China imported 417,263 tonnes of alumina in July, up 109% year on year from 200,000 tonnes in July 2019, according to Chinese customs data released on Tuesday August 25. Alumina imports in July were also 1.3% or 5,310 tonnes higher than the 422,573 tonnes recorded in June, renewing June's record for the highest monthly alumina imports since February 2016. China has imported 2.33 million tonne...Read More