Chilean copper commission Cochilco has increased its forecast for the average copper price this year to $2.62 per lb, from $2.40 per lb previously, due to the recovery in the Chinese economy and a drop in inventories, it said on Thursday August 6.For next year, however, Cochilco has reduced its average copper price estimate to $2.85 per lb, from the $2.90 per lb it published in its previous market...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday August 6, nearing resistance at $14,500 per tonne despite moderate turnover, while lead futures continued to rise against a positive forward curve.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $14,478 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $14,290 per tonne, while turn...Read More
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange were trading consistently higher than $1,700 per tonne this week, for the first time since the start of 2020. But with market fundamentals poor, and a challenging global macroeconomic backdrop going into 2021, market participants were uncertain whether the uptrend would be sustainable.The three-month aluminium price rose to $1,782.50 per tonne on Wedne...Read More
Turkish billet prices continued to increase over the past week on rising imported scrap values, however, demand for the material was limited, sources said on Thursday August 6.Export billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to increase this week in line with higher offers from mills, which global rising import scrap costs supported.Suppliers in the CIS raised their...Read More
Turkish domestic rebar prices have increased sharply over the past week in response to rising scrap costs and a weakening lira, sources said on Thursday August 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 3,670-3,770 lira ($523-537) per tonne on Thursday, up from 3,550-3,600 lira per tonne last week, including 18% VAT.The mills in the Istanbul,...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have increased over the past week amid rising imported scrap costs, but demand was still poor, sources said on Thursday August 6.Turkish steel mills raised their offers for rebar exports to $435-440 per tonne fob on actual weight basis, around $5 per tonne higher than last week, however, customers were only bidding at $420-425 per tonne for the material, Fa...Read More
The prices for steel billet imports and domestically produced steel rebar were stable in Egypt in the week to Thursday August 6, because of the Eid al-Adha religious holiday that ended on August 3 and the resulting reduced demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Most market participants were still on holiday on Thursday and, with rebar consumption already subdued, there was hardly any buying activit...Read More
Most Turkish flat steel prices increased over the month of July, and market participants expect further price increases because of global price trends. Turkish flat steel producers are fully booked until late-September. The market was active for most of July but working days were limited because of national holidays during the month, including Democracy Day on July 15 and Eid al-Adha on July 30- A...Read More
Brazil-based steelmaker Gerdau expects the metal spread in its North America division to remain stable in the coming months after the company was able to secure ferrous scrap at competitive prices, chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said on Wednesday August 5.The company's metal spread - the premium between finished steel prices and scrap costs - averaged $415 per short ton in North America d...Read More
Turkey exported 616,565 tonnes of flat steel products in June 2020 up by 73.31% year on year from 355,753 tonnes in June 2019, according to the latest report from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).The country exported 2,694,952 tonnes of flat steel in January-June 2020, down by 11.29% from the 3,037,796 tonnes exported in the first six months of 2019.Additionally, Turkey's flat steel export...Read More
Iron ore output in Peru reached 393,741 tonnes in June 2020, after two months with no production, according to the country's mining and energy ministry.The country's iron ore production was halted during April and May because of government-imposed measures intended to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.On an annual comparison, June's iron ore production fell by 57.60% from the 927,601 ton...Read More
The Turkish steel mills have continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for September shipments at escalating prices, sources said on Thursday August 6.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $283 per tonne, shredded at $288 per tonne and bonus at $293 per tonne cfr. The cargo breakdown was not clear, but the normal cargo size from this supplier...Read More
Activity in the bulk import market for steel scrap sold to Bangladesh has increased over the past week, with fresh buying interest in Japan- and US-origin material, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 6.Market chatter on Thursday centered on fresh bids for Japan-origin scrap in bulk and renewed activity in the deep-sea import market for US West Coast scrap, at higher prices than the...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Heavy rains in China, which can negatively affect iron ore supplies and pig iron production, and bolster demand for scrap, continued in July 2020. Although this was more an upside risk to our bearish base case one month ago, Chinese scrap prices remained strong. The firm prices gained support from the rains and from a more g...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices were flat day on day on Thursday August 6 due to a lack of transactions, while market participants held that seaborne premium prices would be relatively stable short term, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $105.91 per tonne, down $0.10 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $116.38 per tonne, up $0.08 per to...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Thursday August 6 amid better weather conditions in eastern China and the return of demand from the construction sector, according to trader sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.27 per tonne, up by $3.17 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.18 per tonne, up by $2.84 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qi...Read More
Blockchain technology can help the global iron ore industry thrive amid the headwinds encountered by steelmaking countries around the world, according to Singapore's DBS Bank."Much of the iron ore industry remains mired in antiquity with many processes still done manually, which gives rise to the risks of human error and a lack of data transparency across the supply chain," its group head of trade...Read More
Export prices for bulk cargoes of Japanese scrap extended their upward movement for a fourth week ahead of an extended holiday period, market sources told Fastmarkets in recent days.Japanese scrap sellers continued to sell cargoes to Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea over the past week, while negotiations were also taking place involving buyers in Bangladesh following increased demand in the South A...Read More
China's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil edged up on Thursday August 6, but the arrival of imports is increasing supply pressure for re-rolling grades of the flat steel product.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,070-4,080 yuan ($586-587) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said trading activity was thin during the day after sellers raised prices.But most market participants...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price continued to trade in positive territory during the morning session on Thursday August 6, with ongoing weakness in the dollar index supporting buying momentum, while a surge in German manufacturing orders spurred hopes of economic recovery in Europe. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently at $14,390 per tonne, dipping slightly below the n...Read More