Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States rose above $98 per hundredweight ($1,960 per short ton) to a new record, with buyers projecting that an upcoming spate of mill shutdowns for maintenance will further tighten steel supplies.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $98.11 per cwt ($1,962.20 per ton) on Friday September 17, up by 0.57% from $97.55 per cw...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves in the week to Friday September 17.Jessica Long, Ruby Liu and Carrie Shi in Shanghai, Fola Malomo,...Read More
The price range for light iron scrap in the UK widened upward during the week to Friday September 17, with major processors seeking to attract enough feedstock into their yards to keep their scrap-processing machines working cost-effectively, trade sources have said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?170-190 ($235...Read More
The upward trend in China's domestic rebar prices came to an end on Friday September 17, mainly due to a drop in demand for replenishment stocks, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,580-5,620 yuan ($865-871) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 5,300-5,340 yuan per tonne, up by 50-60 yuan per tonneEnd-user demand in eastern China was stable on Fr...Read More
Demand for ferrous scrap imports among Vietnamese steelmakers surged in the week to Friday September 17 amid healthy order books for billet exports.A 20,000-tonne bulk cargo of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) from the United States West Coast was sold at $505 per tonne cfr Vietnam to an induction furnace-based steelmaker on Monday, a few market sources told Fastmarkets.The cargo also includes 10,0...Read More
Brazilian aluminium smelter Albras expects to double its output of primary foundry alloy (PFA) in 2021 over the volume in 2020, and to reach 10,000 tonnes by the end of the year, the company said on Wednesday September 15.Albras launched PFA products in 2019, and has invested in technology and workforce skill qualification to increase output in each year since then.One of the newest examples, it s...Read More
Steel billet exporters are finding resistance in making sales to the Chinese market at higher prices over recent days following another barrage of bookings at the start of the week, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday September 17.Several hundred thousand tonnes of imported billet were heard sold to China through the weekend and into the beginning of the week before activity paused on T...Read More
Growing congestion at southern California ports is disrupting loading and unloading activities, thereby restricting ferrous scrap shipments to Taiwan and further boosting prices, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for containerized steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) US material import, cfr main port Taiwan was $460 per tonne on Friday September 17, unchanged from T...Read More
Prices for steel billet exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States remained firm over past the week, supported by demand from China.Having sold a significant part of their October allocations and even part of their November allocations to China in the week to September 3, CIS mills were mainly in wait-and-see mode and not hurrying to sell their remaining volumes.Rare indications of offers...Read More
Rising freight rates continued to push the import prices for flat-rolled steel products upward in South America in the week ended Friday September 17, despite offers from China remaining scarce and demand slowing down, especially in Brazil.Some market participants reported that freight rates were $20-30 per tonne higher, depending on the port of origin and the product. For coiled material, for exa...Read More
The price range for light iron scrap in the UK widened upward during the week to Friday September 17, with major processors seeking to attract enough feedstock into their yards to keep their scrap-processing machines working cost-effectively, trade sources have said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?170-190 ($235...Read More
Senior executives from 17 companies and industry association European Aluminium have called on the European Commission (EC) to move forward with anti-dumping duties on aluminium flat-rolled products (FRP) imports from China. In a letter sent on Wednesday September 15, the signatories said that planned definitive anti-dumping duties on Chinese FRP are balanced, fair and critical to the survival of...Read More
Global scrap prices diverged in the week to Friday September 17, with the Asian and US scrap markets reporting gains, while Turkey tried to recover the previous weeks' losses in its most recent purchases.Turkish mills book handful of cargoesRecent cargoes see higher export prices on US marketVietnam prices jump on higher export ordersChinese scrap prices dip on winter pollution controlsTaiwan scra...Read More
Base metals price movements on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on Friday September 17 following a week marked by volatility, with copper, nickel and lead down, the last-named having been under selling pressure for most of the past five days.Nickel's three-month price reached $20,245 per tonne on Friday, while its volumes were at their highest since the start of the week, with more than 11,400...Read More
Trading activity in the import pig iron market in the United States slowed in the week ended Friday September 17, while the market remains firm, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $530-540 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week."I have not seen any activity...Read More
Trading activity in the import pig iron market in the United States slowed in the week ended Friday September 17, while the market remains firm, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $530-540 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week."I have not seen any activity...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil were stable in the week ended Friday September 17 amid slow negotiations and diverging trends in raw materials costs.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was unchanged at $870-880 per tonne on Friday.The flat steel market in the United States, which is the main buyer of Brazilian slab, continued to be strong. Hot-rolled...Read More
Global scrap prices diverged in the week to Friday September 17, with the Asian and US scrap markets reporting gains, while Turkey tried to recover the previous weeks' losses in its most recent purchases.Turkish mills book handful of cargoesRecent cargoes see higher export prices on US marketVietnam prices jump on higher export ordersChinese scrap prices dip on winter pollution controlsTaiwan scra...Read More
China's nickel pig iron (NPI) prices held steady in the week to Friday September 17 amid nationwide production cuts while those for nickel ore surged amid increased freight and tight supply.Fastmarkets price assessment for nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China was 1,430-1,450 yuan ($222-225) per nickel unit on Friday, unchanged from a week earlier.Prices have been unchang...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Cristina Belda,...Read More