Trading activity in the Commonwealth of Independent States' export long steel market remained sluggish in the week to Wednesday August 25 amid slow demand from Europe due to holidays in the region as well as continuing competition with Turkish suppliers.Turkish steel producers decreased their export offers for rebar to $680-695 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis last week, against $695-705 pe...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? US sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum persisting into June. Actual US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $1,553 per ton in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,540 per ton. Prices remain supported by strong underlying sup...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe moved down slightly in the week to Wednesday August 25 with sentiment among buyers turning negative, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers believed that prices would go down because of the sharp decline in iron ore costs last week, competitive import offers and the continuing shortage of semiconductors, which was limiting car manufacture."Automotive product...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 25 that are worth another look.The global markets for containerized freight have entered even deeper water in recent weeks, with closures at the key port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in China leading to worsening cargo delays, port congestion and a further...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat on Wednesday August 25 due to the quiet summer market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,644-1,679) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.Trading remains low during the summer holidays - participants have not yet returne...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have slipped below $96 per hundredweight ($1,920 per short ton), with some participants indicating that the market was stalling temporarily before spot offers open from September.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $95.31 per cwt ($1,906.20 per ton) on Wednesday August 25, down by 1.28% from $96.55 per cwt on Tu...Read More
Nickel premiums were unchanged in both the United States and China in the week to Tuesday August 24, with higher levels of spot business reported in Asia due to an opened arbitrage window between London and Shanghai.US 4x4 cut cathode premium steady, after rising by 11.1% in the previous week with market participants awaiting price direction.Spot activity up in Asia on an open arbitrage window bet...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 24 that are worth another look....Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange, backed by a constrained physical market, was just $5.50 per tonne short of its latest year-to-date high on Tuesday August 24, with nickel and zinc also climbing back above key psychological levels while most commodities and equities ticked upward.Aluminium's futures contract showed an intraday high of $2,636.50 per tonne on Tuesday, just...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap import markets for the second working day of the week amid limited finished steel sales, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 24.The most recent deep-sea trade was reported at the end of the week to August 20, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a United States cargo composed of 20,000 tonnes of HMS...Read More
A summary of China's base metals imports for July 2021, according to Chinese customs data released on Friday August 20.Copper ore and concentrateJuly total: 1.89 tonnes, up by 12.9% month on month, up by 5.1% year on yearYear to date: 13.39 million tonnes, down by 10% year on yearRefined copperJuly total: 270,054 tonnes, down by 2.6% month on month, down by 52.5% year on yearYear to date: 2.07 mil...Read More
As the world's media spotlight falls on Afghanistan, Fastmarkets looks at why reported claims of incoming Chinese mining deals are unlikely to be fulfilled soon.Mes Aynak, Afghanistan's most well-known copper project, means "small copper deposit" in Pashto. Indications suggest it is anything but.The deposit holds 240 million tonnes of 2.3% grade copper ore, according to the United States Geologica...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were fairly stable in Northern Europe and Italy on Tuesday August 24 with both buyers and sellers holding back from trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers started to return to the market this week after a slow period earlier in August, but no deals have been heard yet because the buyers wanted to assess the market trend first.They believed that the de...Read More
As the world's media spotlight falls on Afghanistan, Fastmarkets looks at why reported claims of incoming Chinese mining deals are unlikely to be fulfilled soon.Mes Aynak, Afghanistan's most well-known copper project, means "small copper deposit" in Pashto. Indications suggest it is anything but.The deposit holds 240 million tonnes of 2.3% grade copper ore, according to the United States Geologica...Read More
A summary of the financial and performance results for China Molybdenum for the first half of 2021, published on Monday August 23.In briefRevenue from the company's mining and processing business totaled 84.82 billion yuan ($13.07 billion) in the first half of 2021, up by 81.45% year-on-year. Net profit was 2.41 billion...Read More
A summary of the financial and performance results for China Molybdenum for the first half of 2021, published on Monday August 23.In briefRevenue from the company's mining and processing business totaled 84.82 billion yuan ($13.07 billion) in the first half of 2021, up by 81.45% year-on-year. Net profit was 2.41 billion...Read More
Domestic prices for steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District widened downward by 3,500 roubles ($47) per tonne in the week to Monday August 23.Oversupply and an export duty were the main reasons for another round of price decline that began on July 19. The recent downward trend has been in line with market expectations, however, with market participants describing it as predictable and con...Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday August 24, and their latest price moves.ChinaThe UG2 chrome ore market was inactive; most participants waited for the release of September ferro-chrome tender prices from major stainless steel mills. Although ore consumption ramped up following improved power supply in Inner Mongolia, many smelters sti...Read More
Domestic rebar producers in the United Arab Emirates reduced their prices on Tuesday August 24 amid low demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was low because of the summer slowdown and falling prices; buyers preferred to wait to determine how much further prices will fall.The country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, offered rebar at 2,610 dirhams ($710.46) per tonne, down from 2,957 dirh...Read More
Prices for hot- and cold-rolled steel sheet and heavy plate in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow continued to fall in the week ended Monday August 23, sources have told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled sheet and heavy plate prices decreased by 3-5% week on week, while the drop for cold-rolled sheet prices was more pronounced at 10% week on week.Opinions varied about why this happened. One trad...Read More