A summary of BHP's financial results for the year ended June 30, as published on Tuesday August 17. Record free cash flow of $19.4 billion generated during 2021 financial year.Return on capital employed strengthened to 32.5%. Net debt at $4.1 billion on June 30. Final dividend of $2 per share, which brought BHP's returns to shareholders...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe were fairly stable in the week ended Wednesday August 18 due to seasonally low market activity during the August holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was expected to recover in September, following the traditional cycle.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?940-950 ($1,104-1,116) per to...Read More
Short supply of nickel products in the United States pushed the cut cathode premium up by more than that for briquette in the week to Tuesday August 17, while trade was still subdued in other regions, Fastmarkets has heard.US 4x4 cut cathode premium up by 11.1%Continued arbitrage losses, Covid-19 problems worry Chinese tradersEuropean premiums flat in summer holiday lull.Both US premiums rise in b...Read More
Prices for 300-series stainless steel scrap moved up once again in the United States, but some processors said that prices were too high, resulting in shrinking margins.One major processor indicated that it is "hard to get your bearings in a market like this" and that prices were still too high "given muted mill appetite."One stainless consumer has reported some production problems, resulting...Read More
Copper's price fell to its lowest level since June 21 during trading on Wednesday August 18, pushing all metals on the London Metal Exchange to a decline and causing some to drop below their support levels, while backwardations spread across the complex on cash-to-three month spreads. Risk-off sentiment prevailed on the LME during trading, in part due to a United States dollar index of 93.26 on We...Read More
Trading activity was close to zero in the European hot-rolled coil markets on Wednesday August 18, with buyers having mixed outlooks for September, when demand was expected to recover, sources have told Fastmarkets.Most of the region's buyers and producers have been holding back from trading so far during August, following traditional patterns of activity.Northern European buyers were already slow...Read More
The United States Department of Commerce ordered a final anti-dumping duty rate on sales of certain steel and alloy wire rod from Mexico shipped to US that were made at a less-than-normal value from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019, according to a notice in the Federal Register on Wednesday August 18.The order is a result of the agency's investigation into wire rod shipments to the US fr...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe were fairly stable in the week ended Wednesday August 18 due to seasonally low market activity during the August holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was expected to recover in September, following the traditional cycle.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?940-950 ($1,104-1,116) per to...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday August 18.Please click...Read More
Nearby spreads for some metals continued to be tight, while London Metal Exchange prices mostly decreased on the morning of Wednesday August 18 following the sell-off on Tuesday."The LME Index (LMEX) fell 1.2% [on Tuesday] alongside United States equity markets, which suffered the biggest decline in a month, as concerns intensified that the delta variant will weigh on growth," LME Desk analyst Ann...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States consolidated around the $96-per-hundredweight ($1,920-per-short-ton) level on Wednesday August 18, with opinion split among market sources whether the price will soon peak.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $95.98 per hundredweight ($1,919.60 per short ton) on August 18, rising by 0.11% from $95.87 per cwt on Tu...Read More
Short supply of nickel products in the United States pushed the cut cathode premium up by more than that for briquette in the week to Tuesday August 17, while trade was still subdued in other regions, Fastmarkets has heard.US 4x4 cut cathode premium up by 11.1%Continued arbitrage losses, Covid-19 problems worry Chinese tradersEuropean premiums flat in summer holiday lull.Both US premiums rise in b...Read More
Export prices for CIS-origin steel billet from the Black Sea basin continued to decrease in the week to Wednesday August 18 amid bearish sentiment in the major outlet markets.After concluding several sales to customers in Latin America late last week, mills in the Commonwealth of Independent States had covered the demand in this market, which appeared to be the highest-paying at the moment.Other m...Read More
Prices for hot- and cold-rolled steel sheet and heavy plate in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow continued to slide in the week ended Monday August 16, sources have told Fastmarkets.Market participants believed that the downward trend would continue until the end of October.Hot-rolled sheetFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled sheet, domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 18 that are worth another look.The chief executive officer of steel group Techint, Paolo Rocca, was acquitted of all charges in the "notebooks case," an investigation in Argentina into alleged payments made by the company to government officials in 2008.Read More
Copper's price fell to its lowest level since June 21 during trading on Wednesday August 18, pushing all metals on the London Metal Exchange to a decline and causing some to drop below their support levels, while backwardations spread across the complex on cash-to-three month spreads. Risk-off sentiment prevailed on the LME during trading, in part due to a United States dollar index of 93.26 on We...Read More
Low-carbon wire rod prices in the United States rose by $30 per short ton in August to a record high set in 2008, while imports slipped from a record high. Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US was $56-59 per hundredweight ($1,120-1,180 per short ton) on Tuesday August 17, up by 2.68% from $55-57 per cwt on July 20, and up by 6.48% fro...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for September shipments at slightly lower prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 18.A steel producer in northern Turkey booked a European cargo comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 7,500 tonnes of shredded and 7,500 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $451 per tonne cfr on Wednesday. Market participan...Read More
The United States remained the bright spot for the physical trading of lead in the week to Wednesday August 18 amid a massive backwardation, while appetite for zinc was weak in Europe and China, Fastmarkets has heard.Wide backwardation in lead spread reduces spot trading interest in Asia, USLondon Metal Exchange lead inventory at low level, while Shanghai Futures Exchange lead inventory runs highP...Read More
Trading activity was close to zero in the European hot-rolled coil markets on Wednesday August 18, with buyers having mixed outlooks for September, when demand was expected to recover, sources have told Fastmarkets.Most of the region's buyers and producers have been holding back from trading so far during August, following traditional patterns of activity.Northern European buyers were already slow...Read More