Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) index is currently at its highest level since April 2019.Treatment charges of October cargoes were reportedly sold to smelters in the range of $58-62 per tonne this week, roughly equivalent to the 2021...Read More
A combination of low liquidity, supply constraints that were said to be easing, and a rushed exit from long positions took the three-month price of tin on the London Metal Exchange down by 11% on Thursday August 19, despite its recent and seemingly unstoppable rise. Where will it go from here?Prior to the fall on Thursday, tin's benchmark futures price had reached an all-time high of $35,955 per t...Read More
Global aluminium prices and premiums have been on a near-vertical uptrend, touching record highs along the way, with consumers of aluminium in various sectors finding ways to absorb and pass on the increasing costs.Managing high raw material costs has become a key theme in quarterly earnings reports and in conference calls for manufacturing companies throughout the summer months of 2021. Despite h...Read More
Nickel and copper were up by 1% and above in the LME morning session on Friday August 20, with most base metals bouncing back from Thursday when all prices declined. A higher US Dollar Index - which touched a new year-to-date peak of 93.65 on Friday morning - and renewed concerns about demand due to the ongoing spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant were key factors behind Thursday's price falls.&nb...Read More
Most base metal stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) warehouses declined this week, with nickel falling the most in percentage terms and zinc increasing the most at 10%, according to the stocks report on Friday August 20.Nickel inventories stood at 5,344 tonnes on August 20, a decrease of 1,071 tonnes from 6,415 tonnes one week earlier.The inflows mainly came into warehouses operated by SIPG...Read More
Many Chinese alumina buyers are currently steering clear of purchasing seaborne alumina due to persistent congestion at several Chinese ports, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 19.Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina index, fob Australia stood at $301.61 per tonne on August 19, little changed from the Wednesday's calculation. The index has been at around $300 per tonne since July 23 due to a l...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States strengthened after more domestic mills notified customers that maintenance outages will reduce output in the coming months. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US climbed to $107.50 per hundredweight ($2,150 per short ton) on Thursday August 19 from $107 per cwt on Thursday August 12. The a...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States hovered around the $97-per-hundredweight ($1,940-per-short-ton) threshold for a second day, with buyers projecting that upcoming mill maintenance will reduce supply.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.83 per hundredweight ($1,936.60 per ton) on Friday August 20, down by 0.12% from $96.95 per cwt on Thursday A...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil remained unchanged during the week ended Friday August 20, as raw materials' costs decreased while flat steel prices remained strong.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $900-920 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous week.Offers from Brazil remained above $900 per tonne fob, while buyers continued to look for...Read More
Indian hot rolled coil export prices edged down on Friday August 20, with mills lowering their HRC export offers to destinations in Southeast Asia, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil (commodity) export, fob main port India was $875-920 per tonne on August 20, widening down by $45 at the low end of the range from $910-920 per tonne last week.The lo...Read More
A large drop in Chinese import steel billet bid prices has caused sellers to slash offer prices in an attempt to sell material to alternative markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 20.Chinese ferrous futures were in free-fall from Monday August 16 to Thursday August 19 amid pessimistic outlook for near-term economic growth and steel demand in China. Although contracts recovered slightl...Read More
Coated steel coil prices decreased in Turkey during the week to Friday August 20 because of low levels of demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Buyers wanted to see which direction global prices would move before placing orders, they said.Many export market participants were on holiday, so demand for exports was low during the week.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-...Read More
Sentiment in the European hot-rolled coil market turned negative this week due to the downtrend in the global market, falling feedstock prices and competitive import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 20.The post-summer outlook for buyers was largely downbeat, sources said, with HRC prices around the world following this week's sharp decline in iron ore prices."Sentiment [in th...Read More
Import pig iron prices in the United States fell during the week ended Friday August 20 due to bearish buyers and negative sentiment in the iron ore and ferrous scrap markets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was at $560-580 per tonne on Friday, down from $585-595 per tonne cfr a week before."The CIS still has unsold cargoes with August shipment,...Read More
The export market for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States went down during the week to Thursday August 19 due to buyer pessimism and a fall in iron ore prices.Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $525-540 per tonne on Thursday, down from $540-560 per tonne the previous week."Trade has been muted - buyers have been very...Read More
The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap in Europe moved higher this week because of tight supply, despite nickel costs dropping off sharply through the week, Fastmarkets heard on Friday August 20.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids import, cif main European port was ?,?1,600-1,670 ($1,869-1,951) per tonne on Friday, up...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap into Pakistan and India continued to diverge on Friday August 20, with demand in India slowing down during the monsoon season, while there was active trading in Pakistan, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $ 539 per tonne on Friday, up from$532.37 per tonne.The Ashura p...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes with prices continuing to weaken at the end of the week to Friday August 20, market participants told Fastmarkets. A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $450 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus and 7,000 tonnes of shredded at $470 per tonne cfr. ...Read More
Iron ore prices rebounded on Friday August 20 from losses the day before, although demand from Chinese mills showed no sign of picking up and market participants remained cautious.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $140.44 per tonne, up by $7.78 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $141.15 per tonne, up by $7.85 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao:...Read More
Prices of hot-rolled coil in China's domestic market edged higher on Friday August 20 following two days of sharp losses sparked by increased demand concerns.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,620-5,670 yuan ($865-872) per tonne, up by 20-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): weekly assessment: 5,600-5,640 yuan ($862-868) per tonne, down by 100-110 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract...Read More