The price of lead reached a new year-to-date peak of $2,412.50 per tonne on Monday August 2, while nickel and copper faltered in trading on the London Metal Exchange.Lead's three-month price was at its highest on Monday for 37 months, since July 2, 2018. The metal's price was up by 0.8% from its price last Friday, hitting $2,402 per tonne at the close of trading. It had risen by 5.5% last month.Eu...Read More
Iron ore prices mostly went up on Monday August 2 with the Chinese government being urged to pull back its aggressive carbon-reduction measures. This resulted in improved expectations for iron ore demand, because the proposed cuts in steel production for the rest of 2021 may be eased, market sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $184.42 per tonne, up by $2.85 per tonn...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices were fairly stable across Europe on Monday August 2 due to the seasonal slowdown, market sources told Fastmarkets.In Northern Europe, buyers have been in "wait-and-see" mode while assessing price trends. They have booked sufficient volumes of coil and, therefore, were able to take a pause in their purchasing activity.Buyers also needed to evaluate effect on the mark...Read More
US Steel is mulling over the possibility of adding pig iron equipment to one of its blast furnaces, a top executive said during an earnings call on Friday July 30.Analysts asked executives at US Steel about its subsidiary Big River Steel's raw materials strategy during a second-quarter earnings call."The thing that keeps mini-mills up at night is their metallic strategy and where are they going to...Read More
Prices of hot-rolled coil across China's domestic market fell sharply on Monday August 2, while futures prices tumbled after Beijing's latest comments on carbon emissions reductions sent confusion across the markets, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,760-5,860 yuan ($892-907) per tonne, down by 150-240 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Ex...Read More
Domestic steel scrap prices in Turkey dropped during the week to Monday August 2, in line with the market for imported scrap, market participants told Fastmarkets.Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes at a slow pace last week amid limited finished steel demand.Fastmarkets' index for steel scrap, heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20 mix), United States origin, cfr Turkey was calcul...Read More
The rapid spread of Covid-19 infections in at least eight major cities in China is casting doubt on the recovery of steel demand in the country for the rest of 2021, market sources said.China's National Health Commission said on Monday August 2 that there were 98 new cases reported a day earlier, including 40 cases in Jiangsu province alone. Jiangsu's capital city, Nanjing, has been reporting a hi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 2 that are worth another look.The rapid spread of Covid-19 infections in at least eight major cities in China is casting doubt on the recovery of steel demand in the country for the rest of 2021, market sources said.Four unions representing...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices fell sharply on Monday August 2 due to market expectations of lighter production restrictions in some regions, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,200-5,230 yuan ($804-809) per tonne, down by 140 yuan per tonneThe Politburo of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee said the country will make overall arrangements and issue a national...Read More
Turkish steel mills remained inactive in the import markets at the start of this week, making no new bookings of deep-sea scrap cargoes on Monday August 2, sources told Fastmarkets.But two older cargoes have come to light since the calculation of the scrap indices closed for the day last Friday.Two European cargoes were booked by mills in the regions of Marmara and Izmir, each comprising unspecifi...Read More
Iron ore prices mostly went up on Monday August 2 with the Chinese government being urged to pull back its aggressive carbon-reduction measures. This resulted in improved expectations for iron ore demand, because the proposed cuts in steel production for the rest of 2021 may be eased, market sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $184.42 per tonne, up by $2.85 per tonn...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 2 that are worth another look.The rapid spread of Covid-19 infections in at least eight major cities in China is casting doubt on the recovery of steel demand in the country for the rest of 2021, market sources said.Four unions representing...Read More
The rapid spread of Covid-19 infections in at least eight major cities in China is casting doubt on the recovery of steel demand in the country for the rest of 2021, market sources said.China's National Health Commission said on Monday August 2 that there were 98 new cases reported a day earlier, including 40 cases in Jiangsu province alone. Jiangsu's capital city, Nanjing, has been reporting a hi...Read More
Iron ore prices mostly went up on Monday August 2 with the Chinese government being urged to pull back its aggressive carbon-reduction measures. This resulted in improved expectations for iron ore demand, because the proposed cuts in steel production for the rest of 2021 may be eased, market sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $184.42 per tonne, up by $2.85 per tonn...Read More
China's domestic coking coal market maintained its upward trend in the week to August 2 amid continuous supply tightness. Seaborne coking coal prices remained largely stable in both the cfr China and fob Australia markets on Monday August 2 due to quiet trading, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $216.2 per tonne, down $0.24 per tonnePremium hard coking...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices fell sharply on Monday August 2 due to market expectations of lighter production restrictions in some regions, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,200-5,230 yuan ($804-809) per tonne, down by 140 yuan per tonneThe Politburo of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee said the country will make overall arrangements and issue a national...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were generally trending higher this morning, Monday August 2, with copper the metal that seems to be struggling the most. Base metals trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gave a mixed performance, however.Chinese equities rebound this morning after last week's weaknessUS Senate makes progress on $1 trillion infrastructure billChina's official man...Read More
There were higher prices across the base metals complex during morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday August 2, but bullish sentiment was capped by lower-than-expected Chinese economic data.Over the weekend, China's manufacturing growth was reported by the National Bureau of Statistics at a 17-month low of 50.4 in July, compared with 50.9 previously and expectations of 50.8, Bands...Read More
The rapid spread of Covid-19 infections in at least eight major cities in China is casting doubt on the recovery of steel demand in the country for the rest of 2021, market sources said.China's National Health Commission said on Monday August 2 that there were 98 new cases reported a day earlier, including 40 cases in Jiangsu province alone. Jiangsu's capital city, Nanjing, has been reporting a hi...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices fell again in the week ended Friday July 30 amid a pessimistic outlook for demand on anticipated steel production cuts in China.Fastmarkets iron ore indicesPellet premium over 65% Fe fines, cfr China: $51.70 per tonne, down $9.10 per tonne66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $227.99 per tonne, down $14.10 per tonne65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao...Read More