Prices for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States continued to climb in the first half of May on favorable conditions for finished flat steel sales both domestically and in customers' markets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $1,020-1,055 per tonne on Tuesday May 11, up from $1,000-1,020 per tonne a week before.The corre...Read More
The European manganese alloys markets extended their rally over the week ended Friday May 7, marking a general run higher in prices since March, trade sources told Fastmarkets.This came against domestic production cuts, strengthening demand from steelmakers and more expensive replacement costs for alloys from overseas, which combined to elicit short-covering.Industry sources reported an increase i...Read More
Prices for steel billet exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States have jumped to a 10-year high following rises in the Chinese billet and rebar markets over the week to Tuesday May 11.China's domestic rebar prices surged on May 10 and set the new high after the October futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit the daily limit within 10 minutes of the start of trading.The pric...Read More
The three-month price of zinc rebounded above the $3,000 per tonne mark on the London Metal Exchange and nickel had the largest percentage gain on Tuesday May 11, while most other base metals metals also finished higher due to some dip-buying after prices fell on Monday.Zinc's benchmark futures contract was up by 0.6% to $3,009 per tonne on Tuesday, following a 0.7% decrease of Monday to $2,991.50...Read More
The United Arab Emirates' state-owned General Holding Corporation (Senaat) has offered Arkan Building Materials the opportunity to combine Senaat's subsidiary Emirates Steel with Arkan, Arkan Building Materials said on Sunday May 9.Emirates Steel - based in Abu Dhabi, UAE - is the country's only integrated steel producer and is wholly owned by Senaat, with Arkan's 51% of shares belonging to Senaat...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 11 that are worth another look....Read More
Rebar and wire rod export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States increased significantly over the past week, supported by favorable market conditions due to strong domestic demand in Russia, higher prices from competitors - particularly Turkey - and increased global scrap costs.RebarUkraine-origin rebar was available to foreign customers at $690 per tonne fob Black Sea at the end of la...Read More
Mexican ferrous scrap prices were largely stable in the week ended Friday May 7, with some sellers heard applying price increases due to strong demand and limited availability of certain grades.Shredded scrap in both Monterrey and Bajio and plate and structural scrap in Bajio were the only prices to increase in Fastmarkets' weekly assessment. While there were reports of price i...Read More
Aluminium premiums across the globe were mostly unchanged in the week ending Tuesday May 11 on tight availability.Rotterdam duty-paid premium dips on LME spread volatilityUS Midwest remains at record highMJP premium static.Duty-unpaid premium well supportedFastmarkets' benchmark duty-unpaid Rotterdam aluminium premium remained at its highest since April 2018 in the week to Tuesday May 11.The daily...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 10 that are worth another look.European buyers have purchased substantial volumes of cold-rolled coil from China for the first time in about five years, despite the product being subject to anti-dumping tariffs, sources told Fastmarkets on May 10.Consuming...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices surged sharply in the cfr market due to active speculative buying interest and inched higher in the fob market following global buying activity on Tuesday May 11, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.05 per tonne, up $1.42 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $246.35 per tonne, up $11.81 per tonneHard co...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices went down on Tuesday May 11 due to less market liquidity and weakened sentiment amid China's Dalian Commodity Exchange's risk notice, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $228.93 per tonne, down $1.63 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $229.81 per tonne, down $2.80 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $200.07 p...Read More
China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) issued a risk notice on Monday May 10 amid high volatility in the commodity futures in recent days, with its price limits rising in response to various contracts hitting their daily ceilings on the same day. The DCE said in its notice that it had noticed increased volatility in the futures contracts for coking coal, coke and iron ore due to fundamental chang...Read More
Turkish steel producers took a break from making deep-sea scrap purchases on Monday May 10 after last week's buying spree that raised prices by $39 per tonne week on week, sources told Fastmarkets.At least 10 deep-sea cargoes were booked by Turkish steel producers last week.The most recent deep-sea transaction was a Baltic Sea cargo sold at $488 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis.Suppliers...Read More
Base metals' prices on the London Metal Exchange recovered on Tuesday May 11 morning, after falling for the first time since the start of the month on Monday amid a rise in inflation fears for United States equities, which meant the Nasdaq index fell to its lowest since March 31."Record high copper, steel and iron ore prices, among other commodities, stoked inflation fears and pushed Wall Street l...Read More
The latest diplomatic tit for tat between China and Australia is adding fuel to cif China bauxite prices already trending upward as a result of higher freight rates since the start of 2021.China announced an indefinite halt to its economic activities with Australia last Thursday May 6, citing some Australian officials' "disruptive measures."Sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Monday May 10 tha...Read More
A summary of German industrial group Thyssenkrupp's results for the second quarter of its current business year 2020-21, covering the period from January 1 to March 31, 2021.In brief Thyssenkrupp's second-quarter results continue to improve after a successful first quarter, with all segments contributing to better earnings. Thyssenkrupp's Steel Europe segment reported significantly improved sales,...Read More
The so-called "Suez Armada" of vessels that were delayed by the unintentional blockage of the Suez Canal has now been processed by the Port of Rotterdam, but the port was still "extremely" busy and there were challenges ahead for the shipping sector, speakers said during the Supply Chain Talks digital event on Wednesday May 5.The blockage of the waterway between March 23 and 29 created havoc for g...Read More
Mexican ferrous scrap prices were largely stable in the week ended Friday May 7, with some sellers heard applying price increases due to strong demand and limited availability of certain grades.Shredded scrap in both Monterrey and Bajio and plate and structural scrap in Bajio were the only prices to increase in Fastmarkets' weekly assessment. While there were reports of price i...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to pay higher prices for deep-sea scrap after securing more billet sales into China, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 11.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $495 per tonne and plate and structural (P&S) at $505 per tonne cfr. The cargo breakdown was not clear at the time of publication.The...Read More