The hot-rolled coil price in the United States again surged to all-time high on Monday March 22, with steel mills said to have low spot availability and some buyers indicating imports are more feasible.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mil US was calculated at $65.78 per hundredweight ($1,315.60 per short ton) on Monday, up by 1.23% from $64.98 per cwt on March 19 and b...Read More
Special bar quality (SBQ) steel prices in the United States rose in March for both hot-rolled and cold-finished product due to rapid increases in demand and higher raw material costs.Fastmarkets' assessment for hot-rolled special bar quality 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon), fob mill US was at $51 per hundredweight ($1,020 per short ton) on Friday March 19, up by 15.91% from $44 per cwt on F...Read More
Prices for cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod in the United States moved higher this month after remaining flat in February, while mills that are struggling to meet demand have extended lead times. Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (high carbon), fob mill US was at $50 per hundredweight ($1,000 per short ton) on Friday March 19, up by $2.25 per cwt (4.71%) from&nb...Read More
Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States held steady for a second week in a row, with market participants expecting another round of mill price increases to be announced shortly. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US was again unchanged at $54.50 per hundredweight ($1,090 per short ton) on Friday March 19. The assessment is up by 118...Read More
The mood in the European hot-rolled coil market has become upbeat due to the continuing material shortage combined with good demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 22.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?798.00 ($949.65) per tonne on Monday, down by just ?,?1.38 per tonne from ?,?799.38 er tonne on March 19.The index was, howe...Read More
Steelmakers in Turkey stepped back from the deep-sea scrap market after the unexpected sacking of the head of the country's central bank sent the Turkish currency into freefall, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 22.The Turkish steel mills have been away from the deep-sea scrap markets since March 12, when two cargoes from the Baltic Sea were booked at $435-437 per tonne cfr on HMS 1&2 (80:2...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have continued to soften over the past week due to falling values for imported scrap, while several mills have stopped buying material due to the plunge in the value of the country's lira, market sources said on Monday March 22.The country's deep-sea scrap import prices have made a downward correction in recent weeks, with mills staying away from scrap purchases due t...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices in the cfr and fob markets diverged on Monday March 22, with tight supply supporting the cfr market and ample supply in the fob market, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.90 per tonne, down $0.06 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $213.23 per tonne, up $0.37 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $106.25 per...Read More
Iron ore prices weakened again on Friday March 22 due to the newly introduced measures on emissions restrictions in Tangshan, , sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $157.01 per tonne,down $4.38 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $157.12 per tonne,down $4.55 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $143.08 per tonne,down $4.97 p...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore pellets rose in the week ended Friday March 19 amid a tightening of restrictions on steelmakers in Tangshan - China's steelmaking hub - to control emissions, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $192.18 per tonne, down $2.66 per tonne.65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $231.08 per tonne, up $3.65 per tonne Key driversLocal au...Read More
The New Tonkolili iron ore project in Sierra Leone has achieved full-scale operations, China's Kingho Investment Co Limited - its operator - said last Saturday March 20.The project, with estimated resources of 13.7 billion tonnes, is the world's single largest magnetite mine, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. Shandong Iron & Steel Group, a state-backed Chinese steelmaker, bought the mine...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil producers suspended their exports on Monday March 22 despite surging domestic prices amid uncertainties over whether the Chinese government would reduce its export tax rebate for steel products.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,060-5,120 yuan ($777-786) per tonne, up 70 yuan per tonneDomestic prices surged on Monday on rising futures.A Tianjin-based trader said that inves...Read More
Usually after a London Metal Exchange discussion paper there is a decent idea of what the outcome is likely to be. But this time around, it seems much harder to tell which path the LME will take. The proposals under debate include the permanent closure of the exchange's open outcry trading floor, known as the ring, which dates back to 1877. They also include the incentivization of electronic trade...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month zinc price rose by the most in the base metals complex on Monday March 22, while the aluminium price reached a new year-to-date high amid continued cancellations at LME warehouses. Zinc's futures price was at $2,874.50 per tonne on Monday at 9am, having reached $2,880 per tonne during earlier trading, the most for the metal since February 25. Monday morning's...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on Monday March 22, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board. United States 10-year treasuries yields have eased to 1.67%, from recent highs of 1.75%Base metals LME three-month base metals prices were mixed, with copper, aluminium and lead down by an average of 0.5%, while the rest of the metals were up by an a...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies....Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam,...Read More
The supply-driven rally in antimony prices that was buoyed by an ore shortage and shipping delays has now stalled, and the upward momentum has probably ended, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday March 22, with some of them now expecting prices to fall."It does appear that antimony has 'done' its upside, from what we can see, and - if anything - [the uptrend] is now running out of steam,...Read More
The downtrend in China's cobalt sulfate market accelerated in the week to Friday March 19 on weak buying interest and a widening gap between offers for material produced from cobalt hydroxide and that produced from scrap.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China fell to 81,000-83,000 yuan ($12,434-12,741) per tonne on Friday March 19, down by 4,000 yuan per tonne (...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in the Shanghai on Friday March 19.Key drivers Domestic producers continued to raise their offers on the expectation that prices could surpass 50,000 yuan ($7,675) per tonne. Traders and downstream consumers refused to accept any prices above 48,000 yuan...Read More