Import prices for flat-rolled steel in South America soared in the week to Friday February 26, boosted by a swift increase in bulk freight rates and higher offers from Chinese mills, returning to the market after the Lunar New Year holiday.By the end of the week, some of offers previously presented to the continent were pulled, due to uncertainties regarding delivery. Reduced availability of cargo...Read More
Pakistan's government has said that Fastmarkets' import index for ferrous scrap will be used for customs valuations of ferrous scrap, according to an official ruling published on February 25.The decision came after meetings to determine customs values, held on January 14 and February 3 with key industry stakeholders - including the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCC&I), t...Read More
Indian secondary steel billet prices have risen by 900 rupees ($12) per tonne in the current week on higher costs for basic raw materials such as direct-reduced iron (DRI), coupled with increased buying of semi-finished steel by makers of long products.The price of steel billet, domestic, exw India, was assessed by Fastmarkets on Friday February 26 at 38,300-38,500 rupees ($527-530) per tonne comp...Read More
The spread between prices for 65% Fe iron ore and 62% Fe products will likely remain wide in the near term due to tight supply of high-grade Carajas fines, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.The supply of Carajas fines to Chinese steel mills has been lower than expected in 2021, and this situation could continue to worsen in the second quarter, sources said.Furthermore, sintering restrictio...Read More
Fastmarkets will publish its first low-carbon aluminium differentials for primary aluminium (P1020A) and value-added products in Europe on Friday March 5.A "green" supply chain has been a key focus for the aluminium market over the past few years. One main point of discussion has been whether low-carbon aluminium can fetch a premium due to its "green" status.Fastmarkets aims to bring transparency...Read More
All futures prices on the London Metal Exchange showed decreases of more than 3% at the close of trading on Friday February 26, with a mix of consolidation and profit-taking on the base-metals complex just a few days after they all rallied to new year-to-date highs.Lead and zinc's three-month prices were down by 5% and 3.4% respectively at the 5pm close, to $2,052.50 per tonne and $2,792.50 per to...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices in both the fob and cfr markets edged down on Friday February 26 with most market participants, especially trading houses, taking a wait-and-see attitude.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $125.73 per tonne, down $1.27 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $218.55 per tonne, down $0.49 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $119...Read More
London Metal Exchange metals prices were all lower on Friday February 26, following a spike in US 10-year Treasury bonds and a higher US Dollar Index.Tin and copper futures prices fell from their recent highs amid profit-taking, while nickel dropped below $19,000 per tonne.Yields on the 10-year US Treasury bonds jumped to 1.6% on Thursday before drifting down to 1.43% on Friday morning, but the ri...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou and Sybil Pan...Read More
All futures prices on the London Metal Exchange showed decreases of more than 3% at the close of trading on Friday February 26, with a mix of consolidation and profit-taking on the base-metals complex just a few days after they all rallied to new year-to-date highs.Lead and zinc's three-month prices were down by 5% and 3.4% respectively at the 5pm close, to $2,052.50 per tonne and $2,792.50 per to...Read More
Aluminium stock volumes in Shanghai bonded warehouses more than doubled in February 2021 on increased import activity due to a favorable arbitrage between London and Shanghai.A marginal decline was recorded in Shanghai bonded copper stocks over the month to Friday February 26, while zinc and nickel inventories both stayed flat.Aluminium stocks surge on open arbitrageFastmarkets assessed Shanghai b...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale has cut the forecast for its own copper production in 2021 to 360,000-380,000 tonnes, from 390,000 tonnes previously, because of new safety measures that could reduce machinery usage in its units, the company said on Thursday February 25.Output at Salobo, in Brazil's northern state of Par??, was expected to be the most significantly affected by the changes, which were estimate...Read More
A summary of the financial results for Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco in 2020, as stated in its annual earnings report released on Friday February 26.In brief Copper production increased during 2020, despite the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, due to higher processing rates and copper grades in mined ore, the company said. In 2021, Codelco expects a copper production of 1.6...Read More
The spot market for copper concentrate was little changed in the week ended Friday February 26, despite a flurry of lower bids and offers.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific, was $35.80 per tonne on Friday, the same as a week before and the lowest price on records that go back to 2013.Several market participants cited a...Read More
London Metal Exchange metals prices were all lower on Friday February 26, following a spike in US 10-year Treasury bonds and a higher US Dollar Index.Tin and copper futures prices fell from their recent highs amid profit-taking, while nickel dropped below $19,000 per tonne.Yields on the 10-year US Treasury bonds jumped to 1.6% on Thursday before drifting down to 1.43% on Friday morning, but the ri...Read More
Deliverable base metals stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses all rose in the week to Friday February 26, with copper recording the largest gain in percentage terms at 31.2%, according to the exchange's latest stocks report.Copper stocks totaled 147,958 tonnes on Friday, an increase of 35,170 tonnes from 112,788 tonnes a week earlier.The inflows mainly occurred at warehouses op...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled coil and galvanized steel sheet in the United States have again jumped to all-time highs after producers told customers that they may not be able to sell any spot tons in the first half of the year. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US climbed to $70 per hundredweight ($1,400 per short ton) on Thursday February 25 from $69 per cwt ($1,...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States remained above $61 per hundredweight, with market participants scrambling to find spot material, according to market participants.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $61.72 per hundredweight ($1,234.40 per short ton) on Friday February 26, down by 0.21% from $61.85 per cwt on February 25 but up by 1.83% from $60....Read More
Brazilian flat and long steel producer Gerdau was carrying out a maintenance stoppage late this month at its integrated steel unit in Ouro Branco city, in the country's southeastern Minas Gerais state.The maintenance work will involve Gerdau's blast furnaces, steel mill and rolling facilities, and was expected to last for three weeks, the company told Fastmarkets on Friday February 26."Supply [of...Read More
The price range for Indian hot-rolled coil exports narrowed slightly in the week ended Friday February 26 with HRC prices in Asian markets moving upward.Prices for Indian HRC exports to Europe remained stable even while Indian mills continued to restrain their export tonnages of such material to stay within European quota limits.The price of steel HRC (commodity), export, fob main port...Read More