An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets on Tuesday February 2 and their latest price moves.China Domestic ferro-chrome prices rose for the seventh consecutive week but at slower rate than recent sessions while bullishness continued with tight alloy availability and rising stainless steel prices. The charge chrome market ticked up with little spot liquidity while major suppliers reported ti...Read More
South African manganese miner Assmang has declared force majeure on some shipments after state transport provider Transnet issued the same notice last week. Assmang's notice refers to immediate vessels that will be slightly delayed due to rail closures caused by severe rain and flooding, Fastmarkets understands. Transnet declared force majeure on Friday January 29 after rains washed away parts of...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR?In a strong start to the year, January saw ore and alloy pricing gains across all markets priced by Fastmarkets - with the exception of Chinese silicon metal export prices, which retreated slightly last month after posting impressive gains in December 2020.The combination...Read More
A return of buying activity in the selenium market and larger traded volumes since the start of 2021 have renewed price optimism among some market participants. Fastmarkets assessed the price of selenium, 99.5% Se min, in-whs Rotterdam at $6-7 per lb on Friday January 29, stable from the midweek assessment but up by 8.3% from $5.50-6.50 per lb a month ago amid improved liquidity. The majority...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico started to decline from all-time highs in the week ended on Friday January 29, with several mills reducing their buying price for the steelmaking raw material and announcing further price cuts.In both Baj?-o and Monterrey, price cuts of 100-300 pesos ($5-15) were reported last week. The movement is expected to be followed by weekly price reductions, which could...Read More
Turkish steelmakers continued to hold back from deep-sea scrap purchases amid falling prices, sources said on Tuesday February 2.The most recent deals were heard nearly a week ago, late on Wednesday January 27, when two US cargoes were booked.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a cargo from the United States, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $416 per tonne, shredded at $421 per tonne and bon...Read More
A scheme in India to retire and tax older vehicles will increase the supply of scrap to its domestic market, if its implementation goes ahead after years of false starts, market sources told Fastmarkets.On January 25, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, approved a proposal for a green tax on older vehicles and the scrapping of some vehicles, a government document sho...Read More
The frenzy of buying activity in silver, attributed to a group of retail investors using the Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets and other social media sites, is waning.The silver surge - which began on January 27 and saw the price of the industrial metal soar to an eight-year high of more than $30 per oz before slipping to just below $27 per oz by Tuesday January 2 - followed a phenomenal upswell in th...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed, albeit with a downside bias, during morning trading on Tuesday February 2, while silver was consolidating below highs but above its recent trading range.Silver prices spiked up to around the $30-per-oz level on Monday, before ending the day around $28.50 per oz - the metal is now looking for direction. S...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday February 2 that are worth another look.Steelmaker ArcelorMittal is planning to restart blast furnace (BF) B at its Ghent plant in Belgium by the middle of February this year, the company told Fastmarkets on February 2.Aluminium...Read More
Demand for flat steel imports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia was still weak in the week to Tuesday February 2 because buyers expect prices to decrease more and are holding back on placing orders, sources said. Most market participants said they believe prices will keep falling until after the Chinese New Year holiday (February 11-17), and prices from China after the break will...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday February 2 that are worth another look.Steelmaker ArcelorMittal is planning to restart blast furnace (BF) B at its Ghent plant in Belgium by the middle of February this year, the company told Fastmarkets on February 2.Aluminium...Read More
Buyers of steel rebar and billet market in the United Arab Emirates expected prices to decrease this week, with trading activity being very low, although producers kept their prices unchanged, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 2.Importers of billet and rebar also preferred to wait, because import prices usually follow price changes in domestic rebar, sources added.Domestic rebarThe coun...Read More
China's rebar market was inactive on Tuesday February 2 due to demand being low amid construction suspensions, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,280-4,300 yuan ($662-666) per tonne, narrowing downward by 10 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said the spot market has been inactive with most construction sites suspending work after many workers have gone back to hometow...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico started to decline from all-time highs in the week ended on Friday January 29, with several mills reducing their buying price for the steelmaking raw material and announcing further price cuts.In both Baj?-o and Monterrey, price cuts of 100-300 pesos ($5-15) were reported last week. The movement is expected to be followed by weekly price reductions, which could...Read More
Turkish steelmakers continued to hold back from deep-sea scrap purchases amid falling prices, sources said on Tuesday February 2.The most recent deals were heard nearly a week ago, late on Wednesday January 27, when two US cargoes were booked.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a cargo from the United States, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $416 per tonne, shredded at $421 per tonne and bon...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices tumbled on Tuesday February 2 amid poor steel demand which weighed further on market sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $149.80 per tonne, down $7.27 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $150.37 per tonne, down $7.40 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $139.28 per tonne, down $4.67 per t...Read More
Buyers of steel rebar and billet market in the United Arab Emirates expected prices to decrease this week, with trading activity being very low, although producers kept their prices unchanged, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 2.Importers of billet and rebar also preferred to wait, because import prices usually follow price changes in domestic rebar, sources added.Domestic rebarThe coun...Read More
Export prices for billet originating from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued moving down on Tuesday February 2, with mills making concessions to win sales.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was calculated at $541 per tonne on Tuesday, down from $546 per tonne on Monday.This week, a 30,000-tonne cargo from Ukraine was sold to Qatar at $580 per...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.We spoke in our previous tracker of stainless steel prices ending 2020 on a high. That trend has continued during early 2021 and, in fact, the upward rally in prices has increased its momentum.Compared with the monthly price increase of some 5% seen at the end of 2020, prices for grade-304 stainless steel in al...Read More