Turkish steel mills kept their deep-sea scrap purchases slow on Monday February 1, as a result of rebar and billet markets remaining weak, sources told Fastmarkets.The mills have struggled with rebar and billet sales recently amid poor demand.The most recent firm bid for Turkish rebar came from Southeast Asia at $595 per tonne fob on actual weight basis, but the transaction was not realized. Fastm...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices continued to decrease over the past week due to falling imported scrap values, market sources said on Monday February 1.Domestic steel mills reduced their buy prices for both domestic auto bundle scrap and ship scrap in response to the downturn in imported scrap costs, sources said.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey wa...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in January 2021.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases from 2020, see the updates for December,...Read More
More than 67,000 lots of the Singapore Exchange's 65% Fe iron ore swaps contract, which is settled against Fastmarkets' daily index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao, were heard to have been traded in January 2021, the largest monthly volume since its launch in December 2018.The 65% Fe iron ore contract is traded in 100-tonne lots and its total volume for 2020 was close to 420,0...Read More
Iron ore prices fell on Monday February 1, sources told Fastmarkets, due to weak demand and limited trading liquidity, despite the potential impact of severe weather on supplies from Australia. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $157.07 per tonne, down $1.47 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $157.77 per tonne, down $1.28 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade...Read More
Seaborne coking coal fob prices across the board rose on Monday February 1, sources said, adding that bids and offers for premium hard coking coal were higher than before while the cfr market remained quiet.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $156.54 per tonne, up $1.62 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $217.73 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets fell in the week ended Friday January 29 amid a downtrend for the fines segment in the same week.Fastmarkets iron ore indices66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $185.25 per tonne, down $9.44 per tonne.65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $225.49 per tonne, down $3.77 per tonne Key driversSeaborne prices for iron ore fines fell steeply last wee...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in the United States, Europe and Asia for the week ended Friday January 29.United States Prices for silicon rose for the third time in January over the assessment week to Thursday, with both domestic and global spot supply reported to be increasingly tight in the United States. Domestic producers welcomed a 7.4% preliminary duty determination on imports of Malays...Read More
The supply-driven rally in antimony prices, fueled by an ore shortage and shipping delays, continued over the past week with no ceiling in sight, markets sources said. Since the start of the year, the metal's value has risen by more than 20% for both grades."Prices are moving daily; you buy what you can get your hands on," a trader in Europe told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for antim...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.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at...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...Read More
Standard-grade cobalt was trading at a premium over alloy grade for the first time since February 2019 on Friday January 29 amid demand for briquettes and rallying payables for cobalt hydroxide. Some market participants had identified the potential for the standard grade price to gain ground ahead of alloy-grade in recent weeks due to demand for metal from China's cobalt salts sector, but the two...Read More
Key data from the Friday January 29 pricing session in Shanghai.Key drivers China's ex-works prices for magnesium increased on tight spot market supply after producers sold large volumes of the material on forward contracts. Sources said some downstream consumers ordered material at prices below 14,000 yuan ($2,167) per tonne and asked for the material...Read More
Glencore International has agreed a letter of intent for cobalt metal supply to battery cell producer Freyr, the company said on Monday February 1.The Swiss trader-producer will supply up to 3,700 tonnes of high-purity cut cobalt cathode produced at its Norwegian operations, Nikkelverk, to Freyr's planned facilities in Mo i Rana in Norway, it said without disclosing the time period for the intende...Read More
The China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) has suggested preferential tax policies to stimulate domestic supply and imports of steel scrap to meet rising demand in China.For example, one method could be to increase the refund rate of the 13% value-added tax applied on the domestic prices, which buyers pay, Cisa vice president Luo Tiejun said at a press conference last week. He said that the governm...Read More
The Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA) issued three advisories over the weekend to clear ports in the Pilbara region in Western Australia ahead of a tropical low.The PPA said it instructed the ports of Port Hedland and Dampier to be cleared on Saturday January 30, and the Port of Ashburton the following day due to strong winds and heavy rainfall forecast across the region due to tropical low 12U.The Au...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 directi...Read More
Salesforce.com (CRM), an S&P 100 stock moved above intermediate resistance at $233,18DexCom (DXCM), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $396.98 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday February 2ndU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 30 points in pre-opening trade. Pfizer added $0.07 to $35.87 after reporting higher than consensus...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday January 29 that are worth another look.South America's import prices for flat-rolled steel were mostly down during the week ended January 29, with China-origin material offered at lower levels for April shipment.The arrival of around a quarter...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday January 29 that are worth another look.South America's import prices for flat-rolled steel were mostly down during the week ended January 29, with China-origin material offered at lower levels for April shipment.The arrival of around a quarter...Read More