Sentiment in the key global scrap markets has turned negative in the week to Friday January 15, with buying activity dipping on expectations of a correction in prices, led by a week-long absence from the markets by Turkish buyers after a prolonged period of soaring prices.Turkish prices drop $20 per tonne before weekendUS export prices up on recent tradesBuyers withdraw from market in Vietnam on e...Read More
The British light iron market hit ?150 per tonne in the week ending Friday January 15, a level last seen almost eight years ago, amid firm fundamentals, reduced supplies coming into yards and strong export demand, trade sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?140-150 ($191-205) per tonne on Friday, up fro...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone down sharply on a fresh Baltic Sea cargo deal sold at the end of the week, sources said on Friday January 15.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo at $460 per tonne cfr on a heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) basis. The cargo composition was not clear at the time of publication.This was compared with the US cargo sold at $485 per tonn...Read More
The base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker this morning, Friday January 15, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer in line with the stronger Chinese fundamentals. US President-elect Joe Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion rescue packageUS Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said the central bank would not be raising rates anytime soonBase metals Three-month...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
China's domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate prices rose by 5.6% to a 14-month high on Thursday January 14, 2021 on tightening spot supply while battery-grade lithium hydroxide also surged by 10.3% week on week on low availability of cheap materials, Fastmarkets heard.China's battery-grade lithium carbonate price hit a 14-month high on reduced spot supply, with most producers insisting on high...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to amend the pricing holiday schedule for its cobalt hydroxide payable indicator.Fastmarkets plans to align the pricing holiday schedule for its cobalt hydroxide payable indicator with public holidays in China instead of those in England and Wales due to the fact that the assessment tracks activity on a cif China basis.The detailed specifications for this assessment are li...Read More
There was no clear trend for South American flat steel import prices in the week to Friday January 15, with clients in no rush to secure new deals yet amid static or slightly higher new offers from all origins.Market participants reported signs of short selling from some traders and lower offers from privately owned mills in China, while the larger producers were trying to maintain or increase pri...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States slipped from an all-time high to just under $57 per hundredweight ($1,140 per short ton) on Friday January 15, but remain poised to rebound amid tight supply, Fastmarkets understands.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $56.92 per cwt ($1,138.40 per ton) on January 15, down by 1.86% from a record high of $58...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States leaped after buyer competition for the mills' limited first-quarter spot tonnage became fierce.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US climbed to $63 per hundredweight ($1,260 per hundredweight) on Thursday January 14, up by 7.69% from $58.50 per cwt ($1,170 per ton) on January 7. The assess...Read More
The Indian domestic secondary billet market price fell by 1,300 rupees ($18) per tonne over the week to January 15 following a bigger fall in prices of finished products such as rebar and a consequent drop in inquiries and cautious buying from billet users, sources said.Fastmarkets assessed the price of steel billet domestic, ex-works India at 38,800-39,000 rupees per tonne on 15 January, down by...Read More
The uptrend in Poland's domestic rebar market continued in the week to Friday January 15, with prices moving sharply higher supported by limited supply and increased scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment of steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland rose to 2,900-3,000 zloty ($775-802) per tonne on Friday, up by 240-300 zloty from 2,660-2,700 zloty per...Read More
Expectations of steady output for rebar in China kept spot prices largely steady despite increases in the futures market on Friday January 15.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,280-4,310 yuan ($661-666) per tonne, widened upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 4,020-4,060 yuan per tonne, down by 60 yuan per tonneRebar producers in northern China are maintaining the...Read More
Sentiment in the key global scrap markets has turned negative in the week to Friday January 15, with buying activity dipping on expectations of a correction in prices, led by a week-long absence from the markets by Turkish buyers after a prolonged period of soaring prices.Turkish prices drop $20 per tonne before weekendUS export prices up on recent tradesBuyers withdraw from market in Vietnam on e...Read More
The British light iron market hit ?150 per tonne in the week ending Friday January 15, a level last seen almost eight years ago, amid firm fundamentals, reduced supplies coming into yards and strong export demand, trade sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?140-150 ($191-205) per tonne on Friday, up fro...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone down sharply on a fresh Baltic Sea cargo deal sold at the end of the week, sources said on Friday January 15.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo at $460 per tonne cfr on a heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) basis. The cargo composition was not clear at the time of publication.This was compared with the US cargo sold at $485 per tonn...Read More
Brazilian steel slab export prices tightened upward in the week ended Friday January 15, with producers continuing to seek high prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, narrowed upward to $760-780 per tonne fob on Friday, compared with $750-780 per tonne fob a week earlier.Offers of Brazil-origin slab were heard around $800 per tonne fob for March s...Read More
The Indian domestic secondary billet market price fell by 1,300 rupees ($18) per tonne over the week to January 15 following a bigger fall in prices of finished products such as rebar and a consequent drop in inquiries and cautious buying from billet users, sources said.Fastmarkets assessed the price of steel billet domestic, ex-works India at 38,800-39,000 rupees per tonne on 15 January, down by...Read More
The export market for steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was largely quiet on the disparity between offers and bids, with prices under pressure from falling scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 15.CIS export billet prices have lost their upward momentum, affected by a recent drop in international scrap markets as well as lower bids from customers, sou...Read More
The future is electric for General Motors (GM).This week, the American automaker showed off an air taxi concept via its luxury marque Cadillac at technology conference CES, which it touts as a solution for bypassing traffic jams on the road.The air taxi will utilize electric propulsion powered by a 90 kWh battery that allows the vehicle to travel at around 90km per hour, it said. This follows the...Read More