Steel billet and rebar prices have remained stable in Egypt in the week ending Thursday January 7 because of low levels of market activity, market sources have told Fastmarkets.January 7 was the Coptic Christmas in Egypt, and trading was subdued in the days before the holiday.Market participants now wanted to see the direction that prices might move globally before placing orders.Demand for rebar...Read More
Turkish steel billet prices have increased over the past week due to rising imported scrap costs and despite limited demand, sources said on Thursday January 7.Most of the suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were out of the market at the moment for their year-end holidays.There are public holidays in Russia from January 1 to January 11. January 7 is the last official holiday...Read More
The European Commission has set 4.8-7.6% provisional anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled coil originating from Turkey, effective Wednesday January 6. The EC calculated preliminary duties for Habas at 4.80%; for Erdemir at 5.40%; for Agir Haddecilik and Borcelik at 5.90%; and for Colakoglu and all other companies at 7.60%, according to the Official Journal of the European Union. The product concerned...Read More
Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) lowered their crude steel and hot metal production in late December from the preceding 10 days, according to data published by the association on Wednesday January 6.December 21-31 outputCrude steel: 2.16 million tonnes per day, down 1.76%Finished steel: 2.24 million tpd, up 4.74%Hot metal: 1.89 million tpd, down 2.34%Mills' finished steel...Read More
All Turkish flat steel prices increased sharply in December 2020, and the market was expected to remain steady in January because of globally strong demand for steel products, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday January 6.Turkish hot-rolled coil producers were fully booked until April, and market participants believed that buying would remain strong in January, provided that prices remained firm.Global...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday January 7 that are worth another look.The provisional anti-dumping duties imposed on imports of Turkish hot-rolled coil by the European Commission are neither reasonable nor fair, Turkish steel exporters told Fastmarkets on January 7.The blockade...Read More
European buyers expected that domestic hot-rolled coil prices would continue to rise in January and in the rest of the first quarter, due to good order books at domestic mills and a lack of competitive imports, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 7.During the first week of January, however, domestic prices have remained fairly stable in a seasonally slow market.Fastmarkets calculated its...Read More
Forward prices for copper and nickel on the London Metal Exchange continued to reach new highs during trading on Thursday January 7, while the rest of the base-metals complex showed smaller increases than those seen at the beginning of the week on a marked rebound in the US dollar index.Nickel's three-month price achieved a new 16-month high of $18,200 per tonne on Thursday, with the uptake of ele...Read More
The Chinese alumina price rose slightly this week following a spate of panic buying after railway transport in Shijiazhuang, in the northern Chinese province of Hebei, was suspended amid a rise in Covid-19 infections, market participants told Fastmarkets. All trains arriving in or departing from Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei, have been canceled since Wednesday January 6. Shijiazhuang Cit...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday January 7 that are worth another look.The provisional anti-dumping duties imposed on imports of Turkish hot-rolled coil by the European Commission are neither reasonable nor fair, Turkish steel exporters told Fastmarkets on January 7.The blockade...Read More
Chinese tungsten market participants expect prices to continue a steady uptrend in early 2021 given tightened supply of concentrate and robust prices for downstream products.Sources told Fastmarkets that they have become more confident and rarely worry about price declines after experiencing sluggish market conditions over the past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Firm concentrate marketTight sup...Read More
Following a recent surge in costs for ferro-chrome production in China and the release of disappointing January tender prices by consumers, two leading producers have initiated moves to strengthen alloy prices.On Wednesday December 30, Xinganglian Metallurgy (XGL) issued a notice saying that it will raise its offer price in the spot market. The company, which is China's top ferro-chrome producer,...Read More
Forward prices for copper and nickel on the London Metal Exchange continued to reach new highs during trading on Thursday January 7, while the rest of the base-metals complex showed smaller increases than those seen at the beginning of the week on a marked rebound in the US dollar index.Nickel's three-month price achieved a new 16-month high of $18,200 per tonne on Thursday, with the uptake of ele...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices increased across the board in the cfr market on Thursday January 7, on higher offer prices, but with storms expected to hit Queensland this weekend, the fob market stayed quiet, with many miners reluctant to sell.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $103.99 per tonne, up $0.07 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $208.19 per tonne...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices maintained their upward trend across the board on Thursday January 7, with lump premiums also continuing to rise because of firm demand, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $171.69 per tonne, up $2.97 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $172.25 per tonne, up $3.50 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices have remained stable in Egypt in the week ending Thursday January 7 because of low levels of market activity, market sources have told Fastmarkets.January 7 was the Coptic Christmas in Egypt, and trading was subdued in the days before the holiday.Market participants now wanted to see the direction that prices might move globally before placing orders.Demand for rebar...Read More
Turkish steelmakers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for February and March shipment at firm prices, sources said on Thursday January 7.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $480 per tonne, 22,000 tonnes of shredded and 10,000 tonnes of bonus at $490 per tonne cfr.And a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo a...Read More
Robust export demand for brass and copper scrap is weighing on the domestic prices of scrap metal in the United States, with brass scrap prices reaching record highs in the first week of the New Year."We have never been busier, and I have never seen prices of copper and brass scrap like this," a brass ingot maker said. "For the first time, we are paying more for brass scrap for melting into ingots...Read More
The blockade at the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru has been partially ended on a temporary basis pending a dialogue between local community members and mining company MMG, Fastmarkets learned on Thursday January 7. But the path to a resolution remains uncertain, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Meanwhile, transport of copper concentrate is still minimal because it will take time...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metals Exchange crossed $18,000 per tonne on the morning of Thursday January 7 and copper continued to stride above $8,000 per tonne in a broadly positive morning for the complex. Nickel's price touched $18,190 per tonne during early trading, the first time the metal has crossed $18,000 per tonne since September 13, 2019, and a 2.3% gain on Wednesday's 5p...Read More