The agreement reached between the United States and the European Union regarding the replacement of Section 232 tariffs will support domestic prices for flat steel in Europe but the impact is likely to be limited, sources told Fastmarkets.On October 30, the US and the EU agreed to replace Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs against the bloc's 27 countries with tariff-rate quotas.The decision i...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on the morning of Friday November 5, but for the most part they were on a back foot and looking vulnerable.At the same time, base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly weaker while they tracked the weakness on the LME on Thursday, and because weaker coal prices in China are less likely to cause metal producers to cut p...Read More
Turkish billet prices feel in the week ended November 4 in line with lower imported scrap costs and poor demand, market participants told Fastmarkets.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have lowered their offers to $700-705 per tonne cfr, compared with $725-730 per tonne last week.However, the buyers bid only $660-670 per tonne for CIS-origin billet. A steel mill in the Isken...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
Turkish steel mills have continued their deep-sea scrap imports with recovering prices on Thursday November 4, market participants told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $500 per tonne, 7,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at $520 per tonne cfr. Another steel mill in the same region booked a cargo from the...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in Europe were stable to slightly higher on Thursday November 4 despite muted buying, while market sentiment remained optimistic, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?1,022.50 ($1,184.83) per tonne on November 4, up by ?,?8.21 per tonne from ?,?1,014.29 per tonne on November 3.The index was...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves on Thursday November 4.Janie Davies in London...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board at the 5pm close on Thursday November 4, with strength in the United States Dollar supporting price weakness across the complex.The US Dollar Index was most recently at $94.39 after hitting an intraday high of $94.47, the highest level since October 13, with base metals trading downward as a result. The three-month alu...Read More
China's Chengyi Lithium International Ltd is to pay $76.5 million for a controlling stake in Max Mind Investment Ltd, which owns the Max Mind Zimbabwe lithium business.The subsidiary of battery materials producer Chengxin Lithium Group has signed an equity transfer agreement with Mad Max Investment to acquire a 51% stake in the African company, Chengxin Lithium said on Wednesday November 3.Max Min...Read More
LME base metal prices rose during the morning session on Thursday November 4, shrugging off news that the Federal Reserve will scale back its monetary easing measures.Although the US central bank will taper its monthly bond buying programme, this does not mean an immediate rise in interest rates - the Federal Reserve "can be patient," according to chair Jerome Powell. The timing for rate increases...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board on Wednesday November 3, suggesting dips are once again finding support. The European Union's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) out on Tuesday at 58.3, while slightly weaker than September's 58.5, still showed strong expansion, which will be helping to counter the slowdown in China.U...Read More
Steel scrap buyers in Taiwan were bearish about the containerized scrap market, expecting to book cargoes at lower prices in the short term, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 3. Taiwan secures lower-priced cargoesVietnam reports lower offersChina prices continue downtrend amid bearish sentiment in local marketTaiwanTaiwanese buyers have secured containerized heavy melting scrap...Read More
Prices for Japanese bulk shredded scrap have tumbled over the last week amid a drop in intake from a major Japanese blast furnace (BF)-based mill and discounted sales to South Korea.In late September, sources told Fastmarkets that shredded demand at BF-based mills had benefitted greatly from the tight supply of Shindachi prime scrap, but a reduction in shredded purchase volumes in recent weeks has...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap purchases at fairly stable prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 3.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $490 per tonne cfr - although the volume was not clear at the time of...Read More
Nickel premiums remained steady in the United States, China and Europe in the week to November 3, although tight supplies and growing production disruptions are keeping prices high in the US. US nickel premiums hold at historic highsChinese premiums also stable with increased full plate imports into ChinaPremiums unchanged in Europe, with market focusing on contracts for 2022US premiums still at h...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday November 3.Please click...Read More
Chilean copper production decreased by 6.75% in September, compared to the same month in 2020, with all major mines in the country reporting lower figures, copper commission Cochilco said on Wednesday November 3.In September, some Chilean producers like Codelco faced workers' strikes, while a few also had drought issues and reported lower content in mined ore. These caused lower output during the...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday November 3 touched its lowest since October 13, with prices in the base metals complex ending the day on a mixed note ahead of the US Federal Reserve Bank's Federal Open Market Committee press conference.Zinc reached $3,263 per tonne on Wednesday, its lowest price since announcements by Nyrstar and Glencore that production in Europ...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Alex Cook, Dalila Ouerghi...Read More
An increase in the latest ferro-chrome tender price has supported the imported charge chrome market and strengthened sentiment among some participants in the chrome ore sector.China's Tsingshan Group announced its tender price for November-delivery high-carbon ferro-chrome at 10,495 yuan ($1,640) per tonne on Friday October 29. This is up by 500 yuan per tonne from its October tender price.The lat...Read More