Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday January 8. China Seaborne prices for both low- and high-grade ore soared after miners successfully raised their February offer prices following recent increases in the portside ore market. Bullishness in the alloy sector and yuan appreciation spurred buyers' purchasing appetite. Portside...Read More
Alumina exports from Brazil continued to grow in December, contributing to higher volumes in full-year 2020, while Alunorte, the world's largest refinery, recovered its capacity usage throughout the year, data from the country's economy ministry showed on Thursday January 7.Brazilian alumina exports totaled 864,533 tonnes in December, up by 58.6% from 545,095 tonnes in the corresponding period of...Read More
Spot trading of copper concentrates was quiet in the last week of December 2020, with fewer purchases by both smelters and traders.Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) dropped slightly, with offers for copper concentrates to smelters remaining in the mid to high $40s per tonne, while smelters bid $50 per tonne for clean qualities. A combo deal of Bisha and clean...Read More
An overview of the new energy raw materials markets and their latest price moves in the past week.Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey in London, Ruby...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to refresh their scrap stocks in the week to Friday January 8, with fresh deep-sea cargoes booked at higher prices, while concerns increased over tight supply in Asia, with China entering the market.Turkish mills book more cargoes for February-March at escalating pricesUS East Coast exporters enjoy demand from Turkish producers; West Coast lacks fresh dealsVietnamese...Read More
The British light iron market this week hit a high last seen in April 2013 due to strong export demand in Turkey for European exports, prompting a surge in UK demand for tightening domestic supplies, trade sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK was ?130-145 ($177-197) per tonne on Friday Janua...Read More
The prices of steel scrap imported into India and Pakistan moved up in the week to Friday January 8 despite a dull and uncertain market, sources have told Fastmarkets.IndiaFastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $479.33 per tonne on Friday, up from $458.02 per tonne on December 31.Offers this week were in the range of $480-485 per tonne, up from...Read More
Base metals prices were pausing and precious metals were mainly on a back footing this morning, Friday January 8, with sentiment generally bullish on the prospects for greater fiscal spending out of the United States when Joe Biden becomes the president in a few weeks' time. Asian-Pacific equities generally upbeat, along with pre-market western equity index futures US 10-year treasury yields conti...Read More
An overview of the new energy raw materials markets and their latest price moves in the past week.Read More
China's domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate market hit a 14-month high in the first trading week of the year after the price rose by 8% week on week on Thursday January 7 on soaring offer prices and heightened buying appetite.China's battery-grade lithium carbonate price hit a 14-month high due to continued tight supply and producers hiking up prices further. Chinese industrial-grade lithium...Read More
Freight Investor Services (FIS) completed the first brokered trade of the CME Group's cash-settled cobalt futures contract on Thursday January 7, the company told Fastmarkets. Five lots were traded for each month of the February-April 2021 period at $16.75 per lb, according to the United Kingdom-headquartered brokerage.The CME Group's cash-settled cobalt futures contract, which is tied to Fastmark...Read More
Most flat-rolled steel import prices declined in South America during the week ended Friday January 8, reversing a two-month uptrend after remaining unchanged during the year-end holidays.Slower domestic demand in China resulted in some lower offers from mills and some short selling from traders, according to market participants. Additionally, there were reports of many Chinese steelmakers refrain...Read More
ArcelorMittal has increased its official spot offer prices for coil products across Europe by ?,?30-50 ($37-61) per tonne effective immediately, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 8.New offers for hot-rolled coil have increased to ?,?730 per tonne ex-works, up by ?,?30 per tonne. New offers for hot-dipped galvanized coil moved up by ?,?50 per tonne to ?,?850 per tonne ex-works. Official of...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have gone up after the new year holidays with further sharp rises expected to follow next week, prompted by shortages and increases in raw materials costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 8.Buying activity in Poland's rebar market was recovering slowly after the year-end break and was expected to fully resume next week, sources said.Some producers were ba...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved up on Friday January 8 due to supply concerns arising from longer transportation time caused by a cold wave and a growing outbreak of Covid-19 in Hebei province. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,490-4,520 yuan ($694-699) per tonne, up by 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 4,080-4,120 yuan per tonne, up by 120-130 yuan per tonneVessel...Read More
The uptrend in the pig iron export sector in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued in the week to Friday January 8, despite a seasonally slow market, sources have told Fastmarkets.The weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $550-555 per tonne on January 8, up by $20-25 per tonne week on week from $530 per tonne on December 31....Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to refresh their scrap stocks in the week to Friday January 8, with fresh deep-sea cargoes booked at higher prices, while concerns increased over tight supply in Asia, with China entering the market.Turkish mills book more cargoes for February-March at escalating pricesUS East Coast exporters enjoy demand from Turkish producers; West Coast lacks fresh dealsVietnamese...Read More
Monthly European alloy steel surcharges have increased substantially for January on the back of further gains in the nickel market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 8. Fastmarkets' stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 2mm grade 304 alloy surcharge domestic, Europe was calculated for January at ?,?1,578-1,604 ($1,939-1,971), up by ?,?71-88 per tonne from the December level of ?,?1,507-1...Read More
Brazilian steel slab export prices soared in the week ended Friday January 8, with buyers showing increased interest in securing orders, and sellers trying to achieve new price levels.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, rose to $750-780 per tonne fob on Friday, compared with $670-685 per tonne fob a week earlier.Brazilian slab producers have been full...Read More