Caterpillar (CAT), a Dow Jones Industrial Average stock moved above $183.81 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Blackrock (BLK), an S&P 100 stock moved above $721.82 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Semiconductor iShares (SOXX) moved above $383.27 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Silver equity ETF moved above $47.67 extending an in...Read More
The new year has started with optimism in the air and base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up by an average of 1.8% and 1.4% respectively this morning, Monday January 14.Most Asian-Pacific equity indices were also showing gains, while the dollar index remains in low ground.* Volume traded on the LME has been high with 12,012 lots traded as at 6.38am Lo...Read More
Corween Investments, the holding company for Liberty House, was given a lease for the insolvent Polish steel plate producer Huta Czestochowa earlier this week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 30.In late December bankruptcy trustee Mateusz Bienioszek signed a lease agreement for Huta Czestochowa with Corween Investments, several sources familiar with the matter told Fastmarkets "I ca...Read More
Closures at Hyundai Steel's electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in Incheon have reduced supply and raised prices for steel beams in South Korea, a company spokesman told Fastmarkets.Hyundai closed two EAFs at its Incheon works in mid-October due to a $100-million upgrade of its steel beam rolling process, the spokesman said on Tuesday December 29.Following the update, South Korea's second largest steelma...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday December 29 that are worth another look.Turkey's Ministry of Trade will start an anti-dumping investigation against hot-rolled coil imports from the European Union, Turkish sources told Fastmarkets on December 29.Fastmarkets' premium for the supply of aluminium...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday December 31 that are worth another look.The global pig iron market remained strong, but activity was limited during the week to December 31 due to the end-of-year holiday period.Argentinian aluminium producer Aluar finished 2020 at 70% capacity utilization, ramping up...Read More
Argentinian aluminium producer Aluar finished 2020 at 70% capacity utilization, ramping up production from stoppages related to the Covid-19 pandemic and weather conditions earlier in the year, the company said."[We will] continue to gradually seek production planning that allows for the partial resumption of the remaining capacity usage," Aluar said in a filing to the country's securities and exc...Read More
The advent of Covid-19 pushed prices to their lowest levels during the first quarter of the year, yet by the end of 2020, most underlying prices on the London Metal Exchange had bounced back to multi-year highs. Fastmarkets looks at why some metals outperformed others.Figure 1: LME Indexed performance up until December 24.Copper - cash price gain of 25% ($6,179.50 per tonne open 3 Jan to $7,749 pe...Read More
Discussions between Chinese copper smelter Jiangxi Copper and Zambian producer Chambishi on annual blister copper refining charges (RCs) for 2021 are at their final stage, with both sides expecting a rise in terms, Fastmarkets has learned.Benchmark RCs for contractual supply of intermediate copper products in 2021 have still not been signed, sources said. Two sources close to the matter said...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea ferrous scrap market continued to be quiet due to year-end holidays, sources said on Thursday December 31.The country's steel mills have been silent in the deep-sea markets since December 24, when a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo containing 30,000 tonnes of shredded scrap at $480 per...Read More
Discussions between Chinese copper smelter Jiangxi Copper and Zambian producer Chambishi on annual blister copper refining charges (RCs) for 2021 are at their final stage, with both sides expecting a rise in terms, Fastmarkets has learned.Benchmark RCs for contractual supply of intermediate copper products in 2021 have still not been signed, sources said. Two sources close to the matter said...Read More
China's spot prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate moved up further on tight supply, and deals were secured at even higher prices over the week Thursday December 31China Deals for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China concluded at higher levels this week on tight availability of material; producer sources expect higher prices to emerge in the coming month. Offers for industrial-grade lithi...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States reached the highest level seen all year - and in more than 12 years - on the final day of 2020. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $51.50 per hundredweight ($1,030 per short ton) on December 31, 2020, up 0.5% from $51.25 per cwt the previous day and 3% higher than $50 per cwt a week prior. This is the highest le...Read More
Flat steel prices in Turkey continued to increase in the week to Thursday December 31, but buying was weak because most buyers were busy with inventory calculations, sources told Fastmarkets.Additionally, hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices fell during the week in China because of weak trading, which created market concerns of whether global flat steel prices will follow, trading sources said.Fastma...Read More
Steel billet and reinforcing bar prices have increased again in Egypt for the week ended Thursday December 31, but demand remains weak due to the year-end lull in business, market sources told Fastmarkets.Market participants want to see the global direction of prices at the beginning of January before placing orders.Demand for rebar and billet has been slow in the country since the imposition of a...Read More
China's rebar prices picked up on Thursday December 31 despite thin trading, with the government's call for output cuts in the new year lifting market sentiment.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,450-4,470 yuan ($682-685) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 3,950-4,000 yuan per tonne, down by 100-120 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said sellers ther...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday December 31 that are worth another look.The global pig iron market remained strong, but activity was limited during the week to December 31 due to the end-of-year holiday period.Argentinian aluminium producer Aluar finished 2020 at 70% capacity utilization, ramping up...Read More
The global pig iron market remained strong, but activity was limited during the week to Thursday December 31 due to the end-of-year holiday period.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS was $530 per tonne on Thursday, up by 5% from $500-510 per tonne a week earlier.Pig iron exporters from the Commonwealth...Read More
The premium for direct-reduced (DR) iron ore pellet for the fourth quarter of 2020 was unchanged at $24 per tonne, but it will double in the first quarter of 2021 with a possible downward correction in the second quarter of 2021, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' iron ore DR-grade pellet premium to 65% Fe fines index, Middle East reference was $24 per tonne on Thursday December 31, u...Read More
The export steel billet market in the Commonwealth of Independent States fell quiet on Thursday December 31 amid a pre-holiday lull in the region and in consumer markets, sources told Fastmarkets.Although some major CIS millswere reported to still have February-shipment tonnages, the mills were not in a hurry to sell them, anticipating further price increases in January, several sources told Fastm...Read More