A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday July 29.Please click...Read More
Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Wednesday July 29. Key drivers: Deals concluded on Wednesday at $275 per tonne fob Western Australia for 30,000 tonnes with mid-August loading. Prior to this, the deal market had been quiet with no spot business since one deal at $280.50 per tonne fob Australia on July 22. Chinese market participants h...Read More
A major buildup in London Metal Exchange stocks of refined zinc and lead is the main story for both metals this week, with market participants taking warehouse inflows as a sign of supply greatly exceeding demand. Total LME zinc stocks up 54% to 187,475 tonnes on July 29, from 121,050 tonnes on July 20. Total LME lead stocks up 84% over the same time period to 117,600 tonnes. Premiums fl...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. We also review our price forecasting accuracy for the second quarter 2020.Q2 2020 price forecast performance review According to the results of Fastmarkets' Apex for the second quarter of 2020 published this week, Fastmarkets' base metals research team was the second most accurate price forecaster for nickel (99.06%), lead...Read More
The United States' International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to retain existing countervailing duties on imports of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from Brazil and anti-dumping duties on imports of this product from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova and Trinidad and Tobago, it said on Wednesday July 29. The commission determined that revoking the duty orders "would be likely to lead...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in have increased over the week to Wednesday July 29 in Northern Europe and stood unchanged in the south of Europe, sources told Fastmarkets. Market activity has been gradually declining over the week because the European market is entering the traditionally slow month of August, but the sentiment remains positive. Steelmakers will resume production at higher pr...Read More
The Technical Secretariat of Anti-Dumping (TSAIP) of the Gulf Co-operation Countries (GCC) has announced its preliminary determination in its steel safeguarding case, the World Trade Organization said on July 23.According to the preliminary results, GCC countries decided that the import of steel products under investigation had increased significantly to the region, which was causing serious harm...Read More
Hollow steel sections prices in Europe were flat on Wednesday July 29 with the market experiencing its usual summer slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?540-560 ($620-642) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.Fastmarkets' weekly steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Southern Europe...Read More
Export prices for steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States continued to climb over the week ended Wednesday July 29, with offers from mills being limited by the ending of the month.The CIS export prices gained further support from rising import scrap costs in Turkey.The index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was calculated at $270.82 per tonne...Read More
European domestic cold-rolled coil prices were fairly stable over the week to Wednesday July 29 due to a seasonal demand slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?490-510 ($575-598) per tonne on Wednesday, compared with ?,?485-510 per tonne a week earlier. The assessment reflects "workable" prices...Read More
Domestic prices for mesh-quality steel wire rod in the south of Europe were broadly unchanged in the week to Wednesday July 29, while in the north of the region producers managed to achieve some upticks, supported by good buying and a lack of competitive import offers, sources told Fastmarkets.Southern EuropeIn the south of Europe, trading activity was slower this week because the market was enter...Read More
Export prices for bulk cargoes of Japanese steel scrap have risen for the third consecutive week amid solid buying interest, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 29.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap H2, export, fob main port Japan, was ?25,000-25,500 ($237-242) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?500 per tonne from ?24,500-25,000 per tonne last week.Japan-origin H1:H2 (50:50...Read More
Turkish steel mills resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases with prices edging up, sources said on Wednesday July 29.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $273 per tonne and 9,000 tonnes of bonus scrap at $283 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the Izmir region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $275 per...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices were relatively stable on Wednesday July 29 in a quiet seaborne market, with most participants in wait-and-see mode. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $108.60 per tonne, down $0.66 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $118.88 per tonne, up $0.09 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $89.34 per tonne, up $1 per...Read More
A summary of production figures and financial results from Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) for the second quarter of 2020, as stated in its earnings report published on Tuesday July 28.In brief Steel slab output was up year-on-year in the second quarter because a revamp of CSN's No3 blast furnace in June-October 2019 increased its productivity. This offset the effects of...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Wednesday July 29 in an active day on trading platforms, with gains observed in the futures markets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $110.57 per tonne, up $3.91 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $112.98 per tonne, up $3.19 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $97.41 per tonne, up $1.86 per tonne. ...Read More
Ukraine-based integrated steelmaker ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR) plans to construct a pelletizing plant that is expected to start production by the end of 2023, its chief executive officer, Mauro Longobardo, said.The plant will have the capacity to produce pellets at a rate of 5 million tonnes per year and will raise the Fe content in the mill's iron ore products to 68% from 65.3% currently, ac...Read More
The firmly-closed arbitrage window between the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange manifested in lower China nickel premiums in the week to Tuesday July 28, with a lack of profit-making pushing deals lower, Fastmarkets heard.Closed arb window pushes China premiums lowerUS spot market flat amid muted return to market from stainless steel millsEuropean market remains subdued amid sum...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Wednesday July 29, with trading activity remaining stagnant despite strengthening futures.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,570-3,600 yuan ($510-514) per tonne, unchangedChina's strengthening stock market lent strength to rebar futures during the day, an industry analyst in Shanghai said.The Shanghai Composite Index ended Wednesday at 3,294.55 points,...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month zinc price made gains during the morning session on Wednesday July 29 after a further 15,050-tonne fresh inflow into LME approved warehouses this morning. LME zinc stocks have been subject to over a week of significant consecutive inflows, with stocks up 54% to their current 187,475-tonne level today from 121,050 tonnes on July 20.The rising stocks failed to c...Read More