A lack of trading across Europe kept domestic prices for hot-rolled coil fairly stable on Friday October 15, sources told Fastmarkets.Bearish sentiment is prevailing in the market, supported by poor demand from the automotive sector and good domestic supplies. Buyers and sellers have mainly been holding back from making deals, with only limited volumes traded in Europe during the week, sources sai...Read More
Record-high coking coal prices have been pressuring steelmakers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), mainly in Ukraine, because of a dependence on imports, sources told Fastmarkets.Global coking coal prices have been trending upward since October 2020, when the Chinese government imposed a ban on Australian materials.Fastmarkets' index for premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang -...Read More
Turkish steel mills booked at another five cargoes on Friday to bring the total for the week to 10, market participants told Fastmarkets on October 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 21,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $487 per tonne and 4,000 tonnes of shredded at $507 per tonne cfr. The cargo was scheduled to be shipped on December 15.A steel mill in the...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China cruised higher on Friday October 15, with the futures market extending its gains on production curbs in the country showing no signs of easing.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,760-5,830 yuan ($896-907) per tonne, up by 20-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): weekly assessment: 5,720-5,780 yuan per tonne, down by 20-60 yuan per tonne The most-trade...Read More
A summary of global mining company Rio Tinto's third-quarter production results.In brief: Aluminium production was 3% lower than in the third quarter of 2020 due to strike action at the Kitimat smelter. On October 2, Rio Tinto reached a new Collective Labor Agreement for its British Columbia operations, which includes the Kitimat smelter and the Kemano hydropower facility. The smelter will steadil...Read More
Inventory changes of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses were mixed during the week to Friday October 15, with zinc gaining the most in percentage terms at 16% and copper declining by 20.1%.Zinc inventories stood at 71,444 tonnes on Friday, an increase of 9,854 tonnes from 61,590 tonnes a week ago, according to the exchange's weekly report.The largest inflows came into warehouses o...Read More
Prices in the United States' pig iron import market went up during the week to Friday October 15 amid an improved global market mood, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' assessment of the price for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $545-550 per tonne on Friday, up from $540 per tonne a week earlier.Offers of Russia-origin...Read More
Eastern China rebar prices lost upward momentum on Friday October 15 due to sellers' need to reduce inventories.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,770-5,800 yuan ($896-901) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 5,600-5,650 yuan per tonne, down by 200 yuan per tonneSellers expect prices will have little chance to rise in the remaining days of October, so...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 15.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
LME base metals prices were little changed early on Friday October 15, but the strong gains seen during this LME Week support our long-held view that we are in a supercycle, with other factors, such as power cuts in China, high energy costs and logistics issues, also having an impact.LME metals up by an average of 6.6% this week, with zinc up by 14%Brent crude oil approaching $85 per barrelEU pass...Read More
Coated steel coil prices increased sharply in Turkey during the week ended Friday October 15 and some producers stopped accepting new orders, sources told Fastmarkets.Producers stopped accepting orders because prices for hot-rolled coil, the base material for coated coils, continued to increase and producers wanted to reflect cost increases in their end-product prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price ass...Read More
Higher demand in key consumer markets led to a jump in steel scrap prices across all major markets in the week to Friday October 15, sources have told Fastmarkets.?EUR?Turkey import prices spike amid limited supply, firm demand?EUR?Further price increases expected in US export market?EUR?High prices dissuade Vietnam buyers from more deals?EUR?China scrap demand recovers amid less stringent power r...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in Poland were broadly flat in the week to Friday October 15, while market sources expect producers to increase prices in November due to higher energy costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (drawing quality), domestic, delivered Poland remained at 3,800-3,900 zloty ($964-989) per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous we...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States dropped below $96 per hundredweight ($1,920 per short ton) for the first time since August, with rising inventories putting downward pressure on prices, according to market sources.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $95.47 per cwt ($1,909.40 per ton) on Friday October 15, down by 0.85% from $96.29 per cwt on Thu...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States mostly held steady after market participants said 2020-21's unprecedented availability crisis is over and inventories are sufficient enough to cease the panic buying. "Mills' spot numbers are still stagnant," one southern distributor said. Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was unchanged at $...Read More
Eastern China rebar prices lost upward momentum on Friday October 15 due to sellers' need to reduce inventories.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,770-5,800 yuan ($896-901) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 5,600-5,650 yuan per tonne, down by 200 yuan per tonneSellers expect prices will have little chance to rise in the remaining days of October, so...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 15.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has extended anti-dumping duties on imports of wire rod from China until 2026, the Official Journal of the European Union said on October 13.The EC concluded that dumping would likely recur if the current measures were allowed to lapse. This followed an expiry review lodged by the European steel association, Eurofer, in July 2020 on behalf of...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the south of Brazil went up during the week to Friday October 15 because of new sales, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $500 per tonne on Friday, up from $480-485 per tonne a week earlier.Two sales were heard at...Read More
Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel is suing compatriot automaker Toyota and Chinese mill Baosteel on claims that the two had infringed on its patent for non-oriented electrical steel sheet. In its suit filed at the Tokyo district court on Thursday October 14, Nippon Steel is also seeking an injunction to prohibit Toyota from manufacturing and selling motor-driven vehicles equipped with motors using...Read More