The export market for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States was quiet during the week ended Monday July 6, on low trading activity.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $400-415 per tonne on Monday, unchanged week on week.Both suppliers and buyers were inactive during the week, sources said."Everyone [in Turkey] se...Read More
Domestic transaction prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe inched upward day on day on Monday July 6 with steelmakers insisting on further price rises, sources have told Fastmarkets."The mills are stubborn when it comes to price negotiations [and are] targeting higher prices. And the prices have been slowly moving up," a Northern European distributor said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolle...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were broadly stable in the week to Monday July 6, supported by good demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 6.Demand for rebar in the region was good over the assessment week, but still slower than last July, sources said."Volumes are healthy, construction is performing well, but we are still below the levels of...Read More
China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facilitate "a great prospective" for the consumption of steel and ferro-alloys used in infrastructure, delegates heard at Fastmarkets' "Covid-19 and Asian ferro-alloys market" webinar on Tuesday June 30. In a poll at the end of the second session of the webinar, 65% of...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for late July and August shipments, although prices slipped back after spiking on Friday, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 6.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a UK cargo, comprising 14,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $253 per tonne and 1,000 tonnes of shredded at $258 per tonne cfr late on Friday July 3. ...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Judging by a recent webinar we conducted on Asian ferroalloys last week, many market participants believe the steel and steelmaking raw materials' world - outside of China - will record an 'L' shaped recovery, effectively failing to recover. With crude steel production outside of China falling close to a third in April and o...Read More
Iron ore prices rose again on Monday July 6 amid active trading in the seaborne and futures markets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $101.24 per tonne, up $0.59 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $103.99 per tonne, up $0.99 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $89.81 per tonne, up $0.26 per tonne. 65% Fe Brazil-ori...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
Brazilian vehicle manufacturers' association Anfavea recorded a 57.5% year-on-year decrease in production during June 2020, with plants still reopening from temporary idle periods while they readjusted to the fall in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it said on Monday July 6.Output totaled 98,708 units in June, down from 233,150 units a year before. But it was up by 129% from 43,080 units produ...Read More
China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facilitate "a great prospective" for the consumption of steel and ferro-alloys used in infrastructure, delegates heard at Fastmarkets' "Covid-19 and Asian ferro-alloys market" webinar on Tuesday June 30. In a poll at the end of the second session of the webinar, 65% of...Read More
Tata Steel has reached an agreement with trade union FNV Metaal over its Dutch assets, bringing an end to 25 days of industrial action, the company said on Friday July 3.There will be no redundancies at Tata Steel at IJmuiden and the parent company will invest in site's upgrade, FNV said.In addition, an employment pact for the company's Dutch workers has been extended by five years until Octo...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 2 that are worth another look.European importers of long steel and hot-rolled coil have claimed that this week's definitive decision in the EU steel imports safeguard case review ignored the interests of independent buyers and focused protection only on steelmakers, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.Chilean...Read More
Most Turkish flat steel prices hit a monthly peak on June 12, following feedstock prices, before edging back down when buyers concluded their procurement activity, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 2. Turkish flat steel producers are fully booked until mid-September. Feedstock scrap prices fluctuated in June. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), U...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) has predicted an impending collapse of a portion of its Nchanga open-pit copper mine in Zambia after a series of geotechnical assessments found some slope instability.Preliminary indications have shown that the slough, or caving in of ground, will be confined to a stretch of around 350 meters, the Zambian copper producer said, putting the estimated area and volume of the...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore prices continued to face pressure last week against a backdrop of falling portside ore prices, weak alloy futures contracts, and lower-than-expected tender price for July-delivery silico-manganese from Hebei Steel, China's second largest steel mill. Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin tumbled to $4.21 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on July 3, down by...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Monday July 6, with turnover at its highest since June 2, while copper futures similarly found momentum over the afternoon, closing above nearby resistance.Nickel's underlying price on the LME closed at $13,336 per tonne on Monday afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $12,985 per t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 6 that are worth another look.A deadly border clash which began in the cold and windy highlands of Ladakh, in northeastern Kashmir, has spilled over into steel trading between China and India.China's infrastructure spending has aided the steel market's recovery from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns and is very likely to facili...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is looking for ways to boost its options market, which has been struggling for some years to replicate the growth seen in the same sector among its peers.The exchange has launched a consultation, scheduled to end on July 29, on developing electronic options via a new trading platform while retaining its current inter-office options trading structure.Items up for discussio...Read More