Turkish steel producers returned to the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday June 25, attracted by lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Osmaniye region booked a 27,500-tonne US cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $261 per tonne, shredded at $266 per tonne and bonus scrap at $271 per tonne cfr. The cargo's composition was not clear at the time of publication.The previo...Read More
Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Thursday June 25. Key drivers: The most recent deal concluded on a fob Gladstone, Australia, basis at $261 per tonne for 30,000 tonnes with loading in the second half of July. A power outage at Hydro's Paragomias bauxite mine means production output at the Alunorte alumina refinery has been reduced to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday June 25 that are worth another look.Striking workers have put all industrial action at Tata Steel IJmuiden on hold until Friday June 26 to negotiate with management, Dutch trade union FNV Metaal said this week.Demand for copper in Europe is weak and economies are struggling to restart after coronavirus-related lockdowns, forcing c...Read More
Demand for copper in Europe is weak and economies are struggling to restart after coronavirus-related lockdowns, forcing copper producers to ship cathode to China instead. Chinese trading houses and copper product manufacturers told Fastmarkets that they were fielding a significant rise in offers of cathode produced in Spain and Germany, an unusual shift in traditional trade flows confirmed by Eur...Read More
The three-month price of lead on the London Metal Exchange continued its upward trajectory at the close of trading on Thursday June 25, closing more than 1% higher and topping gains across the base-metals complex.But a steady uptick in copper futures over the afternoon was not enough to breach nearby resistance.Lead's outright price on the LME closed at $1,786 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, near...Read More
The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer during morning trading on Thursday June 25, supported by a continued trend of stock withdrawals, while a steady incline in LME tin stocks softened the metal's wide backwardation. Lead's outright price on the LME was recently at $1,778.50 per tonne, climbing by just under 1% from Wednesday's closing price of $1,762 p...Read More
Broader markets were generally weaker this morning, Thursday June 25, with those equity markets that were open in the Asian-Pacific region mainly weaker by between 1% and 2%.Pre-market major western equity index futures were down this morning, following Wednesday's weakness. Gold prices hold up in high ground around $1,760 per oz.International Monetary Fund (IMF) cuts world growth forecast again,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The recent announcement about Vale's resumption of operations in Brazil, along with new concerns about a slump in demand because of heavy rainfall in China, has resulted in the end of the iron ore price rally. There has also been pressure from tight steel spreads, with the operating margins for Chinese steel mills shrinking...Read More
An explosion at Russia's Wolfram Co JSC UZTM plant has temporarily halted tungsten production there, a source at the company told Fastmarkets. Production was suspended for three days following the accident that took place on the night of Tuesday June 23 and was expected to resume on Thursday June 25 with no major impact on production, the source said. The accident happened when the plant was melti...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe remained fairly stable on Thursday June 25 from the day before, although steelmakers were looking for a price rise, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?394.38 ($445.10) per tonne on June 25, up by only ?,?0.01 per tonne from ?,?394.37 per tonne on June 24.Thursday'...Read More
Copper scrap discounts in the United States were unchanged week on week amid continued slow scrap flows and while demand remained limited to the minimum volumes required to maintain production."I had hoped that by the middle of June we'd see a bigger pick-up of both copper scrap and primary metals. In terms of copper scrap, there is slight demand but there's been no pick-up yet," one consumer said...Read More
Fraudulent activity in the aluminium scrap market has picked up recently, according to market sources and industry organizations, with one scheme involving aluminium wheels causing particular damage.A recycler buying large amounts of aluminium scrap, primarily wheels, is fraudulently using the name of a real Canadian company, Linamar Corp; redirecting shipments; and not paying for material, accord...Read More
Demand for copper in Europe is weak and economies are struggling to restart after coronavirus-related lockdowns, forcing copper producers to ship cathode to China instead. Chinese trading houses and copper product manufacturers told Fastmarkets that they were fielding a significant rise in offers of cathode produced in Spain and Germany, an unusual shift in traditional trade flows confirmed by Eur...Read More
The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer during morning trading on Thursday June 25, supported by a continued trend of stock withdrawals, while a steady incline in LME tin stocks softened the metal's wide backwardation. Lead's outright price on the LME was recently at $1,778.50 per tonne, climbing by just under 1% from Wednesday's closing price of $1,762 p...Read More
Broader markets were generally weaker this morning, Thursday June 25, with those equity markets that were open in the Asian-Pacific region mainly weaker by between 1% and 2%.Pre-market major western equity index futures were down this morning, following Wednesday's weakness. Gold prices hold up in high ground around $1,760 per oz.International Monetary Fund (IMF) cuts world growth forecast again,...Read More
US hot-rolled coil prices have slipped modestly below $24 per hundredweight ($480 per short ton) on short lead times, expectations of lower scrap prices and fears of renewed shutdowns should Covid-19 infections in the South and West spiral out of control, sources said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $23.90 per cwt ($478 per ton) on Thursday June 25, do...Read More
Prices for certain flat steel imports into the United States have dropped amid weakened domestic prices as well as rising concerns over underlying demand, restarted furnace capacity and surging Covid-19 cases - especially in the South, Midwest and West of the country.With some states being overwhelmed by increased novel coronavirus infections, it is possible that they will resume lockdowns, source...Read More
Brazil's largest flat steel producer, Usiminas, is to restructure its capital goods and engineering subsidiary to serve its core business after five years of sustained losses and unsuccessful divestment attempts.Usiminas Mec??nica will now focus on providing services to the parent company and its other subsidiaries and move away from external projects, the company said - althou...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have gone down over the past week, with poor demand convincing producers to reduce their offer prices, sources said on Thursday June 25.Turkish steel producers lowered their offers for rebar exports to $415-420 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis to encourage sales, down from last week's $425-430 per tonne. However, apart from a small containerized...Read More
The billet import price decreased in Egypt because of lower offers and bids in the week to Thursday June 25, sources told Fastmarkets. CIS-origin billet was offered this week at $395-400 per tonne cfr, and buyers believed $375-380 per tonne cfr may be a "workable" price for the material. No deals were heard in the assessment period because of weak rebar consumption. As a result, Fastmarkets' weekl...Read More