Fastmarkets' seaborne premium hard coking coal indices diverged on Monday June 22, with the fob Australia premium rising while other prices mostly edged down and market participants decided to take a wait-and-see approach.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $111.78 per tonne, up $2.58 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $117.36 per tonne, down $0.35 per t...Read More
The export market for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States was firm during the week ended Monday June 22 because of demand in Turkey and despite high prices for raw materials.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $405-415 per tonne on Monday, widening upward from $405-410 per tonne the week before.A sale of Russia...Read More
Trading activity had slowed down by the end of last week in the CIS export market for steel slab, with mills closing their sales for August shipment and now evaluating the situation, Fastmarkets heard on Monday June 22.A sale of Ukraine-origin slab was heard to Turkey in mid-June at $385 per tonne cfr, equivalent to $370-375 per tonne fob Black Sea.And a Russian supplier sold a large cargo of slab...Read More
The aluminium extrusion billet premium reached an all-time low in Brazil while demand remained timid due to the Covid-19-related economic slowdown in the country and sellers focused on securing bargain deals for their customers, sources said on Friday June 19.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium 6063 & 6060 extrusion billet premium, cif Brazilian main ports at $230-260 per tonne on June 19, down fro...Read More
Chilean state-run copper producer Codelco has decided to halt all of its construction projects in the north of the country, including the underground phase of Chuquicamata, while the Covid-19 pandemic spreads across the region, the company said on Saturday June 20.The current operations of the open pit at Chuquicamata will be maintained, however, with workers from the city of Calama, 20km to the s...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday June 22, while a steady rise in Covid-19 cases over the weekend prompted a slight downturn across the rest of the complex.Copper's outright price on the LME was the standout performer over the morning, recently trading at $5,866 per tonne, improving from Friday's closing price of $5,849.50 per ton...Read More
Lead stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses rose by the highest percentage among the base metals, gaining 16.6% or 3,279 tonnes to 22,995 tonnes in the week to Friday June 19. The largest inflows were recorded at warehouses run by Zhongchu Wuxi in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Tianchuan in Zhejiang, with rises of 1,232 tonnes and 1,632 tonnes respectively from 2,749 tonnes and 8,658 tonn...Read More
Production at Hydro's Paragomias bauxite mine, in the state of Par?? in northern Brazil, has been temporarily halted due to a power outage, the producer said on Monday June 22.Three power transmission towers overturned on June 20, cutting the power supply to the mine, the company said.The Paragominas mine delivers bauxite to the Alunorte alumina refinery in Barcarena via a 244-kilometer pipel...Read More
Despite fears of second waves of the Covid-19 virus, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were generally holding up well this morning, Monday June 22. But while prices are holding up well, they do seem to have lost upward momentum.Asian-Pacific equity and pre-market major western equity index futures were mainly weaker this morning.Gold prices gapped higher this morning, suggesting inve...Read More
Steel plate prices in the United States held steady for the sixth consecutive week after distributors determined that they mostly have sufficient stock and do not worry about availability if demand increases. Two rounds of price-increase announcements from plate mills still have not resulted in across-the-board higher prices, according to market participants. The hike announcements have enticed a...Read More
Global crude steel production decreased for the third consecutive month in May, with steelmakers responding to poor demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic by continuing to reduce output.Steel production from the 64 countries that report to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) totaled 148.8 million tonnes in May, down by 8.7% from 163 million tonnes in May 2019, according to data released on...Read More
The dramatic consequences of the Covid-19-related lockdowns across Europe, and the corresponding shutdowns of industrial activities, have resulted in an enormous disruption to the supply chains across all sectors of the steel industry.While the largest of these sectors, the construction industry, has by no means escaped the effects of the pandemic, sources believed that it could see a return of de...Read More
Trading activity in the majority of CIS markets was thin over the past week due to low demand, but CIS exporters of rebar and wire rod preferred to keep offers stable following the example of Turkish producers. Turkish steel mills last week kept their rebar export offers at $425-430 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, while bids for the material were no higher than $410 per tonne, Fastma...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe were little changed day on day on Monday June 22, despite poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets calculated the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?390.11 ($435.98) per tonne on Monday, up by just ?,?0.11 from ?,?390.00 per tonne on Friday June 19. The index was down by ?,?3.64 per tonne week on...Read More
Liberty Steel Group UK, part of the GFG Alliance, hopes to double production at its Rotherham site to more than 1 million tonnes per year after altering its product mix to produce rebar while reducing its carbon emissions, the company said on Monday June 22.It has upgraded its Thrybergh Bar Mill in Rotherdam to produce rebar from September onward. This follows a series of successful trials of its...Read More
Turkish steel producers started the week with no deep-sea purchases on Monday June 22 in anticipation of a downward correction in the prices, sources said.The steel mills in Turkey were mostly quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets last week, booking only two deep-sea cargoes at the start of the week.On Monday June 15, a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have remained fairly stable over the past week, with most market participants believing that prices have reached a peak, sources said on Monday June 22.The steel mills adjusted their buy prices for domestic scrap in line with their stock levels and finished long steel sales over the past week.Three steel producers increased their buy prices for auto bundle scrap by 20...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Monday June 22 after an increase in cargo arrivals at Chinese ports last week, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $101.75 per tonne, down $0.67 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $104.19 per tonne, down $1.20 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $90.77 per tonne, down $...Read More
Fastmarkets' seaborne premium hard coking coal indices diverged on Monday June 22, with the fob Australia premium rising while other prices mostly edged down and market participants decided to take a wait-and-see approach.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $111.78 per tonne, up $2.58 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $117.36 per tonne, down $0.35 per t...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrates and pellet prices fell in the week to Friday June 19 because high prices have deterred buyers from striking any deals, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao stood at $112.50 per tonne on June 19, down $2.68 per tonne from $115.18 per tonne a week earlier. And the weekly average of Fastmarkets' index fo...Read More