The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India in containers moved up on Friday May 29, on growing interest from mills returning to the market for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $275.21 per tonne on Friday, up from $266.67 per tonne a week earlier. Many market...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the UK has moved higher by ?5 ($6) per tonne in the week to Friday May 29, the first price movement in May. Reduced arisings from scrap generation amid a slump in manufacturing and construction is outweighing slow demand from steelmakers.The price move may extend into monthly steel scrap delivery prices to consumers in the UK steel sector, wit...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases on Friday May 29, with prices increasing slightly, sources said.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a 42,000-tonne UK cargo comprising 3,000-8,000 tonnes of bonus at $262.50 per tonne, 10,000-15,000 tonnes of shredded at $257.50 per tonne and the balance HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $252.50 per tonne cfr. The latest shipment date for...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices increased rapidly on Friday May 29 on growing concerns over supplies from Brazil. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $102.39 per tonne, up $5.30 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $105 per tonne, up $6.11 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $87.30 per tonne, up $1.76 per tonne. 65% Fe Brazil-origi...Read More
Premium hard coking coal prices slumped after lower transaction prices emerged on Friday May 29, amid concerns that quota restrictions in China will be tightened.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $109.59 per tonne, down $2.64 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $116.45 per tonne, down $3.32 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $90.56 per tonne, up...Read More
Deliverable stocks of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses moved in different directions in the week to Friday May 29, with copper posting the biggest decline, while lead saw the biggest gains. SHFE copper stocks stood at 144,988 tonnes on Friday, down by 30,837 tonnes, or 17.5%, from 175,825 tonnes the previous week. Copper inventories fell for the second straigh...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price held on to the previous day's gains during morning trading on Friday May 29, while a second consecutive day of fresh cancellations of metal offered support to LME copper futures. The LME three-month copper price was recently trading at $1,541 per tonne, up $9 per tonne on the previous day's close.Gains were broadly capped across the majority of th...Read More
Broader markets were generally weaker this morning, Friday May 29, while they wait for what United States President Donald Trump's response will be to China's plans to impose national security laws in Hong Kong. The base metals were mixed, however. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange only the lead contract was showing price falls, while most of the base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange were...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
Boliden has stopped processing operations at its Kevitsa mine in Finland after a fire broke out overnight and caused "extensive" damage to a crushing plant there, it said on May 29."Production at the concentrating plant is halted until further notice [but] mining production is unaffected," the company said.Kevitsa produced 27,498 tonnes of copper in concentrates, 13,948of nickel in concentrat...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the session ending Friday May 29.China UG2 chrome ore prices rose for a fourth consecutive week - deals at higher prices were reported, reflecting attempts to restock among ferro-chrome producers with low on-hand inventories. Domestic spot ferro-chrome prices stabilized - sentiment further strengthened after Taiyuan Iro...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the session ending Friday May 29.China Domestic prices continued to rise, propelled higher by supply tightness. Market sentiment also improved after many steel mills set their June tender prices for ferro-silicon at 5,900-6,000 yuan ($824-838) per tonne for cargoes...Read More
Chinese copper smelters are still searching for spot raw materials to feed their furnaces while the supply of scrap and domestic blister copper remains crimped. The spot refining charge (RC) for 98-99% blister copper on a cif China basis dropped further to $115-125 per tonne at the end of May, according to Fastmarkets' assessment - the lowest since the monthly price was launched in February 2018.&...Read More
Prices for bulk ferrous scrap cargoes imported into Vietnam have continued to rise over the week ended Friday May 29 but some market sources were unsure whether the upward momentum would persist.Vietnamese scrap prices have performed strongly over the past seven days amid a combination of high demand from the South-east Asian country and Japanese sellers pushing prices upward.The high prices paid...Read More
Ferrous scrap buyers in South Korea have been forced to pay higher prices for Japanese material over the week ended Friday May 29 due to sell-side pressure, market sources have told Fastmarkets.Japanese scrap prices have moved up strongly through the week, with supplies of H2 heavy scrap coming under strain from exporters filling a backlog of existing orders from lower collection volumes.Strong de...Read More
Prices for heavy melting scrap (HMS) imports in Taiwan rose over the week to Friday May 29 due to an ongoing supply deficit, sources said. Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for containerized cargoes of steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), US material import, cfr main port Taiwan was $233-234 per tonne on Friday, up by $5 per tonne from a day earlier and $2-3 per tonne higher than $230-232 per tonne cfr...Read More
Overcapacity in the aluminium industry is highly unlikely to be erased in the foreseeable future, according to the former head of Europe's largest aluminium producer, Norsk Hydro.Svein Richard Brandtz??g, who was Norsk Hydro chief executive for a decade from 2009, said the market will eventually revert to a more balanced supply-demand picture but that this will take time to emerge. "History shows...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 28 that are worth another look.Japanese carmaker Nissan intends to close three plants at its Nissan Barcelona operations in Spain from December 2020, the company said on May 28. The units affected will be at Zona Franca, Montcada and Sant Andreu.The Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) has begun an anti-dumping investigation in...Read More
The LME three-month copper price was again trading above the psychological $5,300-per-tonne level on Thursday May 28, ending the day up 1.3% day on day at $5,322.50 per tonne, buoyed by the fresh cancelation of 19,000 tonnes earlier in the day.Copper futures extended their gains today with support from a considerable fresh cancelation of 19,975 tonnes from warehouses at Busan in Sou...Read More