Turkish domestic and export prices for steel billet have gone down slightly over the past week in line with the poor demand for finished steel, but imported billet prices have remained firm, sources said on Thursday May 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, domestic, exw Turkey, was $365-372 per tonne on Thursday, down from the $370-375 per tonne of last week.Long steel produce...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged up day on day on Thursday May 28 amid active trading following futures gains, sources said. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,510-3,540 yuan ($491-495) per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonneSome end users increased procurement rates following the strong futures prices, although many others still kept their purchases limited, Fastmarkets heard.Stronger demand push...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices were unchanged over the past week amid weak demand, but export prices fell due to a depreciation in the yuan. The Chinese currency was pegged at 7.1092 yuan per $1 on Wednesday May 27, compared with 7.0956 yuan to $1 a week earlier. The mixed performance by stainless steel prices comes amid an unclear trend in the price of nickel, a Southeast Asian buyer sai...Read More
Japanese carmaker Nissan intends to close three plants at its Nissan Barcelona operations in Spain from December 2020, the company said on Thursday May 28. The units affected will be at Zona Franca, Montcada and Sant Andreu."The plan, presented after a lengthy study of options for Nissan's Barcelona operations, is now subject to consultation with workers' representatives," Nissan said.The company'...Read More
The Indian automotive sector has largely resumed operations through the month of May, with ? koda Auto India and Toyota Kirloskar both announcing their return to production this week.? koda India has announced that it resumed production on Monday May 25 at its Aurangabad plant, initially with single-shift operation, after its Covid-19-related stoppage. At the Pune plant, the manufacturer is contin...Read More
Turkey has told the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it is planning to impose import duties on certain steel products from the European Union.On Monday May 25, Turkey informed the WTO that it plans to impose an additional duty of 9-17% on steel product imports from EU. The products to be affected are hot-rolled flat steel under HS code 7208, cold-rolled flat steel under HS code 7...Read More
The annual sitting of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - widely known as the 'twin sessions' - in Beijing released a series of stimulus packages for the development of China's economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Market participants harbor mixed sentiment over the impact of the policy measures. Here are eight...Read More
China is considering setting up a national iron ore fund to support the development of its domestic iron ore production, China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) chairman He Wenbo said.The fund will use an estimated 90 billion yuan ($12.57 billion) from tax levies to support domestic iron ore development and ensure that China is capable of meeting up to 20% of its total iron ore demand.Income tax fro...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
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been fairly stable day on day and sources said they were unlikely to fall significantly despite slow demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 28.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?406.88 ($446.92) per tonne on Thursday May 28, down by ?,?0.62 per tonne day on day from ?,?407.50 pe...Read More
Export billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to weaken in the last week of May amid a lack of support from customers in Asia, particularly China.Chinese customers - who had been actively booking CIS-origin material - found the current import billet prices unprofitable considering the uncertainty in the finished long steel markets and the fluctuation of yuan agai...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
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
Seaborne iron ore went up on Thursday May 28 with mid-grade iron ores such as Newman fines and Pilbara Blend fines from Australia performing well, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $97.09 per tonne, up $1.72 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $98.89 per tonne, up $0.89 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao:...Read More
The China alumina market split into different directions this week with higher deals pulling up the high end while weak demand from other aluminium producers dragged the low end down, sources said on Thursday May 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for alumina metallurgical grade, ddp China was 2,150-2,250 yuan ($300-314) per tonne on May 28, widening on both sides from 2,180-2,230 yuan per to...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.A couple of months into the global Covid-19 pandemic, the sell-off in steel markets appears to be abating.In parts of Asia, where the outbreak first occurred, steel prices - including those for coated steels - have rebounded since late April. The same is true of the US market as well. As we detail in our Americas analysis thi...Read More
Turkish domestic and export prices for steel billet have gone down slightly over the past week in line with the poor demand for finished steel, but imported billet prices have remained firm, sources said on Thursday May 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, domestic, exw Turkey, was $365-372 per tonne on Thursday, down from the $370-375 per tonne of last week.Long steel produce...Read More
Bangladeshi steel mills are expected to return to the deep-sea market for steel scrap in bulk and containers in the coming weeks, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 28.Purchasing activity in Bangladesh has been extremely slow over the past three weeks, with demand decimated by the Ramadan period and the country's continuing Covid-19 lockdown.But signs of life are returning after Eid-a...Read More
Rio Tinto is considering a move into industrial-scale scandium oxide production after developing a pilot plant and seeing strong interest in the market, the company said this week. The potential timing, scale and investment in the industrial production of the rare earth metal - which is deemed a critical mineral in the United States, Canada, Australia and the European Union - are all bei...Read More