Asian spot aluminium premiums divert, with the MJP market edging up on higher deals amid China's open arbitrage window while the Southeast Asian market went down on lower offers from buyers, yet elsewhere, premiums were stable in a quiet market.Asian aluminium market active with MJP premium up but SEA down.European premiums steady amid low liquidity.United States premium holds despite vehicle prod...Read More
Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Monday May 25. After that, because of the UK's Spring Bank holiday, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Wednesday May 27.Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have remained slightly below $25 per hundredweight ($500 per short ton) while sources reported few transactions.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $24.72 per cwt ($494.40 per ton) on Wednesday May 20, down slightly from $24.81 per cwt on Tuesday May 19 but up by 1.4% from $24.39 per cwt a week earlier...Read More
While demand for coated steel products in the United States has been stable over the past month, prices dropped again, reflecting a lag against the previous downward trend that hit other flat-rolled steel products.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel coil Galvalume, fob mill US dipped to $32.75 per hundredweight ($655 per short ton) on Tuesday May 19, down by 5.8% from $34.75 per cwt in...Read More
Turkey has imposed additional duties on imports of several steel products with effect from Wednesday May 20, according to the Turkish Official Gazette.Imports of hot-rolled flat steel under HS codes 7208 9080 1012 and 7208 9080 2012 will be subject to 14% additional import duty until September 30, 2020.A 10% additional import duty will be applied to various cold-rolled flat steel under HS code 720...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe have been under pressure from limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 20."The market is very quiet. Buyers are not interested in placing orders because they have high stocks," a Northern European trader said."There are some signs of a slow recovery, but it is very slow. Generally speaking, demand is still absent, especiall...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe have been fairly stable due to slow market activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 20.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?410 ($448.14) per tonne on Wednesday, up by only ?,?0.16 per tonne from ?,?409.84 per tonne on Tuesday.Wednesday's index was calculated based on deals heard at ?,?405-415...Read More
Swedish steelmaker SSAB plans to extend temporary layoffs for its Finnish sites until September at least in a response to a downturn in the European steel market, the company said in a release on Wednesday May 20. In April, SSAB agreed temporary layoffs at its Finnish sites averaging three weeks in April-June with its employees and announced steelmaking output cuts. With economic conditions a...Read More
Steel rebar prices in Europe have remained largely stable over the past week, supported by costlier scrap, with buying remained limited especially in the south, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 20.Buying activity was slow in the south of the region because the key rebar-consuming sector, construction, was still running at low rates while various countries eased their way out of their Covi...Read More
Turkish steel mills stayed out of the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday May 20, with national holidays and Covid-19 lockdown measures continuing to inhibit trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.In addition to the public holiday on May 19 and the upcoming Eid al-Fitr break - from Friday May 22 to Tuesday May 26 to mark the end of Ramadan - the country's major cities remained subject...Read More
Prices for H2-grade heavy steel scrap remained stable in Japan over the past week after several deals were booked to Vietnam, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 20.Deals for H2 material were heard at ?23,000 ($214) per tonne fob to Vietnam in recent days, equivalent to $248 per tonne cfr South Vietnam and $253-255 per tonne cfr North Vietnam, Fastmarkets heard.The Japanese deals cam...Read More
The seaborne price indices for coking coal rose further on Wednesday May 20, except for the premium hard coking coal cfr China index. There was active trading in the seaborne market with several transactions reported.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $118.98 per tonne, up by $2 per tonne.Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $124.62 per tonne, down by $0.29 per tonne.Hard co...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Wednesday May 20 amid slow trading activity, bringing to an end a run of consecutive increases seen since the start of May.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $96.95 per tonne, down $1.41 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $99.54 per tonne, down $1.45 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $84.05 per t...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices went up slightly on Tuesday May 19 due to trading activity in the Chinese market, but concerns arose over tighter restrictions on imports, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $116.98 per tonne, up $0.67 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $124.91 per tonne, up $0.81 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $90.56 per tonne, up $...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price was once more capped by a significant fresh inflow of material during morning trading on Wednesday May 20, with 35,300 tonnes of metal put back into LME-approved sheds as of 9am.Aluminium continues to flow into LME warehouses because Covid-19 restrictions have weakened demand and metal holders content to store their material...Read More
China's import arbitrage window for aluminium may remain open until the end of May amid expectations of a stronger price performance on the Shanghai Futures Exchange relative to that on the London Metal Exchange, Fastmarkets understands."I think the import window won't close in the short term because the Covid-19 pandemic overseas has not yet reached a turning point. You can see that LME stocks ar...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday May 20.Key drivers Europe ferro-titanium market extends steady trend for seventh consecutive week while reduced production is counteracted by less demand, with little change in the near term. UK-based sources say domestic production has been cut by up to as much as 40% from some furnaces due to reduced staffing levels, while workers...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in China on Wednesday May 20. Key driversSome domestic producers lowered offer prices to facilitate sales amid persistently weak demand. A few others still held offers firm, though.The rapid spread of Covid-19 in countries outside of...Read More
The high-carbon and low-carbon ferro-markets in Europe increased in price last week, while industry sources reported around 900 tonnes of done deals in the former and about half of that for more refined-grade material.The high-carbon ferro-chrome price spread narrowed to $0.12 per lb after deals were reported that raised the lower end of the assessment.Deals for around 900 tonnes were reported and...Read More
The smooth flow of material from South Africa will remain uncertain for a considerable period even after the country eased its restrictions on activity in response to the Covid-19 virus. South Africa entered lockdown on March 26, which severely tightened exports of 37% manganese ore, UG2 chrome ore and foundry grade chromite, among other materials. The government has since granted permission for m...Read More