Chinese domestic rebar prices continued to rise on Monday October 11 after steel mills increased their list prices, but market participants remain pessimistic about demand and prices for the rest of October.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,940-5,990 yuan ($923-931) per tonne, up by 30-40 yuan per tonneThe major eastern China producer Shagang raised its list prices for HRB400 16-25mm rebar...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 12 that are worth another look.A sharp rise in electricity prices has forced Spanish stainless long steel producer Sidenor Aceros Especiales to suspend production, Fastmarkets has heard.The London Metal Exchange has...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States remained under $97 per hundredweight ($1,940 per short ton) after market participants said restocking is not widely needed and that pricing may have peaked.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.89 per cwt ($1,937.80 per ton) on Tuesday October 12, little-changed from $96.83 per cwt on Monday October 11 but down...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices dropped on Tuesday October 12 amid weaker demand and increasingly bearish sentiment among market participants. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,920-5,960 yuan ($918-924) per tonne, down by 20-30 yuan per tonneCost pressures resulting from elevated rebar prices - which are at historical highs - resulted in contractors in the construction sector reducing their procu...Read More
Aurubis, Europe's biggest copper producer, is considering plans to set up a new copper scrap processing facility in North America to tap into the growing availability of raw materials outside China and Malaysia, the company's chief executive told Fastmarkets.Aurubis, which acquired recycling firm Metallo in May last year, is now investigating its options in expanding its scrap-processing capacity...Read More
China will allow its floating electricity prices to rise further from October 15 to stabilize supply amid a shortage in the country, according to a notice released by the country's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), its top economic planner, on Tuesday October 12.Electricity supplied to the national grid is priced using a formula that comprises a base price and a floating price, acco...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the September Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.3% versus a gain of 0.3% in August. Actual was an increase of 0.4%. Excluding food and energy, consensus was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of 0...Read More
Export prices for Chinese steel cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil have moved slightly higher from those seen in late September, while trading liquidity remained quiet.Demand for Chinese CRC and HDG has been poor in the week to Tuesday October 12, with buyers shifting their attention to cheaper resources from other origins and overall demand weak due to Covid-19 pandemic situations ac...Read More
The United States' October ferrous scrap trade's stressful late start and private deals added confusion to a scenario that was already perplexing after one steel producer made an unexpected debut splash, leap-frogging into the market in late September at flat pricing for prime grades."The market was a mess, but that is due to prices hitting an inflection point and bottoming, which is strange becau...Read More
Coking coal prices in both the cfr China and fob Australia markets held largely steady on Tuesday October 12, mainly due to a lack of buying activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $608.95 per tonne, up $0.83 per tonne Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $558.30 per tonne, down $0.03 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $406.30 p...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were down on Tuesday October 12 amid limited trading at Chinese ports, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $129.00 per tonne, down $6.03 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $130.17 per tonne, down $8.93 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $98.51 per tonne, down $7.08 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fi...Read More
Market participants were bullish on the Japanese scrap markets amid the surge in Japan's October Kanto Tetsugen auction price, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 12. Japan's Kanto Tetsugen auction closes $61 per tonne higher month on monthTaiwan returns from holidayPrices for imported material to China increase amid tight domestic supplyJapanJapan's October Kanto Tetsugen auction conclude...Read More
Deep-sea scrap import prices in Turkey have continued to increase due to strong demand from Turkish steelmakers, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 12.Late on Monday October 11, a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 34,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $463 per tonne and 2,000 tonnes of shredded at $478 per tonne, along with 4,000 tonnes of...Read More
Prices for almost all steel scrap grades continued to drop in Mexico in the week ended Friday October 8, with market participants indicating there was no end in sight for the price reductions.Some buyers have been applying gradual price adjustments on a weekly basis, while others made sharp decreases at the beginning of the month.More price reductions are being planned, with at least one major scr...Read More
Interest in importing steel billet fell in China on Tuesday October 12 amid a fall in the country's domestic billet market on the same day, sources have told Fastmarkets.A sharp drop in ferrous futures markets in China on Tuesday due to market expectations of a rise in Chinese steel output over the short term was also accompanied by a weakening in physical markets.Local billet prices in Jiang...Read More
Activity in the European hot-rolled coil market remained subdued on Tuesday October 12, with sentiment still bearish, sources have told Fastmarkets.The majority of European buyers have sufficient stocks to last until the end of the year and have only been purchasing smaller lots to restock particular specifications of coil. Distributors, however, were expected to return to the market for orders in...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China fell sharply on Tuesday October 12 after futures prices tumbled on potential increases in supply.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,750-5,760 yuan ($891-892) per tonne, down by 110-130 yuan per tonne The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed more than 200 yuan per tonne, or 3.58%, on Tuesday, marking the biggest one-day loss sin...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 12 that are worth another look.A sharp rise in electricity prices has forced Spanish stainless long steel producer Sidenor Aceros Especiales to suspend production, Fastmarkets has heard.The London Metal Exchange has...Read More
Global cobalt supply can't keep pace with surging cobalt consumption because its production is tied to copper and nickel mining rather than underlying demand, the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) said.The issue at the heart of industrially mined cobalt supply is that it is almost exclusively a by-product of copper and nickel mining, Benedikt Sobo...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly trading higher at the close of business on Monday October 11, with LME Week beginning in London.Aluminium prices were the star performer, rising by 3.3% to more than $3,000 per tonne. The three-month price closed at $3,064 per tonne, up from $2,966 per tonne at the close on Friday.The price reached $3,072.50 per tonne on Monday - a 13-yea...Read More