US President Donald Trump is threatening to abandon a preliminary trade deal leading to an easing of trade tensions with China, citing the Covid-19 virus.On April 30 Trump said a trade agreement signed in January between the United States and China was "secondary to what took place with the virus." And during an interview with Fox news on May 3, Trump laid the blame for the...Read More
Kazakh company YDD Corp is targeting sales of ferro-silicon into North America this year, with the first shipments planned for next month, according to its output distributor on the project, Swiss trading house Helvetia Resources. YDD started cold commissioning three furnaces at its new Karaganda ferro-silicon operation in Kazakhstan at the end of 2018, with the aim of exporting ferro-silicon...Read More
The price spread for Europe-origin high-carbon ferro-chrome widened by a couple of cents per lb to $0.17 per lb in the week ended Friday May 1.This came after deals were reported at higher prices following the increase in the ferro-chrome and charge chrome benchmark for shipments in the second quarter of 2020. The gap was $0.20 per lb between the highest and lowest reported deal prices in the week...Read More
Broader markets were mixed this morning, Wednesday May 6, while base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board. Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed following Chinese participants’ return to the market after the country’s Labor Day holiday (May 1-5).* Asian-Pacific and pre-market western equity indices were mixed this morning.* Markets...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:15 AM EDT of the April ADP Employment report. Consensus was a decline of 20.20 million versus a decline of 27,000 in March. Actual was a decline of 20.2 million.General Motors gained $1.04 to $22.30 after repor...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 4 that are worth another look.Flat-rolled steel import prices were mostly stable week on week in South America on Friday May 1, after deals became scarce and negotiations for June-shipment cargoes finished with low interest from clients.The European Commission's (EC) antitrust authorities granted Europe's largest copper smelter...Read More
The three-month price of copper on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday May 4, pushing above nearby resistance levels despite the lowest daily trading volumes since April 6, while tin similarly staged a modest recovery in afternoon trading.Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,123 per tonne, recovering from an intraday low of $5,060 per tonne, while just...Read More
Copper stocks at Shanghai bonded warehouses fell in April amid an increase in import activity due to expectations of a cut to China's VAT rate in May and the opening of the arbitrage window between Shanghai and London.Fastmarkets assessed Shanghai bonded copper stocks at 291,000-301,000 tonnes on Thursday April 30, down by 12.7% from 334,000-344,000 tonnes on March 23. "The rumor of a VAT cut enti...Read More
The latest ferro-vanadium and vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe and China.To view the latest price assessments, follow the links below:Europe- Ferro-vanadium basis 78% V min, 1st grade, ddp Western Europe, $/kg V- Vanadium pentoxide 98% V2O5 min, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb V2O5China- Ferro-vanadium 78% V min, fob China, $/kg V- Vanadium pentoxide 98% V2O5 m...Read More
April's UG2 chrome ore price rally was capped in the week to Friday May 1 after China's major stainless steel mills all raised their ferro-chrome tender prices by a lower-than-expected amount, while the charge chrome assessment ticked up slightly. Fastmarkets' South Africa UG2 concentrates index, basis 42%, cif China held at $147 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous week. The inde...Read More
Christine Keener has been appointed Alcoa's vice president of operations for Europe and North America, in a new role combining the two operating locations, Fastmarkets understands. The consolidation, effective from Friday May 1, will streamline the management of operating Alcoa's assets and ensuring alignment among common markets, the company said. Keener replaces Jean Francois Cyr and...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in Europe in the week to Friday May 1.Key drivers European antimony prices down slightly on continuing weak spot demand, despite supply-led increases in China. Over the week, only small volumes - no higher than 5 tonnes - for standard grade II material were sold close to $5,850 per tonne, with offers...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market opened the week quietly on Monday May 4 after an expected drop in prices late on Friday May 1, sources told Fastmarkets.On Friday, a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo comprising 17,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $236 per tonne cfr, and 7,000 tonnes of bonus at $246 per...Read More
Turkish domestic ship scrap prices went down over the past week on falling imported scrap values, sources said on Monday May 4.Deep-sea scrap import prices weakened once again on May 1, with the news of a fresh European cargo deal.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, was $242.42 per tonne on May 1, down from $258 per tonne on April...Read More
A short working week for many countries in the global scrap market, coupled with the continuing Covid-19 restrictions, resulted in a dip in demand and falling prices in the week to Friday May 1. Turkey books lower cargoes on reduced output and demand Market in United States remains flat on lack of trading Vietnam market quiet due to public holiday Demand for Taiwan scrap dips India deman...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 4 that are worth another look.Flat-rolled steel import prices were mostly stable week on week in South America on Friday May 1, after deals became scarce and negotiations for June-shipment cargoes finished with low interest from clients.The European Commission's (EC) antitrust authorities granted Europe's largest copper smelter...Read More
Last week's weaker tone in the metals has flowed through into morning trading on Monday May 4, with the three-month base metals on the London Metal Exchange down by an average of 0.6%, led by a 0.9% fall in copper to $5,061 per tonne. With Japan and China closed trading volumes are thin.Market participants likely to focus on European purchasing manager's index (PMI) data and US factory orders. Bas...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 4 that are worth another look.Flat-rolled steel import prices were mostly stable week on week in South America on Friday May 1, after deals became scarce and negotiations for June-shipment cargoes finished with low interest from clients.The European Commission's (EC) antitrust authorities granted Europe's largest copper smelter...Read More
Exporters of flat steel from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were calm during the week ended Monday May 4 due to the large gap between offers and the workable level for buyers, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $350-365 per tonne on Monday, down by $5 per tonne from $355-370 per tonne a week befor...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in both Northern and Southern Europe dropped over the week ended Friday May 1 due to supply exceeding demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?425.63 ($467.04) per tonne on May 1, down by ?,?17.50 per tonne week on week and down by ?,?46.87 per tonne since the start of April.Friday's index was calculated b...Read More