Demand for CIS-origin billet mainly came from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region this week, sources told Fastmarkets Friday May 1.By the end of the week, Fastmarkets had heard of three deals to the region, with the latest being a 50,000-tonne billet cargo sold to a customer in Saudi Arabia at around $360 per tonne cfr (or $335 per tonne fob Black Sea, excluding freight costs...Read More
Russia's largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) forecasts that the share of its sales that goes to exports will increase to 72% in May, compared with 54% in March and 52% in February, according to a financial report released by the company on Thursday April 30.In April, the share of export sales from NLMK's Russia Flat Steel Division and Long Steel Division reached 61%. These divisions inclu...Read More
Evraz's steel product output at its CIS-based assets surged by 9.3% year on year to 3.12 million tonnes in January-March 2020.The assets - West Siberian Iron & Steel Works (ZSMK) Nizhniy Tagil Iron & Steel Works (NTMK) and Evraz Caspian Steel - specialize in production of semi-finished steel products as well as railway and construction products.Of the total, NTMK produced 1,03 million tonnes...Read More
With competition in the global steel markets remaining fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in April 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases...Read More
Indian authorities have withdrawn the operating license from at least one shipping line after allegations that charges were being wrongfully applied to cargoes stranded at ports across the country, Fastmarkets has learnt.On April 21, India's ministry of shipping (MoS) ordered the cancellation of fees including penalty charges, demurrages and detention charges at all major ports and container freig...Read More
The price of containerized ferrous scrap imports into India slumped further this week due to the continued lack of trading under the lockdown conditions in the country, as well as a drop in the global scrap markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 1.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $259.38 per tonne on Friday, down from $269.13 per...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States strengthened in the week to Friday May 1, with several buyers restocking material, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $295-300 per tonne on Friday, up by $5 from $290-295 per tonne last week.One purchase of Ukraine-origin pig iron was done...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market ended the week with a lower-priced deal coming to light on Friday May 1, in line with market expectations for the direction of prices, sources told Fastmarkets.News of the cargo came to light late on Thursday, with a steel mill in the Iskenderun region buying a European cargo comprising 17,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $236 per tonne cfr, and 7...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the UK has edged up over the past week, climbing by ?5 ($6) per tonne amid increased competition among some major shredders for feed, while a slowdown in export markets has limited stronger advances, sources said on Friday May 1.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, wa...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States improved during the week to Thursday April 30 on new sales to traditional outlets. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $280-289 per tonne on April 30, up by $5-9 from $275-280 per tonne last week.A sale of Ukraine-origin pig iron was done to the United...Read More
Weak steel demand globally continued to put pressure on the direct-reduced (DR) iron pellet market, with suppliers and buyers still unable to agree a premium for the second quarter. Fastmarkets' assessment of the iron ore DR-grade pellet premium, Middle East reference, was $30 per tonne on Thursday April 30, unchanged month on month."We have not reached any agreement with suppliers, so t...Read More
Outright cobalt hydroxide prices came under pressure in April with limited demand from end-users in Asia outweighing the impact of delays and supply uncertainty stemming from South Africa's lockdown. Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide index, min 30% Co, cif China, was calculated at $9.98 per lb on Thursday April 30, down by 9.27% from $11 per lb at the end of March. The monthly index is a tonnage-weigh...Read More
Sherritt International has seen only modest impacts to its production as a result of Covid-19, but withdrew its production guidance for 2020 due to a number of market and economic uncertainties caused by the pandemic.Prior guidance for 2020 nickel production was 32,000-34,000 tonnes, while cobalt guidance was for 3,300-3,600 tonnes this year. The company has a 50% stake in the Moa joint venture, w...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday May 1.China The rise in UG2 chrome ore prices slowed down after China's major stainless steel mills all raised their ferro-chrome tender prices by a lower-than-expected amount. The imported charge chrome price ticked upward by $0.01 per tonne on improving sentiment and with availability of material f...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 30 that are worth another look.Indian steel mills are unlikely to cut domestic hot rolled coil prices for sales in May, private mill sources in the country told Fastmarkets this week.ABN AMRO Bank has filed a claim against China's largest private copper smelter Dongying Fangyuan, according to a court document seen by Fastmar...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange lost ground at the close of trading on Thursday April 30, closing at its lowest level in more than a week against thin turnover, while selling pressure pushed copper futures below nearby support levels.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $12,192 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, falling from an intraday high of $12,355 per tonne. Tu...Read More
Key pricing data from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Thursday April 30. Fastmarkets' daily alumina index, fob Australia moved up to $241.37 per tonne on Thursday from $233.93 per tonne the previous day. The index is now at its highest since April 1 when it was at $241.52 per tonne. Key drivers: Three new deals concluded Thursday, with two destined f...Read More
KAZ Minerals has delayed the start of production at its $1.2 billion Aktogay copper expansion project in Kazakhstan to late 2021, citing the impacts to its supply chain of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company has also cut its capital expenditure for the project this year to $300-350 million from $400 million previously forecast. KAZ Minerals had spent $663 million on the project by the end of 2019,...Read More
Lundin Mining has cut its 2020 copper and zinc production guidance due to changes related to the Covid-19 pandemic and said forecasts for expanded zinc output next year at its Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal should no longer be counted on. The Toronto, Canada-headquartered company, which has not experienced significant disruptions to output, concentrate shipments or its supply chain, said 2020 group...Read More