Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe dropped day on day due to low market activity and decreasing import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 16.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?455 ($497.33) per tonne on Thursday April 16, down by ?,?8.33 from ?,?463.33 per tonne on April 15.Offers from Northern European mills hav...Read More
Liberty Steel Group will temporarily idle blast furnace (BF) No2 at its plant in Ostrava in the Czech Republic at the end of April due to the drop in demand resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Thursday April 16."This will allow Liberty Ostrava to better adapt to the significant slowdown in the European steel market, by reducing hot metal production by 20% and [with] more effi...Read More
Turkish billet prices increased during the past week due to rising imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday April 16.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel billet import, cfr main port Turkey was $375-380 per tonne on Thursday, up $25 per tonne from $350-355 per tonne one week prior.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States have tried to increase their offers to Turkey as the rebo...Read More
Turkish steel mills have continued to book deep-sea scrap, leaving prices fairly stable on Thursday April 16.A steel mill in the northern Turkey booked a US cargo late on Wednesday, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) and 10,000 tonnes of plate and structural scrap (P&S) at an average price of $262 per tonne cfr. This would put the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.While downward pressure mounts on the steelmaking raw material markets, premiums for higher-grade iron ores have been sustained despite narrowing operating margins at Chinese steelmakers. Chinese mills are operating with shrinking margins since the end of last year but the premium for high-grade ores remains high. Historical...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were down on Thursday April 16 with market participants assessing the likely effects of restrictions on blast furnace-based steel output in the Chinese production hub of Tangshan until the end of April, as part of a package of environmental protection measures.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.37 per tonne, down by $1.49 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumin...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices diverged on Thursday April 16, while prices for seaborne hard coking coal stayed unchanged. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $130.94 per tonne, up $0.62 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $138.42 per tonne, down $3.35 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $118.01 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $127...Read More
The aluminium price on Shanghai Futures Exchange rose for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday April 16 in an active Chinese market. The aluminium front month contract on the SHFE touched a fresh one-month high of 12,110 yuan ($1,714.50) per tonne on April 16, up 150 yuan per tonne from Wednesday's close at 11,960 yuan per tonne. This followed an increase of 220 yuan per tonne the day prior,...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices strengthened on Thursday April 16 after word spread that Tangshan, the country's steelmaking hub in the northern region, is set to cut steel output.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,330-3,340 yuan ($471-473) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,260 yuan per tonne, up 40 yuan per tonneTrading picked up across the country during the da...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Thursday April 16 although futures strengthened following word that Tangshan would likely impose restrictions on blast furnaces.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,430-3,460 yuan ($486-490) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,430-3,460 yuan per tonne, unchangedTrading activity was stable in the morning, which kept rebar prices unchanged.Some sellers r...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was up during morning trading on Thursday April 16, with price action supported by a fresh outflow of some 600 tonnes, while steady buying over the morning saw copper hold on to recent gains. Zinc's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $1,946 per tonne, a rise of around 0.8% from Wednesday's closing price of $1,931 per tonne. Turnov...Read More
Metals prices are in limbo this morning, Thursday April 16, while participants weigh up the stark truth that the global economy is experiencing a slump in demand with the potential for a rebound given all the monetary and fiscal stimulus being thrown at economies around the world. The combination of poor data summed up by the United States' Empire State manufacturing index falling to -78.2 in Apri...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic has rapidly hit global electric vehicle (EV) production and sales, and so the broadly anticipated reshuffle of China's EV battery supply chain is likely to speed up in 2020. Many already believed the EV subsidy policy in China that had been scheduled to end in December 2020 would squeeze out some companies in the EV battery supply chain, including producers of precursors, cat...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday April 15 pricing session in Shanghai.Key drivers Cobalt metal price supported by steady local futures, but spot trades were limited because foreign demand for Chinese metal remains soft due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.Cobalt tetroxide price stable since...Read More
Trade log for cobalt sulfate in China including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are yuan per tonne on an ex-works basis.Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate, Co 20.5% basis, China ex-works, yuan/tonne.The exchange rate on Wednesday April 15 at 43,000 yuan to $6,097.Wednesday April 15Price unchanged...Read More
Chinese stainless steel producers have withheld their offers since late last week and this has resulted in a recent surge in prices, multiple sources told Fastmarkets this week. Stainless steel mills including a major privately-held steelmaker resorted to a supply shock to arrest a rapid decline in prices after futile attempts to court customers with price discounts, a stainless steel trader in no...Read More
The base metals and broader markets are upbeat this morning, Friday April 17, with equity indices and metals prices showing strong gains - this despite some grim data out of China this morning, which suggests the markets may have been expecting even worse data. Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) fell 6.8% in the first quarter and more recent data for March on fixed asset investment and retail sa...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures advanced 74 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to encouraging signs that COVID 19 has passed its peak in the U.S.Gilead gained $8.26 to $84.88 after reporting encouraging drug tests that reduced COVID 19 symptoms. Boeing added $11.87 to 146.11 after announcing a resumption of commercial aircraft production at...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 15 that are worth another look.No market has been left untouched by the escalating coronavirus pandemic, but iron ore prices have proved relatively buoyant for the past two months compared with the price plunges we have seen in other commodities.Industry association European Aluminium has launched a strategic plan to maximi...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 15.Please click...Read More