Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have remained below $25 per hundredweight due to uncertainty in the market and muted buying activity.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $24.92 per hundredweight ($498.40 per short ton) on Wednesday April 15, up by 0.6% from $24.78 per cwt on Tuesday April 14 and up by 2.2% from $24.38 per cwt a week earlier on.....Read More
Sales of steel slab by Russia's largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), increased in January-March 2020 mainly on shipments to its Northen European joint venture - NLMK Belgium Holdings (NBH) - according to an operational report released by the company on Wednesday April 15.The company's slab sales came to 1.67 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2020, up by 11% compared with 1.497 millio...Read More
Italian flat steel re-rollers have resumed their operations after the stoppages requested by authorities to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 15.On March 21, the Italian government ordered the closure until April 3 of all non-essential production operations in the country, including steelmaking, as part of the measures to battle the pan...Read More
The price of mesh-quality steel wire rod in Europe was unchanged this week amid a quiet market, with buying being limited by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 15.This week in Northern Europe, trading was reported to be slow, with demand from end-users diminished by the quarantine measures that have been imposed.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment fo...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe were unchanged this week because trading activity failed to revive after the Easter weekend break, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?590-610 ($646-668) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.Last week, it was reported that mil...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market has gone quiet again after the recent upturn, with material supply being limited, while buyers were struggling with weak demand for finished steel, sources said on Wednesday April 15.The daily scrap indices went up by more than $15 per tonne on Tuesday, after deals for United States- and Baltic Sea-origin cargoes were heard at $255-257 per tonne cfr for HMS...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were largely steady on Wednesday April 15 amid robust port prices and expectations of improving margins for Chinese mills, and despite persistent supply jitters.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.86 per tonne, down by $0.16 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.48 per tonne, down by $0.26 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices rose on Wednesday April 15 due to active trading in China, though demand from countries such as Japan was heard to be weak amid production cuts implemented by mills.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $130.32 per tonne, down $0.27 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $141.77 per tonne, up $3.14 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $118.01...Read More
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.While copper and aluminium prices fell to four-year lows, the iron ore benchmark only dipped to a three-month low. The iron ore benchmark first dipped to nearly $80 per tonne in the beg...Read More
Export prices for bulk cargoes of Japanese scrap have increased by ?1000 ($9) per tonne over the past week after higher transactions were closed in Southeast Asian markets, trading sources told Fastmarkets.After six straight weeks of price decreases, Japanese export scrap prices rebounded on Wednesday April 15 amid continued demand from mills in Taiwan and Vietnam, and tighter ferrous scrap suppl...Read More
The Asian ferrous supply chain is emerging from a slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic ahead of the rest of the world, with demand recovering quicker here than in other regions.Key markets for flat and semi-finished steel as well as ferrous scrap in Asia are seeing prices being supported.This is in line with projections made by the International Monetary Fund about how emerging and developing...Read More
China's domestic rebar market was mixed on Wednesday April 15 amid fluctuating futures, with prices in the eastern region falling while those in the north picked up. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,430-3,460 yuan ($486-490) per tonne, down by 40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,430-3,460 yuan per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonne Spot prices in eastern China dropped after rebar futures fell...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices fell on Wednesday April 15 with sentiment dampened by losses in the futures market, while exporters awaited opportunities to sell to overseas buyers after suppliers in other regions raised their offers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,320-3,330 yuan ($471-472) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,220 yuan per tonne, narrowing d...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price was the only metal to trade up from the previous day's close during the morning session on Wednesday April 15, with a 20,000-tonne fresh inflow of material failing to cap gains in its futures price. The LME three-month aluminium price was trading up a marginal $10 per tonne at $1,513.50 per tonne during morning trading from the $1,503.50-per-to...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
Metals and wider markets are mixed this morning, Wednesday April 15, while traders brace for more economic and corporate data that will start to show the economic hit that the global economy has suffered. Banks in the United States started to report dismal earnings and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the global economy faces the biggest slowdown since the Great Depression of the...Read More
South Korea's two largest steelmakers plan to slash their intake of import scrap over the coming months amid weak finished steel demand, market sources have told Fastmarkets.Major steel producer Posco will halt its buying of import and domestic ferrous scrap for the next two months, according to four sources dealing in the South Korea scrap market. While overall steel demand is struggling in South...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...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 16 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures moved higher following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for March U.S. Housing Starts was a drop to 1.307 million units from 1.599 million in February. Actual was 1.216 million. Consensus for the April Philly Fed Index was a drop to -30.00 from -12.7 in Ma...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 14 that are worth another look.Toyota Motor Corp has decided to again postpone the reopening of its automaking plants in Brazil by two months amid plunging demand and in order to prevent the Covid-19 virus from spreading among its workers, the company said on Monday April 13.The Covid-19 pandemic has inevitably drawn comparis...Read More