The Section 232 tariffs and quotas have fulfilled their purpose - and now it's time to drop them before they harm the US steel supply chain further, trade lawyers, academics and industry experts claimed during this year's Steel-Con, hosted by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) in Houston."Section 232 [tariffs] on steel and aluminum is a policy that ended up helping a few at the...Read More
Nickel demand from China is likely to decline more than anticipated because of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, Nornickel said during its earnings call.But the Russian multi-metal miner - the world's leading nickel producer - said it was too early to quantify the risk posed to business by the virus.Publishing its 2019 financial results report on February 26, Nornickel sai...Read More
Most flat steel import prices in South America have remained unchanged in the week ended Friday March 6, in a market lull before the start of negotiations for May shipments, although sellers were indicating that more expensive offers would be presented in the weeks ahead.Market participants were expecting Chinese steel demand to recover from the recent tumble cause by the outbreak of 2019-nCoV cor...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been fairly stable day on day despite bullish sentiment among the region's steelmakers, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 6.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?484.64 ($541.53) per tonne on Friday March 6, up by ?,?0.12 per tonne from ?,?484.52 per tonne on March...Read More
Modest outflows of metal failed to support the London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price on Friday March 6, which closed at $1,685 per tonne after a turnover of more than 15,000 lots. The benchmark three-month aluminium price briefly hit a high of $1,718.50 during trading on Friday, but closed well below the $1,700 per tonne mark despite seeing 6,250 tonnes in fresh cancellations over the...Read More
The price of austenitic grades of alloy steel scrap in the UK domestic and European import markets moved up this week on higher nickel costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 6. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?750-800 (968-1,033) per tonne on Friday, up by ?10-20 per tonne week on week. Fastmarkets' price as...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped on Friday March 6 with traders becoming risk-averse ahead of the weekend, with concerns over the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus and its effect on the global economy overwhelming what market participants described as "not bad to healthy" physical demand for iron ore.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.19 per tonne, down by $2.38 per tonne...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday March 6.China Chinese domestic spot ferro-silicon price tumbled because both previously existing logistical constraints and supply tightness have eased. Chinese export prices slipped in response to the weaker domestic market. Export demand threat loomed because...Read More
Modest outflows of metal failed to support the London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price on Friday March 6, which closed at $1,685 per tonne after a turnover of more than 15,000 lots. The benchmark three-month aluminium price briefly hit a high of $1,718.50 during trading on Friday, but closed well below the $1,700 per tonne mark despite seeing 6,250 tonnes in fresh cancellations over the...Read More
There was an uptick in spot market activity in the week to Friday March 6 after smelters returned to make purchases for second-quarter consumption. Chinese smelters took advantage of rising spot treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) to snap up significant quantities of concentrate for the second half with TCs settled at a range of high $60s to low $70s per tonne. Trader purchase levels ar...Read More
The price of austenitic grades of alloy steel scrap in the UK domestic and European import markets moved up this week on higher nickel costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 6. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?750-800 (968-1,033) per tonne on Friday, up by ?10-20 per tonne week on week. Fastmarkets' price as...Read More
The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has forecast that refined copper usage in 2020-21 will increase year on year by 1.5%, owing in part to sustained economic growth in the United States.The prediction comes despite a backdrop of weak global demand for copper, while increased smelting capacity in China will create a global market surplus of refined copper for the next two years, according t...Read More
Western Mining's Qinghai Copper has become the second copper smelter in China to declare force majeure due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) after filing an application for a force majeure certificate from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Fastmarkets learned on Wednesday March 4. The certificate holder may claim partial or complete exemption for the contract's...Read More
Stocks of copper in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses continued to grow in the week ending Friday March 6, with total inventories up by 11.1% or 34,366 tonnes on a weekly basis to 345,126 tonnes. Zhongchu Wusong warehouse in Shanghai recorded the largest increase, with inventories up by 47.3% or 17,389 tonnes to 54,163 tonnes this week. The increase in SHFE copper stocks...Read More
While hot-rolled coil prices in the United States remain mostly steady, market participants are increasingly unsettled over what the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) may portend for the domestic steel market. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $30.21 per hundredweight ($604.20 per ton) on Friday March 6, down 0.4% from $30.33 per cwt...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized sheet rose after producer price increases took hold, supported by upcoming mill outages that have stretched out lead times.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US climbed to $38.50 per hundredweight ($770 per short ton) on Thursday March 5, from $37.50 per cwt ($750 per ton) on February 27.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel hot-dipp...Read More
Prices for structural tubing in the United States rose slightly on Thursday March 5 after tube mills announced price increases, but uncertainty in the market has left buyers hesitant.Tube mills increased prices earlier this week for hollow structural sections and other welded products by $40 per ton ($2 per hundredweight) effective immediately due to increased substrate costs."The price is changin...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices narrowed upward in the week to Friday March 6 while negotiations for May-shipment volumes start at higher levels, Fastmarkets understands.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil rose to $470-475 per tonne on March 6, up from $460-475 per tonne the previous week.Companies are starting negotiations for May-shipment offers and offe...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices went down by 800 rupees ($11) per tonne in the week ended Friday March 6, with long-steel product makers slowing their purchases of semi-finished materials in expectation of further price falls.The price of steel billet, domestic, ex-works India, was assessed by Fastmarkets on March 6 at 28,400-28,600 rupees ($385-388) per tonne, compared with last week's as...Read More