The impact on Vale from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been limited thus far, but the company is watching the situation closely in China."We are already booked with all our clients for the next 30 days," Vale ferrous and coal executive director Marcelo Spinelli said on Friday February 21. "Our main concern is the possibility of cash restrictions among our clients."On the oth...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the UK was unchanged in the week ended Friday February 21, stable for a second week amid steady demand and regular increases in European scrap export prices, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?70-90 ($90-116) per tonne on Friday....Read More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India surged this week on freight rate increases and a rising Turkish scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 21.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $303.09 per tonne on Friday, up by $16.13 per tonne from $286.96 per tonne one week ago.Deals for shredded at the start of the week were...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices continued to surge on Friday February 21, with mills booking more cargoes for March shipment, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel producer in the Izmir region booked a US cargo comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $280 per tonne, 10,000 tonnes of shredded at $285 per tonne and 2,000 tonnes of bonus at $290 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill in the Iskender...Read More
The export market for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States improved during the week ended Thursday February 20 due to continued scrap price increases. Additionally, suppliers have opted to hold back sales, contributing to the bullish mood in the market. "Suppliers apparently put things on hold and are not offering material at this point; they want to wait for better pricing," one b...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were rangebound on Friday February 21 with market participants retreating to the sidelines, though trading activity at Chinese ports remained robust.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.25 per tonne, up $0.24 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.58 per tonne, up $0.24 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.16 per tonne,...Read More
Aluminium stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses increased the most in percentage terms in the week to Friday February 21, with inventories up by 20.9% to 409,635 tonnes.Inbound material mainly came into Zhongchu Wuxi warehouse in Jiangsu province, and Central-China Dry-port warehouse in Henan province, increasing by 33,568 tonnes and 17,803 tonnes, respectively. "Slow...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices moved higher on Friday February 21, in line with the general market direction since the second week of February.Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $159.20 per tonne, up $0.91 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $167.13 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $141.63 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $149...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices rose on Friday February 21, particularly in the northern region, which led exporters to raise their offers significantly.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,500-3,520 yuan ($499-501) per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,350-3,380 yuan per tonne, up 80 yuan per tonnePrices in Shanghai edged up, with trading activity rising day by day.But a trade...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Friday February 21, with its price action now testing support at $12,500 per tonne, while a 14,000-tonne fresh cancelation failed to bolster copper's futures price.Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently at $12,575 per tonne, down some $165 per tonne from Thursday's closing price of $12,670 per to...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose on Friday February 21 amid strengthening futures and higher demand, which left some with the impression that the market had bottomed out.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,420-3,450 yuan ($487-491) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,350-3,380 yuan per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonne DomesticMore end users have started working, though so far they...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets in the week to Friday February 21 and the reasons for their latest price moves. Read More
The equity markets barometer suggests concerns over the economic impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) have picked up again over the past 24 hours, with Asian equities weaker this morning, Friday February 21, as are most of the metals.We said on Thursday that markets were focused on coronavirus developments more so than the impact to supply chains, but it seems that traders are now getting m...Read More
Taiwanese ferrous scrap buyers were scrambling for both containerized and bulk cargoes from the United States and Japan due to materials being diverted to other countries in light of the low prices there.The higher freight costs faced by shippers have also reduced the quantities being offered by sellers.Meanwhile, Vietnamese buyers were not active in the market this week, looking to delay purchase...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday February 20 that are worth another look.US-based metallurgical coal producer Warrior Met Coal has announced plans to develop a hard coking coal project in Alabama with a capacity of 3.9-million-tonnes per year, through an investment of around $550-600 million over the next five years.Alcoa Corp has been certified by the Aluminium...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Thursday February 20, falling by more than 1% but holding above the nearby support level, while nickel failed to reduce its losses despite low turnover.Zinc's outright price on the LME closed at $2,112 per tonne in the afternoon, with daily trading volumes the second-highest across the base-metals complex...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis have gone up over the past week due to a high-priced deal for material destined for China, but market participants were still searching for clarity on market conditions on Thursday February 20.Fastmarkets calculated the daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $289.84 per tonne on Thursday, up from $281.69 per tonne a week earlier.It was now at its highest le...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis have gone up over the past week due to a high-priced deal for material destined for China, but market participants were still searching for clarity on market conditions on Thursday February 20.Fastmarkets calculated the daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $289.84 per tonne on Thursday, up from $281.69 per tonne a week earlier.It was now at its highest le...Read More
Copper output by global miner Anglo American was down slightly in 2019, which the company attributed to the year being one of the driest on record in Chile, it said on Thursday February 20.Output of the red metal dropped by 5% year-on-year to 638,000 tonnes, compared with 668,300 tonnes a year earlier, according to Anglo's 2019 results statement.Production by the Los Bronces copper asset shrank by...Read More
Alcoa Corp has been certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) to market products under ASI's chain of custody standard. It marks another step in the drive by the company toward sustainable manufacturing practices and is in line with its strategic goal of becoming the lowest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) among the world's major aluminium smelters over the next five years.In October...Read More