European hot-rolled coil producers have been resisting buyers' attempts to achieve lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 7.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?471.67 ($518.40) per tonne on Friday February 7, up by ?,?1.49 per tonne day on day from ?,?470.18 per tonne a day earlier.Buyers bid for the material at ?,?460-465 p...Read More
The London Metal Exchange price of nickel fell by more than 3% on Friday February 7 after reaching a temporary high of $13,210 per tonne.And nickel's closing price dropped to $12,770 per tonne, in a day that saw more than 6,300 lots traded.LME nickel stocks in LME-registered warehouses were now just below 204,000 tonnes, with 3,576 tonnes of fresh cancellations seen in the LME's daily stock report...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Nickel and cobalt producer Ramu NiCo, owned by state-owned Metallurgical Corporation of China (MMC), has been sued for $5.4 billion for environmental failures, the latest in a long line of environmental woes to befall the Papua New Guinea operation.Ramu's alleged failure to regulate its environmental conduct in Mandang province, Papua New Guinea, has led the municipal government and a consortium o...Read More
Zinc and lead concentrate treatment charges (TCs) declined in January amid illiquid market conditions, with the Chinese Lunar New Year limiting trade and concerns building that the effects of coronavirus will cap market demand.Fastmarkets' assessment of zinc concentrate TC, cif China, dropped to $285-310 per tonne on January 31, from a multi-year high of $285-315 per tonne the month prior.January...Read More
Alumina prices for spot cargoes on a fob Australia basis pushed above $280 per tonne on Friday February 7, as liquidity returned to the market.Fastmarkets calculated the benchmark daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $281.97 per tonne on Friday, up from $279.60 per tonne the previous day. The index is now at its highest level since November 7, when it was at $282.12 per tonne.Key drivers: Most r...Read More
China has halved tariffs on a slew of US-sourced metals and minerals including copper cathodes and rare earths. The reduced tariffs will come into effect on February 14, China's State Council announced on Thursday February 6. US products that formerly faced tariffs of 15% to enter China will be liable for a 7.5% levy, those that were 10% are now 5%. The annual trade value...Read More
Zinc's benchmark cash/three-month spread on the London Metal Exchange has moved into contango for the first time in five months after the largest inflow since last April brought on-warrant material to more than 50,000 tonnes. This is the first time LME zinc's on-warrant inventory has breached this level since August 2019. The galvanizing metal's cash/three-month spread traded in a $1.50 per tonne...Read More
Deliverable stocks for zinc, copper and aluminium at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses soared in the week to Friday February 7 because consumers have delayed their return to work due to the novel coronavirus outbreak that originated in China. Some local governments at major cities in China have extended instructions to keep businesses closed until at least February 10. Market participa...Read More
Import prices for some flat steel in South America inched down on Friday February 7, with buyers refraining from booking orders amid concerns over the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus.Several sources reported that buying activity was nearly at a standstill. There are fears that the outbreak could spark price cuts in Chinese material.The first offers from China were reported at levels similar to b...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled coil and galvanized sheet in the United States have slipped on deep discounting at some mills and lower substrate costs.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US slipped to $38.50 per hundredweight ($770 per short ton) on Thursday February 6. That price is down by 0.6% (or $0.25 per cwt) from $38.75 per cwt the week prior and down by 2...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices went down again in the United States after buyers reported seeing more weakness in certain steel end-user sectors as a result of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $29.64 per hundredweight ($592.80 per short ton) on Friday February 7, down by 0.2% from $29.71 per cwt the day before and down by 0.3...Read More
The Court of Milan in Italy has postponed until March 6 a hearing regarding the attempt by the country's government to stop steelmaker ArcelorMittal withdrawing from the deal to purchase the flat steel producer formerly known as Ilva, Italian trade union Fiom said on Friday February 7.The hearing was originally scheduled for February 7.The decision to postpone the hearing increased the uncertainty...Read More
Prices for imports of commercial-grade hot-rolled coil into India have dropped by $35 per tonne in the past week after Japan-origin coils were offered to Indian importers at $490-495 per tonne cfr Chennai port.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel HRC, import, cfr main port India, on Friday January 7 was $490-495 per tonne, down from last week's assessment at $525-530 per tonne.But importers hav...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in Turkey fell in the week to Friday February 7, with demand still limited because buyers were waiting for some clear direction before placing orders.Scrap prices also continued to fall, with Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Northern Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was $252 per tonne on February 6, down from $263.54 per tonne on January 31.HRC export...Read More
The price of austenitic stainless steel scrap in the UK domestic market widened upwards on slightly firmer nickel costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 7. Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK, was ?750-790 ($972-1,024) per tonne on Friday, up...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes at the end of the week to replenish their low stock levels, sources said on Friday February 7.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo at $260 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), although the cargo breakdown was not clear at the time of publication.This compares with a previous US cargo sold at a similar price on Thursd...Read More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India dropped further this week, although trading was more active, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 7.Fastmarkets' calculation of the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $284.44 per tonne on Friday, down from $291.99 per tonne one week before, marking the fourth consecutive week of price decreases.This week, deals ha...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to be buoyed by cyclone-led port impacts in Western Australia on Friday February 7, while doubts remained among Chinese market participants about steelmaking demand. Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.59 per tonne, up $0.42 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.92 per tonne, up $0.42 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cf...Read More
Trading activity in the seaborne coking coal market suggested that prices for the steelmaking raw material were still holding up despite bearish sentiment in China for steel demand due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $151.58 per tonne, up by $0.93 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $160.61 per tonne,...Read More