Contract cancellations amid an ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China and beyond are making for a buyer's market for ferrous scrap in Asia. VietnamFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for bulk cargoes of steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam was $267-269 per tonne cfr on Friday February 7, down by $11-16 per tonne from $278-285 per tonne cfr Vietnam a week earlier.Deep-sea bulk carg...Read More
Australia's Port of Dampier in Western Australia state is being shut down at noon local time on Friday February 7 in preparation for a potential impact from a tropical cyclone that is expected to intensify during the day.The Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA) said during the day that its cyclone response procedure has been activated and with it, the Port of Dampier will be shut down, having already bee...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices remained unchanged on Friday February 7 amid weak trading despite an expected rise in construction activity from next week.Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,360-3,400 yuan ($481-487) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,540-3,560 yuan per tonne, unchangedMany construction projects in Shanghai are scheduled to resume work next week, though a few of them have put o...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices dropped further on Friday February 7 amid thin trading in the domestic market, which led at least one mill to export at prices much lower than the market average to draw down stock levels.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,540-3,550 yuan ($510-512) per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,250-3,270 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneMost s...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month zinc price was trading down 1.2% on the previous day's close at around $2,179.50 per tonne during the morning session on Friday February 7, following a 10,100-tonne fresh inflow of the metal into LME-approved sheds in Vlissingen in the Netherlands.This was versus a much lesser 375-tonne outflow of material from Rotterdam and Vlissingen, leaving LME global zinc...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves. Read More
A summary of the financial results for Belgian battery-materials manufacturer Umicore in 2019.In brief The company grew revenues and recurring earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) in catalysis despite the global recession in the automotive market, resulting from market share gains in light duty gasoline applications and increasing penetration of gasoline particulate filters in Europe and Chin...Read More
Moving into 2020, cobalt metal, salts and hydroxide prices have been well supported in January on solid demand and producers' firm offers, while spot activity in China has slowed since mid-January due to the Lunar New Year holiday and Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.Price movesTraders and consumers actively restocking boosted the benchmark standard-grade cobalt prices at the very beginning of January,...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, the United States and Asia for the week ending Friday February 7. China Coronavirus-related raw material supply disruptions and road transport restrictions pushed up domestic price. Tightened road transport measures made it hard to find trucks to deliver alloy from smelters to stainless steel mills, sources said. Trading activity in U...Read More
The price of stainless steel in the European domestic market remained unchanged this week, despite weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 7. Many market participants expect prices to fall in March because of recent weakness in the nickel market (despite nickel prices actually moving up slightly this week). But this expectation...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Thursday January 6, with price action holding above the nearby $13,000-per-tonne support level against a seven-day low in daily trading volumes, while zinc futures similarly held ground. Nickel's outright price on the LME settled at $13,060 per tonne this afternoon, with turnover low at just over 5,400 l...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was lower during morning trading on Thursday February 6, witha fresh inflow of some 3,475 tonnes pressuring its price action, while copper was little moved despite a fresh cancellation of 10,250 tonnes.Zinc's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $2,192 per tonne, a drop of 1.2% from Wednesday's closing price of $2,213 per tonne.&...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has opted to keep its traditional open-outcry format for closing prices after receiving negative feedback from its electronic nickel trial, the exchange said in a note to members on Wednesday February 5.With the decision made not to permanently change its closing price process, the LME's trade-at-settlement function (TAS), which allows participants to buy or sell a contra...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday February 6 that are worth another look.Chinese domestic prices suffer heavy falls on building steel inventory levels and persistent first-quarter demand worries, with rebar facing the toughest challenge.Chinese copper smelter Guangxi Nanguo has recently declared force majeure on shipments of copper concentrates, citing logistic...Read More
Restricted access to ore already in ports presents the threat of alloy shutdowns, both of which could provide short-term price support for ore and alloy, but the accompanying ore stockbuild in ports is expected to offset gains longer term. Supply and stocks Ore supply from South Africa and Australia has not been much affected much by the coronavirus outbreak so far, although there are talks o...Read More
Most ferro-chrome smelters had covered their ore needs for this week and logistics disruptions are minimal between ports and many major smelters. But logistics disruptions are hitting mills as they seek alloy. Predictions of higher prices have not been realised so far. Supply and stocks Chrome ore inventories at the main ports of Tianjin, Qinzhou, Lianyungang and Shanghai: 3.12-3.42 million t...Read More
Logistics constraints caused by the transport system lockdown in China, imposed to contain the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, were pushing European prices upward with inventory levels falling in Rotterdam.At the same time, the delays were adding to the pressure on traders which need to restock. Chinese material was not expected to arrive in European ports at least until March, Fastmarkets understands...Read More
China imported 1,623 tonnes of cobalt metal in 2019, up 54.6% from 1,050 tonnes in 2018, according to official but unconfirmed data seen by Fastmarkets. Fourth-quarter shipments totaled 527 tonnes, up 24.3% from 424 tonnes in the third quarter and up eightfold from 58 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2018. Chinese appetite for seaborne cobalt metal grew in 2019 due to a narrowing of the import arbi...Read More
Turkish steel mills have started to show more interest in deep-sea scrap cargoes following the latest drop in prices, sources said on Thursday February 6.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a cargo from the United States, comprising 21,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $260 per tonne, 3,000 tonnes of shredded at $265 per tonne and 6,000 tonnes of bonus at $270 per tonne cfr. The previous U...Read More
South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel reported an almost 70% decline in operating profits in 2019 amid tightening margins between its raw materials buying prices and steel sales prices.In brief Operating profit of 331.3 billion Won ($277 million) in 2019, down by 67.7% year on year. Consolidated sales of 20.55 trillion Won, down by 1.3% year on year. Profits fell more sharply than sales due to raw...Read More