Competition in the global steel markets remains fierce and here Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in January 2020.1. Turkey: rebar, pig iron, cold-rolled coil2. China: copper, aluminium and ferrous scrap3. Morocco: HRC from Turkey4....Read More
Eastern China's Shagang has rolled over the prices for its long steel products booked over the February 1-10 period, according to a company announcement on Saturday February 1.HRB400 rebar (16-25mm): 3,880 yuan ($559)...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have remained broadly stable despite increasing market jitters about downside risks from lower raw material costs and the potential fallout from the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in China.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $29.75 per hundredweight ($595 per short ton) on Monday February 3, nearly unchange...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange settled at a three-year low at the close of trading on Monday February 3, below the $1,700 per tonne support level against a 16-month high in turnover, while lead's price decline over the day was the starkest in the base-metals complex.Aluminium's outright price on the LME closed at $1,686.50 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its lowest lev...Read More
The seaborne prices for both high and low-grade manganese ore in China ticked down in the week to Friday January 31 in response to weakening sentiment amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin declined by 2 cents per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) or 0.5% week on week to $4.27 per dmtu on January 31.Fastmarkets' manganese ore 37% Mn, fob Port Elizab...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe increased again on Monday February 3 due to mills' good order books and a lack of competitive imports, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?479.66 ($531.95) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?5.64 per tonne day on day from ?,?474.02 per tonne on January 31.The index...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 3 that are worth another look. The sell-off of Chinese steel futures this morning is a sign that "worse is to come" for global steel prices, market sources told Fastmarkets on February 3.Canadian copper producer Taseko has decided to take action to protect itself against the tumbling London Metal Exchange copper pri...Read More
The sell-off of Chinese steel futures this morning is a sign that "worse is to come" for global steel prices, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 3.Expectations of a rosy second quarter fueled by seasonal demand have crashed on the pandemic, which broke out on the first day of the Lunar New Year holidays in China."With the current situation, the world can forget about steel prices i...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange settled at a three-year low at the close of trading on Monday February 3, below the $1,700 per tonne support level against a 16-month high in turnover, while lead's price decline over the day was the starkest in the base-metals complex.Aluminium's outright price on the LME closed at $1,686.50 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its lowest lev...Read More
Canadian copper producer Taseko has decided to take action to protect itself against the tumbling London Metal Exchange copper price.Vancouver-listed Taseko placed put options for 22.5 million lbs of copper (10,206 tonnes) - equivalent to 75% of February, March and April production at its British Colombia-located Gibraltar mine - it said in a notice on Monday February 3.Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were down on Monday February 3, although trading activity was relatively muted with participants awaiting Chinese buyers' next moves to gauge market direction.Fastmarkets' indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $150.79 per tonne, down $1.50 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $162.73 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $127.01 per tonne, unc...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices increased in the week ended Friday January 31 amid recent deals, but there was growing uncertainty in the market for February bookings.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil rose to $460-475 per tonne on January 31 from $430-450 per tonne a week earlier.Deals for March-shipment Brazilian slab to the United States occu...Read More
The high-carbon ferro-chrome price in Europe rose at the top of the range on Friday January 31 following a bigger increase the week before. Fastmarkets' ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 60-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe price widened upward by 2 cents to $0.82-0.92 per lb on Friday. The market had risen by 5 cents in the previous week in response to increased demand from c...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 3 that are worth another look. The sell-off of Chinese steel futures this morning is a sign that "worse is to come" for global steel prices, market sources told Fastmarkets on February 3.Canadian copper producer Taseko has decided to take action to protect itself against the tumbling London Metal Exchange copper pri...Read More
Canadian copper producer Taseko has decided to take action to protect itself against the tumbling London Metal Exchange copper price.Vancouver-listed Taseko placed put options for 22.5 million lbs of copper (10,206 tonnes) - equivalent to 75% of February, March and April production at its British Colombia-located Gibraltar mine - it said in a notice on Monday February 3.Read More
Russian aluminium producer UC Rusal is suspending the operation of its Bauxite Company of Guyana (BCGI) business in Guyana on "serious illegitimate actions" but will continue to obtain bauxite supply from its other mines, it said on Monday February 3.Rusal owns 90% of BCGI, based in Georgetown, which has an annual production capacity of 2.3 million tonnes of bauxite. The remaining 10% belongs to t...Read More
View the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for 2020 and 2021. Click on the image below to view the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for base metals, minors, ores & alloys and industrial minerals, and ferrous prices for 2020 and 2021.The 2020 calendar has been updated to include the extended Lunar New Year holiday in China, which affected certain prices. See the following pricing notices for...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Monday February 3, with price action improving by 0.5% against strong turnover, while nickel futures also climbed over the morning. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently at $5,590 per tonne, up from Friday's closing price of $5,567 per tonne, while turnover led the complex over the morning with...Read More
While markets in China catch up after more than a week of holiday, most base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are rebounding because China's sell-off has not been as severe as feared.China's CSI 300 was down by 7.7%, while pre-market Dow Jones Futures are indicated up by 0.6%.SHFE copper price falls 7%, which was limit down, but were recently quoted off by 6.5%, suggesting some buying ha...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down heavily at close of morning trading on Monday February 3, the first trading day after China's extended Lunar New Year holiday.The weakness comes amid heightened risk aversion stemming from a worsening coronavirus outbreak, which has resulted in a slump across most sectors this morning."The virus outbreak uncertainty and its impact o...Read More