Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco has appointed Jos?(C) Sanhueza Reyes, currently general manager of the Ventanas division, to the newly created role of smelter and refinery vice president, the company said on Friday January 31.The promotion will become effective on March 1, when Reyes will become responsible for all...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
The price of stainless steel in the European domestic market was unchanged this week, despite monthly allow surcharges increasing slightly for February, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 31.In fact, prices are more likely to move down than up because of recent losses in the nickel market, sources said. The February surcharges are based on alloy component prices during the period December...Read More
A summary of Nornickel's full-year production results 2019. Production for all key metals increased year on year in 2019 due to ongoing ramp ups at the company's majority-owned Bystrinsky project in Chita, Siberia. Nickel output increased by 5% over the period to 229,000 tonnes due to output increases at Nornickel's refining operations on the Kola Peninsula...Read More
The supply-demand dynamics in the global copper market were likely to turn into a deficit in 2020, helping to boost the average price to $2.85 per lb during the year, Chilean state copper commission Cochilco said on Thursday January 30.The shortage of copper output to meet expected demand was expected because the world's consumption of the red metal will go up this year while the volume of copper...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to discontinue the publication of the following premiums, on a $/lb basis: MB-AL-0232 - Aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US, $/lb (twice weekly) and the associated aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US, $/lb monthly average MB-PB-0057 - Lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US, $/lb (weekly) and the associated lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Mi...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have increased day on day due to mills' good order books and a lack of competitive imports, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 31.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe was ?,?474.02 ($522.46) per tonne on Friday January 31, up by ?,?6.45 per tonne day on day from ?,?467.57 per tonne on Janua...Read More
Indian steel producers were likely to increase their prices for hot-rolled coil by at least 1,000 rupees ($14) per tonne for February sales to take account of rises in the costs of raw materials such as iron ore, Fastmarkets has heard.HRC prices for the current week, however, remained unchanged on Friday January 31 because February prices were likely to be announced early next week.The price of st...Read More
Just as China and the United States started to reach a deal and trade tensions eased, providing some longed-for certainty, the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) has again increased fear and uncertainty in the steel and feedstock markets.Although there may be no impact of the coronavirus on China's GDP in the long run, we have already passed the point of "no effect" on the market, as raw material price...Read More
Polish domestic rebar prices moved up over the week due to improved demand, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday, January 31.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, ex-works Poland, rose to 2,150-2,200 zloty ($553-563) per tonne on Friday January 31 from 2,050-2,200 zloty...Read More
Turkish export prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) decreased in the week to Friday January 31, amid moderate demand, while domestic prices were stable, sources said.Demand was moderate on expectations that prices would fall due to the decline in scrap prices.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Northern Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was $264.42 per tonne on January 3...Read More
Some Turkish flat steel prices fell in the week to Friday January 31, in response to weakening scrap prices.Buyers expected prices to fall after Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), Northern Europe origin, cfr Turkey, continued to slide, falling to $264.42 per tonne on January 30, down from $274.25 per tonne on January 24.HRC exportsFastmarkets' weekly pric...Read More
European steel association Eurofer forecasts a modest recovery in apparent steel consumption in 2020, with risks relating to import volumes, Eurofer said on January 30."2019 was another challenging year for the steel sector, with declines in steel consumption and import levels, which - while down compared to 2018 - were still very high compared to historical levels," director general of Eurofer, A...Read More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India dropped again in the week ended Friday January 31, while trading activity paused following a mid-week drop in international scrap prices, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' calculation of the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $291.99 per tonne on Friday, down from $296.51 per tonne on January 24, marking the thi...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets were quiet at the end of the week, with mills seeking lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 31.The daily scrap indices went down by almost $10 per tonne on Wednesday, when a US cargo was heard sold at $275 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (90:10).This has been the only cargo sold so far this week, as mills push for even lower prices as they struggl...Read More
The price paid for pig iron exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) declined during the week to Thursday January 30 due to pressure from falling steel scrap market prices."The falling market price of scrap [the relative pig iron substitute in steel making] is always a strong argument for buyers, who start to insist on lower pig iron prices once scrap goes down," one exporter sai...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were flat on Friday January 31 while the widespread coronavirus has cast a bearish outlook into the market.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.94 per tonne, unchanged.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.98 per tonne, unchanged.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.55 per tonne, unchanged.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qingdao: $71.60 pe...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices ended the week flat on a muted market due to the absence of participants in China, though concerns over a possible tightening of Australian and Chinese supply have emerged.Fastmarkets' indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $152.29 per tonne, unchanged Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $162.73 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $127.01 per tonne,...Read More
The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was higher during morning trading on Friday January 31, climbing by more than 1% to show signs of improvement after slipping through key support levels over January, while zinc futures failed to push above nearby resistance. Lead's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $1,845 per tonne, up from Thursday's closing price of $1,825 per...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More