Steel producers in the Middle East asked for more protectionism against cheap imports in 2019 and this trend is expected to continue in 2020.GCCThe Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries started a safeguard investigation on several steel products in October this year. The investigation covers the period from January 2014 to June 2019 and focuses on hot-rolled flat products, rebar, wire rod, sec...Read More
Turkish steel producers made no deep-sea scrap purchases on the first working day of the week, but are still expected to buy more cargoes for December delivery, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday November 25.Mills booked four deep-sea cargoes last week at steady prices. The latest bookings were from the Baltic Sea region and sold at $260 per tonne and $261 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20)."I thin...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose further on Monday November 25, with the 62% Fe index getting back above $90 per tonne cfr for the first time in over a month.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.92 per tonne, up $2.84 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.95 per tonne, up $2.84 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.31 per tonne, up $2.84...Read More
Seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellet prices rose last week amid a general rebound in the market. ConcentrateFastmarkets' weekly index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao rose by $6.58 per tonne to $100.55 per tonne last Friday November 22. The daily Fastmarkets index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao averaged $98.30 per tonne last week, up $4.80 per tonne from an av...Read More
China's rebar prices moved up on Monday November 25 in both the domestic and export markets following futures gains, but participants were bearish on the market in the coming two months.Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,090-4,120 yuan ($582-586) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,800-3,840 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneHigher rebar futures led to prices rising and...Read More
Chinese markets for chrome ore and alloy were stable week on week on Friday November 22 in the run up to announcements for December ferro-chrome tender prices. Ore and alloy prices flat in China ahead of new tender price announcement Alloy prices weaken in Japan, South Korea European price range narrows, with market participants reporting continued poor demand US spot market sta...Read More
The European ferro-silicon spot price jumped by more than 7% in the past week, breaking a three-week run of stability on increased trading activity. Ferro-silicon lumpy basis 75% Si (scale pro rata), delivered Europe rose to ?,?950-1,000 ($1,047-1,102) per tonne on Friday November 22, compared with ?,?900-920 per tonne the week before. Most buying interest was reported on an inter-merchant ba...Read More
Brazilian rebar suppliers ArcelorMittal and Gerdau have announced a price hike of up to 12% for January orders, Fastmarkets understands. Steelmakers have been trying to increase the price of rebar in the country since September, with Gerdau pushing for a 7% rise in that month. But the market only started to recover in October and the hike was lower than suppliers expected. Fastmarkets' most recent...Read More
Steel producers in the Middle East asked for more protectionism against cheap imports in 2019 and this trend is expected to continue in 2020.GCCThe Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries started a safeguard investigation on several steel products in October this year. The investigation covers the period from January 2014 to June 2019 and focuses on hot-rolled flat products, rebar, wire rod, sec...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was marginally higher at the close of trading on Monday November 25, but prices failed to breach nearby resistance on moderately low turnover, while lead futures made the biggest losses over the day.Copper's outright price closed at $5,868 per tonne in the afternoon, despite reaching an intraday high of $5,917 per tonne, while turnover was...Read More
Kunming Rongke New Materials has won the entirety of the bismuth stock held by the collapsed Fanya Metal Exchange in an auction that ended on Saturday November 23, according to the official auction results posted on the Alibaba judicial online platform.Kunming Rongke won the 19,228.05 tonnes of bismuth with a bid of 606.07 million yuan ($86.09 million). The winning bid, which was also the starting...Read More
Chinese markets for chrome ore and alloy were stable week on week on Friday November 22 in the run up to announcements for December ferro-chrome tender prices. Ore and alloy prices flat in China ahead of new tender price announcement Alloy prices weaken in Japan, South Korea European price range narrows, with market participants reporting continued poor demand US spot market sta...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore prices for both grades rose by more than 1% in the week ended Friday November 22 after sentiment improved in response to rises in the domestic port-side market. Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin climbed by 1.2% or 4 cents week on week to $3.32 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday. Fastmarkets' calculation of the index for manganese ore, 37% Mn,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday November 25 that are worth another look.Brazilian rebar suppliers ArcelorMittal and Gerdau have announced a price hike of up to 12% for January orders, Fastmarkets understands.Seaborne manganese ore prices for both grades rose by more than 1% in the week ended Friday November 22 after sentiment improved in response to r...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was marginally higher at the close of trading on Monday November 25, but prices failed to breach nearby resistance on moderately low turnover, while lead futures made the biggest losses over the day.Copper's outright price closed at $5,868 per tonne in the afternoon, despite reaching an intraday high of $5,917 per tonne, while turnover was...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were steady on Monday November 25, as participants stayed on the sidelines to gauge direction following last week's increase.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.66 per tonne, down $0.10 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $145.39 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $120.70 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Ji...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange consolidated during morning trading on Monday November 25, while a fresh inflow of 50,950 tonnes did little to move the metal's stagnant price.Aluminium's outright price was recently seen at $1,738 per tonne, a dollar shy of Friday's closing price of $1,739 per tonne, while just over 1,500 lots were exchanged as of 9:05am London time.&nb...Read More
Northern European mills have been offering and trading hot-rolled coil at lower prices in a bid to attract more orders, despite an anticipated price increase, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday November 25.Northern EuropeAlthough Northern European mills have been speculating about a rise in HRC offers of about ?,?30 per tonne, targeting ?,?450 ($496) per tonne ex-works, they have been offering and...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai in the week ended Friday November 22. Europe Key drivers Prices for both grades of silicon continued to gain support with producers still reluctant to make any concessions on their offer prices in a bid to extend the rally until the end of the year. Even though during the market was less active last week than in the previous two...Read More
Zinc stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses recorded the largest drop in percentage terms in the week ended Friday November 22.Deliverable SHFE zinc stocks declined by 7,411 tonnes - or 13% - week on week to 49,710 tonnes on Friday, with warehouses operated by Ningbo Nine Dragons wharf in Zhejiang registering...Read More