Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States in the week to Friday November 8.China Key drivers Chinese silicon export market continued to gain upward momentum for the third consecutive week in response to supply tightness in the domestic market after southern Chinese refiners halted their operations due to a lack of cheap hydroelectric power during dry season whi...Read More
Turkish steel producers have taken a break from the deep-sea scrap market after last week's burst of buying activity for December cargoes, sources said on Tuesday November 12.Fastmarkets has recorded trades for 10 deep-sea cargoes at strengthening prices since the beginning of last week, totaling around 340,000 tonnes.The mills stepped away from the deep-sea markets on Tuesday, but they were expec...Read More
While investors and traders are still waiting for direction on China-United States trade talks, markets are reviewing their individual situations and adjusting accordingly.The two big movers have been the precious metals and nickel, both correcting lower as profit-taking and, or short-selling, set in, while the rest of the markets seem to be consolidating.With US President Donald Trump addressing...Read More
Cobalt hydroxide buyers' preference for spot and short-term procurement will persist, adding spot liquidity to the cobalt raw materials market next year, Fastmarkets understands. Chinese cobalt consumers demonstrated continued appetite to commit to long-term contracts during Antaike's annual International Nickel & Cobalt Conference in Yichang on November 5-6, which is an event where suppliers and...Read More
European producers of hot-rolled coil were expected to raise their domestic offer prices and were likely to achieve better trading prices because of production cuts and the lack of competitive import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 12."I think [the days of] cheap offers are now gone and mills will increase their offers soon," a German source said.The steelmakers, however, pref...Read More
Offer prices on flat steel imports into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have increased over the past week, but buyers have not accepted the new prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 12.Buyers were still reluctant to book large tonnages because of the weak end-user demand, they said.UAEOffer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from Japan were heard in the UAE at $450-460 per t...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil climbed during the week to Tuesday November 12 because of higher prices in the upstream hot-rolled coil market, sources said. HRC prices were boosted by strong domestic demand and production restrictions imposed by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment on cities in the Yangtze River Delta to reduce air pollution.Cold r...Read More
Prices for import billet and rebar, and domestic rebar in the United Arab Emirates have increased over the past week on improving demand, market sources said on Tuesday November 12.Some market participants believe prices will increase further due to the global rise in production costs, while others argue that demand is not strong enough to support such increases.Billet importsBillet was offered fr...Read More
Rebar contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased on Tuesday November 12 following two notices about winter production restrictions in the Fenwei Plain and Yangtze River Delta regions, but spot prices were unchanged. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,700-3,740 yuan ($528-534) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,630-3,650 yuan per tonne, unchangedRestrictions on production have been...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, beams and other long steel products. Latest transaction: rebar, wire rodRebar East China, domestic, grade III 16-25mm...Read More
Turkish steel producers have taken a break from the deep-sea scrap market after last week's burst of buying activity for December cargoes, sources said on Tuesday November 12.Fastmarkets has recorded trades for 10 deep-sea cargoes at strengthening prices since the beginning of last week, totaling around 340,000 tonnes.The mills stepped away from the deep-sea markets on Tuesday, but they were expec...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose above $80 per tonne cfr on Tuesday November 12 amid advances in the derivatives markets following news on production restrictions in China and Vale's lower sales target.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $81.48 per tonne, up $2.50 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $81.51 per tonne, up $2.50 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Q...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell below $79 per tonne cfr China on Monday November 11 amid worsening market sentiment.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $78.98 per tonne, down $1.13 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $79.01 per tonne, down $1.13 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $78.30 per tonne, down $1.20 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-premium, cfr Qin...Read More
CIS billet producers managed to secure several deals at higher prices in North Africa in the past few days, but most buyers have remained in wait-and-see mode since the start of November.Ukraine's Metinvest returned to the market in November and sold a 25,000-tonne billet cargo with increased manganese content to a buyer in Libya in the past few days at around $405-407 per tonne cfr, sources told...Read More
Prices for import billet and rebar, and domestic rebar in the United Arab Emirates have increased over the past week on improving demand, market sources said on Tuesday November 12.Some market participants believe prices will increase further due to the global rise in production costs, while others argue that demand is not strong enough to support such increases.Billet importsBillet was offered fr...Read More
Rebar contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased on Tuesday November 12 following two notices about winter production restrictions in the Fenwei Plain and Yangtze River Delta regions, but spot prices were unchanged. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,700-3,740 yuan ($528-534) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,630-3,650 yuan per tonne, unchangedRestrictions on production have been...Read More
European manganese alloys prices are extending their losses in the spot market in line with weaker demand from the steel sector, and further weighed by persistent falls in manganese ore prices in recent months, industry sources told Fastmarkets.The silico-manganese market weakened by almost 4% to ?,?840-860 ($926-949) per tonne from ?,?880-890 per tonne in the past week, after suppliers cut their...Read More
The Chinese ferro-silicon market has been supported by firmer steel prices over the past week despite muted demand for volumes of feed alloy, while in Europe, the market has been steady for two consecutive weeks despite no reported trades, with tighter supply underpinning spot prices. Chinese domestic alloys prices steady amid firmer steel prices. Chinese export market stable. European market unch...Read More
Voestalpine has started operations at its pilot plant in Linz, Austria, for carbon-neutral production of hydrogen, taking a significant step towards making the project commercially viable.The plant has capacity of more than 6 MW and will test whether the technology can produce green hydrogen via electrolysis suitable for use on an industrial scale. It is hoped hydrogen can replace the coke/coal-ba...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday November 12.Please click...Read More