The Turkish steel mills have fallen quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets following political developments that have raised concerns in the market, sources said on Thursday October 10.The most recent confirmed transaction was done from the United States on October 9. A Turkish steel producer booked a cargo comprising 23,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $233 per tonne and 17,000 tonnes of shredded at...Read More
Any hopes the United States might relax its sanctions on Turkish steel exports appear to have been scuppered after Turkey launched an air and ground assault on Kurdish-held northern Syria. On Wednesday October 9, Turkey launched 'Operation Peace Spring' east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria to secure its borders, after the US army retreated from the region. And on Thursday, the head of the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday October 10 that are worth another look.The queue to remove metal from London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses operated by H&M Metal in Busan, South Korea rose to 30 days at the end of September, according to the latest LME data.New customs declaration procedures could be put in place by European Union member states if the Uni...Read More
Workers at Asarco's copper mines and processing facilities in Arizona and Texas may vote to go on strike due to disagreements over the renewal of work contracts, a United Steelworkers (USW) union representative confirmed to Fastmarkets.The union is holding informational member meetings to discuss the contract negotiations with Tucson, Arizona-based Asarco.Three meetings were scheduled to take plac...Read More
The queue to remove metal from London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses operated by H&M Metal in Busan, South Korea rose to 30 days at the end of September, according to the latest LME data.The 30-day queue at the warehouse is for aluminium, copper, lead and zinc. This is up from 10 days at the end of August. The original queue built up due to fresh cancellations in Busan. From August 23 to...Read More
The connection between physical demand fundamentals and futures price action has broken, say market participants, pointing to nickel stocks on the London Metal Exchange at an 11-year low and the benchmark cash/three-month spread in a backwardation of over $160 per tonne. There have been unprecedented daily drawdowns of LME nickel stocks, which are at their lowest since 2008 at 102,696 tonnes on Th...Read More
A summary of Buenaventura's lead, zinc and copper production results and sales volumes for the third quarter, ended on September 30.In briefPeruvian mining company Buenaventura reported a year-on-year fall on zinc and lead production during the third quarter, which prompted guidance cuts for 2019. The copper output guidance, on the other hand, was unchanged at 47,000-52,000 tonnes.The miner decide...Read More
Switzerland-based miner-trader Glencore revealed on Thursday October 10 that chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg holds an 8.3% shareholding in the company in its first disclosure of his stake since 2013.The miner-trader, which is the world's largest for metals, said on Thursday that the company's share buyback scheme had left long-time CEO Glasenberg with 9% of voting rights in the company and...Read More
The CIS export billet price continued to strengthen this week with fresh bookings agreed by customers in Africa at prices higher than those of earlier deals, Fastmarkets has heard.Customers in Egypt and Ethiopia booked a total of 25,000 tonnes of Russia-origin billet through a trader at $356 per tonne fob Black Sea. The price from the mill was estimated to be $354-355 per tonne fob Black Sea, whic...Read More
Prices for steel rebar in Egypt fell in the week to Thursday October 10, while imported steel billet prices increased, sources have told Fastmarkets.Egyptian rebar producers reduced their prices on September 30 and October 9.The reason for these falls was that Egypt's prime minister last week announced a reduction in the cost for natural gas, to $5.50 per BTU from $7.00 per BTU. This will substant...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market fell on Thursday October 10 due to lower offers from Indian steelmakers and despite an increase in ferrous scrap import prices in the bellwether Turkish market, sources told Fastmarkets. "Indian mills have remained aggressive in the export market because of weak domestic demand," an Indian trader said.Billet from India was offered at $392-395 per tonn...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices were largely unchanged on Thursday October 10 because although demand was robust, some participants were bearish on the price outlook after some buyers started selling imported goods from Russia.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,590-3,600 yuan ($502-503) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,540 yuan per tonne, unchangedSpot prices were stable even thoug...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, plate, sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic, commercial-grade...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rebounded on Thursday October 10 following a big decline a day earlier, thanks to gains in the futures markets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.68 per tonne, up by $2.62 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.23 per tonne, up by $3.89 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.08 per tonne, up by $2.33 per tonne.58% Fe fi...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, tender, 170,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, sold at $92.71 per tonne cfr China, laycan November 5-14.Rio Tinto, bilateral sale, 70,000 tonnes of Pilbara Blend lump, sold at the...Read More
Transaction prices for premium mid-vol coking coal from Australia jumped on Thursday October 10, compared with pre-Golden Week levels, leaving some market participants surprised.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $145.39 per tonne, down $0.98 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $159.50 per tonne, down $0.22 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123....Read More
New customs declaration procedures could be put in place by European Union member states if the United Kingdom ultimately leaves the bloc with no agreement in place (a "no-deal Brexit"), an industry association told Fastmarkets this week.This would cause months of congestion affecting UK-origin scrap cargoes although no long-term disruption was expected for the UK's metals recycling sector, worth...Read More
The world's largest low-grade iron ore producer has confirmed that it will bid for two blocks at what is considered the world's largest untapped high-grade ore resource, a move that reiterates what the industry has been saying over the past few years - that demand for green iron ore or high-grade ore is a structural change in the making."Following the release of information at a public meeting hel...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange pushed up during morning trading on Thursday October 10, climbing by nearly 2% amid an ongoing drawdown of LME inventories. Nickel's outright price was recently trading at $17,620 per tonne, appreciating by around $285 per tonne with just over 1,800 lots exchanged as of 9:10am London time.LME nickel stocks now sit at 102,696 tonnes in total...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange exhibited mixed moves but were largely little changed during the morning trading session on Thursday October 10, with market participants digesting conflicting trade headlines.As has been the case for much of this week, the base metals seem content to drift while they await direction from high-level trade talks between China and the United States...Read More