Manganese ore producers reduced their offer prices to attract business in the week ended Friday September 27 after buyers either delayed or cut their bids prior to China's week-long National Day holiday (October 1-7). Low demand softens seaborne and port manganese ore markets Weak buying interest weighs on alloy in China Alloy sellers in India lower offer prices Alloy prices in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday September 30 that are worth another look.The European Commission has made a number of changes to its existing regime of safeguard measures concerning 26 steel product categories, it said on Thursday September 26. At the same time, the appointment of a European chief trade enforcement officer was welcomed by the steel and alu...Read More
Discussions and negotiations for cobalt supply in 2020 quickly got under way after Glencore announced it will close its Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of the year.The action to take 25,000 tonnes per year of cobalt (contained in hydroxide) out of the market has fundamentally changed the supply picture for next year. Prices for cobalt metal, intermediates and salts all...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday September 30, climbing up by some 2.5% amid moderately high turnover, while lead futures were similarly stronger over the afternoon. Zinc's outright price closed at $2,376 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its highest closing price since August 1, while volumes traded were at their highest since Septe...Read More
Chinese buying activity pushed up seaborne coking coal prices on Monday September 30, ahead of a week-long holiday to mark the country's 70th National Day.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $137.29 per tonne, up $4.56 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $159.70 per tonne, up $6.11 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $121.25 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134.0...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices strengthened on Monday September 30 amid more stringent production curbs, though market participants are wary about them falling after the Golden Week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,620-3,630 yuan ($508-510) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,580 yuan per tonne, up 60 yuan per tonnePrices gained after sentiment picked up in resp...Read More
Tender price hikes from China's stainless steel mills for October ferro-chrome purchasing have prompted higher spot prices for both ore and alloy, Fastmarkets learned. Spot ferro-chrome prices in China follow October tenders higherChrome ore prices underpinned by alloy strengthAlloy prices hold in Japan and South KoreaEuropean alloy prices ease amid subdued demand Chrome ore and ferro-chrome price...Read More
CIS export billet prices continued to fall at the end of September amid the continuing downtrend in the global steel markets, particularly the finished flat steel segment, both domestically and in the major customer outlets, due to the slowdown in trading activity.Despite the reduced availability of slab in the region due to maintenance work at major mills, suppliers still had to cut their prices...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday September 30 that are worth another look.The European Commission has made a number of changes to its existing regime of safeguard measures concerning 26 steel product categories, it said on Thursday September 26. At the same time, the appointment of a European chief trade enforcement officer was welcomed by the steel and alu...Read More
Refining charges for imported blister copper went down in China in September because of unusually tight availability in the spot market, with only minimal volumes coming from Zambian producer Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and local producers limiting their primary smelting activities due to record-low treatment charges for copper concentrates.The refining charges (RCs) for the intermediate product of...Read More
The benchmark alumina price in the Pacific region has fallen to a fresh two-year low and below $290 per tonne for the first time since May 25, 2017. Fastmarkets' daily alumina index, fob Australia fell to $289.13 per tonne on Monday September 30, from $290.40 per tonne on Friday September 27. The index is down 27% from the start of the 2019 and by 42% year on year from $500 per tonne on Septe...Read More
Treatment charges (TCs) for lead concentrates rose to three-year highs late in September when smelters in China trimmed output ahead of national holidays and a negative arbitrage ratio remained in place for imports, while zinc TCs have also narrowed.The loss on bringing refined lead into China - which traded around a range of 700-2,000 yuan ($98-281) per tonne over September - and a slump in deman...Read More
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has appointed Bryan Harris chief financial officer and Khalid Turani chief of internal audit and risk management with effect from September 25 following the company's most recent board meeting, the company said on Monday September 30. Qualified chartered accountant Harris has had a 25-year career in management. He joined Alba in 2009 as the chief internal auditor and risk...Read More
Weak fundamentals in global downstream aluminium-product premiums were a key concern for market participants further up the supply chain at Fastmarkets' International Aluminium conference in Athens, Greece on September 23-25.Market participants were worried that the oversupply and lack of demand for products such as aluminium billet will affect P1020 market fundamentals heading into next year. Bil...Read More
Major zinc smelter Nyrstar received zinc concentrate supply from Trafigura in 2018 with terms set at a quarter of that year's market benchmark, according to updated 2018 financial statements released by the company over the weekend. Trading house Trafigura paid the smelter an average treatment charge of $37.20 per tonne for 2018 contracted volumes of 500,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates, a level su...Read More
Steel plate prices in the United States went down during the week to Friday September 27; market participants who spoke with Fastmarkets said they expected the declines, indicating that soft demand remains the primary driver behind falling prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US slipped to $34 per hundredweight ($680 per short ton) on Septe...Read More
Some key Egyptian rebar producers reduced their offer prices on Monday, September 30. The country's biggest producer Ezz Steel is now offering rebar at E ?11,290 ($691) per tonne ex-works, including 14% VAT, down from E ?11,980 per tonne ex-works....Read More
Import prices for flat-rolled steel in South America continued to fall last week, following a persistent global downtrend and amid weak demand in the region.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main port South America, at $480-500 per tonne on Friday September 27, lower on the bottom end of the range from $490-500 per tonne a week ago.The midpoint of the assess...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has made a number of changes to its existing regime of safeguard measures concerning 26 steel product categories, it said on September 26.The changes will come into force on October 1 this year.The definitive safeguard mechanism already in place increases the level of tariff-free quotas for each product category by 5% annually. The first such liberalization took place...Read More
The appointment of a European chief trade enforcement officer should ease trade problems in the steel and aluminium sectors and help tackle Chinese excess capacity, industry experts told a meeting of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) in Brussels. The new officer will work under the guidance of the new European Union commissioner for trade. If appointed, as expected,&n...Read More