Demand for flat steel products in Turkey was weak in August because of the seasonal summer slowdown as well as falling prices, market participants have told Fastmarkets.And local producers have now filled their order books until late October, they said on Thursday September 5.Turkish steel prices increased on May 17 after the import duty into the United States, which was applied at a rate of 50% i...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price closed higher on Friday September 6, with fresh buying momentum prompting the metal's forward spreads to tighten, while a steady incline in lead futures led the metal to top afternoon gains. Volumes traded in nickel over the afternoon were moderate at 8,600 lots, while average daily turnover returned to the August average of below 10,000 lots. Mor...Read More
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Barring copper and zinc, base metal stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses fell in the week to Friday September 6, with the biggest percentage fall in lead stocks, which tumbled by 16.3% or 5,081 tonnes to 25,998 tonnes. The largest outflow in lead inventories was registered at Zongchu Wuxi's warehouse in Jiangsu, which delivered out 2,863 tonnes leaving 8,641 tonnes of material,...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in China, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday September 6. Europe The high carbon ferro-chrome market rose for the first time since the week ended March 29 when the market was assessed at $0.98-1.18 per lb. The market narrowed upward after some sellers successfully raised their offer prices although demand remained weak. Othe...Read More
Albania-based chrome ore miner and high carbon ferro-chrome smelter Albchrome has extended the maintenance period of two of its furnaces for an additional three months, the company said on Friday September 6. Albchrome is undertaking maintenance at one furnace at its Burrel plant and another at its Elbasan plant. Both plants are only operating at 50% capacity during the works, according to a compa...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and their latest price moves.Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices plunged worldwide over the week ended Friday September 6, with buyers expecting more price falls in the near term after key Turkish mills bought cargoes at prices lower than the latest previous transactions.Key buyers in Turkey, Vietnam and South Korea were looking for bargains and bought cheap imported cargoes, but other market participants have remained in wait-and-se...Read More
Prices of austenitic alloy steel scrap in the UK domestic market were stable this week at last week's closing level amid relatively stable nickel prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 6. A surge in the nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange on August 30 of 9.6% day on day resulted in higher scrap prices, which in turn widened upward the range of scrap prices for that week. Nic...Read More
Turkish steel producers stepped back from the market on Friday September 6 - no new bookings were heard following a series of price falls this week, sources said.Three bookings on Tuesday lowered prices by $12.30 per tonne from Monday. A steel mill in the Marmara region purchased a UK cargo comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $250 per tonne cfr. A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a...Read More
What difference a few days makes, with base metals and broader, non-haven, markets looking considerably more upbeat recently, with copper prices on Thursday September 5 reaching levels last seen in early August - that after just two-days of gains. That said, the metals are consolidating this morning.This risk-on move has seen gold, the Japanese yen and outright benchmark United States 10-year trea...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
China's domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate price narrowed downward in the week ended Friday September 6 with most deals concluded at lower end of Fastmarkets' published range, while those few deals struck at higher rates were done so on credit terms.The Chinese lithium hydroxide market also softened this week with more producers lowering their offer prices to entice buyers amid sluggish...Read More
Flat steel prices in the Brazilian domestic market have fallen in early September, with sellers granting discounts on large batches of inventory material, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, monthly, exw Brazil, was 2,250-2,470 Reais ($549-603) per tonne on Friday September 6, down from 2,470-2,517 Reais per tonne a month earlier.The pri...Read More
Indian steel producers have reduced the price of hot-rolled coil (HRC) for domestic sales in September by about 1,000 rupees ($14) per tonne through discounts and price support offered to distributors.The price of steel HRC, domestic, ex-works India, was assessed by Fastmarkets on Friday September 6 at 35,000-35,500 rupees ($486-493) per tonne, lower by 1,000 rupees per tonne than last week's asse...Read More
Import prices in South America for flat steel products moved in different directions during the first week of September, with galvanized coils showing the strongest effects from the recent Chinese upturn, while most other prices were down or steady compared with the previous assessments.Demand remained weak especially in Brazil, but more activity was reported in Peru, Chile and Colombia.Fastmarket...Read More
The domestic price for Brazilian steel rebar dropped for the fourth consecutive month in September, with apparent long steel consumption faltering, smaller producers increasing the discounts granted to customers, and ferrous scrap costs holding steady.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, monthly, delivered Brazil, was 2,125-2,300 Reais ($519-561) per tonne on...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in Poland have moved down over the past week, reflecting the expected decrease in ferrous scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 2,100-2,150 zloty ($534-546) per tonne on September 6, down by 50 zloty per tonne week-on-week from 2,150-2,200 zloty per tonne.Th...Read More