Turkey exported 463,220 tonnes of flat steel products in July 2019, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), down by 21.58% year on year from 590,685 tonnes exported in July 2018.The negative sentiment in the flat steel market in Europe in May, when orders for June and July shipping were placed, contributed to the decrease in exports. The United States market, however, has been pract...Read More
Hebei, China's largest steelmaking province, will embark on a capacity replacement program this year that would see the removal of 2.5 million tonnes per year of crude steel capacity and 4.44 million tpy of that for the production of iron.The move will involve the installation of converters with crude steel capacity amounting to 13.85 million tpy, and the shutting...Read More
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange remain at historically low levels despite low stock levels, high premiums and sustained elevated raw materials costs. The LME aluminium three-month price has failed to trade over $2,000 per tonne since 2018 and closed at just $1,775 per tonne on Wednesday September 4. Yesterday's close price was 9% lower than the 2019 high of $1,951 per tonne from Marc...Read More
The export market for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has gone down because of lower demand, more supply and a weak scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 5.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $315-325 per tonne on Thursday, dropping from $330-335 per tonne a week before."[The p...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday September 5, breaching the $5,800 per tonne resistance level and closing at its highest level since August 1.This came amid a 12-week high in daily volumes traded, with nickel futures being the only metal to close lower over the afternoon.Three-month copper futures rose by by more than $120 per...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to secure scrap cargoes for September deliveries this week with prices continuing to move down, sources said on Thursday September 5.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic-sea cargo comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $247 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at $257 per tonne for September shipment.Following the $12.30 per tonne pric...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday September 5 that are worth another look.Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange remain at historically low levels despite low stock levels, high premiums and sustained elevated raw materials costs.While US interest in flat steel imports picked up somewhat in August, spurred by expectations of price increases for domestic...Read More
Following a flip in global steel and ferrous trade flow trends last year caused by economic jitters in Turkey, trade defenses by the United States and production cuts in China, this year it is steel prices that are turning upside down. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices are now below rebar prices in a phenomenon rarely seen outside of the Chinese domestic markets. HRC import prices in Vietnam have...Read More
The whole battery supply chain will benefit from lithium benchmark pricing, Fastmarkets head of battery raw materials research William Adams says as he explores what is driving auto manufacturers to support this pricing mechanism. The auto industry is going through a period of unprecedented change due to companies introducing electric vehicles (EV) into their portfolios alongside internal combusti...Read More
The dream of building a new world-class copper-gold mine in Pakistan in an area bordering Afghanistan and Iran has been dashed, for now at least. The saga of Tethyan Copper Co's (TCC) efforts to develop the Reko Diq mine found resolution last week with an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruling in favor of TCC following a dispute that has rumbled on for years.TCC,...Read More
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange remain at historically low levels despite low stock levels, high premiums and sustained elevated raw materials costs. The LME aluminium three-month price has failed to trade over $2,000 per tonne since 2018 and closed at just $1,775 per tonne on Wednesday September 4. Yesterday's close price was 9% lower than the 2019 high of $1,951 per tonne from Marc...Read More
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange remain at historically low levels despite low stock levels, high premiums and sustained elevated raw materials costs. The LME aluminium three-month price has failed to trade over $2,000 per tonne since 2018 and closed at just $1,775 per tonne on Wednesday September 4. Yesterday's close price was 9% lower than the 2019 high of $1,951 per tonne from Marc...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday September 5, breaching the $5,800 per tonne resistance level and closing at its highest level since August 1.This came amid a 12-week high in daily volumes traded, with nickel futures being the only metal to close lower over the afternoon.Three-month copper futures rose by by more than $120 per...Read More
The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange has rebounded by more than 14% during morning trading on Thursday September 5, prompted by the announcement of planned refined tin smelter production cuts by a group of 14 smelters in China. Tin's outright price reached an intraday high of $17,740 per tonne this morning, its highest level since July 26 and up by more than 12% from the end of A...Read More
The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More
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 import price for steel billet in Egypt fell in the week ended Thursday September 5, with market activity limited by buyers who were waiting until a court decides on the imposition of an import safeguard duty on the expectation that prices will subsequently fall. Egypt's Administrative Court suspended temporary safeguarding duties on billet and rebar in July, prompting a flurry of legal activit...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday September 5 that are worth another look.Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange remain at historically low levels despite low stock levels, high premiums and sustained elevated raw materials costs.While US interest in flat steel imports picked up somewhat in August, spurred by expectations of price increases for domestic...Read More
The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange has rebounded by more than 14% during morning trading on Thursday September 5, prompted by the announcement of planned refined tin smelter production cuts by a group of 14 smelters in China. Tin's outright price reached an intraday high of $17,740 per tonne this morning, its highest level since July 26 and up by more than 12% from the end of A...Read More
Tin's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was up by more than 2% during morning trading on Thursday September 5, climbing to its highest level since late-July amid news of planned smelter production cuts in China, while a 2.5% downturn in nickel has prompted another switch between the two metals. Three-month tin futures were recently seen trading at $17.460 per tonne, while an intra-mor...Read More