The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday August 21, gaining by 2.3% on low turnover, while a steady decline in tin futures continued to prompt market concerns.Zinc futures began the day trading at around $2,230 per tonne before a strong bout of buying saw the metal close at $2,288.50 per tonne, its highest price since August 13.Volumes...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday August 21.Please click...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices remained largely stable on Wednesday August 21, with buyers taking a wait-and-see approach.A branded cargo of premium hard coking coal was offered at $150 per tonne fob Australia on the Global Coal trading platform during the day, sources said.Steel mill sources in India highlighted the bleak downstream market conditions in the South Asian country, citing a liquidity cr...Read More
The price of steel rebar in the domestic market of Southern Europe was unchanged this week amid the seasonal summer slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was unchanged week on week at ?,?470-485 ($521-538) per tonne on Wednesday.Market activity is typically much reduced....Read More
Domestic prices in Europe for hollow steel sections remained unchanged this week due to the seasonal summer pause in trading, but imports continued to flow into the region, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 21.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was unchanged week on week at ?,?615-630 ($682-699) per tonne on Wednesday.D...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 21 that are worth another look.Swiss trading house Trafigura has begun blending copper concentrates in Malaysia, with small batches of output being offered to the market, Fastmarkets has learned.Zinc premiums in the United States widened upward in the week to Tuesday August 20 despite dampened consumption from stee...Read More
Despite further price increases for stainless steel scrap in the United States, market participants were pessimistic, pointing to low order volumes from the consuming mills and still-short lead times for finished steel products."Since this market is a moving target, it's difficult to price the broker/processor prices on a daily basis," one broker said."I see no reason for London Metal Exchange nic...Read More
Nickel premiums in China fell due to a widened arbitrage loss in the week to August 20 while European and United States premiums held during the quiet summer period despite a tightening forward curve and London Metal Exchange price volatility. Chinese premiums decline with traders not prepared to purchase material at a negative arbitrage, which widened to a loss of 6,000 yuan per tonne on Tuesday...Read More
Zinc premiums in the United States widened upward in the week to Tuesday August 20 despite dampened consumption from steel mills, while lead premiums drop in India and Southeast Asia, unaffected by Nystar Port Pirie outage. US zinc premium widens upward, pushed higher by smaller spot tonnages traded at higher levelsSoutheast Asia lead premiums drop despite increased spot demand amid Nyrstar Port...Read More
Export prices for Chinese stainless steel remained flat week on week despite the uptrend in the nickel price because producers are unable to achieve any price hikes due to poor market demand, market sources said.Uncertainty around whether Indonesia would bring its ban on exports of unprocessed nickel ore forward, which is currently scheduled for 2022, contributed to the recent surge in the London...Read More
Alexander Khodov has joined Trafigura as the Singaporean commodity company's lead nickel and cobalt market analyst, a source close to the matter confirmed on August 21. Khodov joined Trafigura on August 19 after having previously spent three years...Read More
Industrial quality low-carbon wire rod prices in the United States have hit a 19-month low to stand at pre-Section 232 levels, with the cost of imported wire rod also down amid fresh offers for material originating from Mexico, Europe and Asia.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US, fell to $31.50-32.50 per hundredweight ($630-650 per short ton) on...Read More
ArcelorMittal has increased its offer price for October-delivery hot-rolled coil across Europe, effective immediately, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 21.ArcelorMittal's new offer for hot-rolled coil is ?,?510 per tonne ex-works in the Ruhr area of Germany. The steelmaker decided to increase offers due to an expected recovery of market activity.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessm...Read More
Iranian export billet and slab prices remained unchanged in the week to Wednesday August 21, market sources told Fastmarkets.Iranian billet was on offer to foreign customers at $385-387 per tonne fob.In Southeast Asia, Iranian billet was available at $425 per tonne cfr - equivalent to $385 per tonne fob - with several bookings reported at or above that price.Fastmarke...Read More
Expectations that Turkish mills would return to the US ferrous scrap export market as soon as the Eid al-Adha religious holiday ended have not panned out, leaving sellers facing low bids for unsold material that has been piling up at the docks.Sluggish demand and weak orders for rebar have both worked to keep Turkey from resuming purchases.Mills in Turkey have offered to pay $270-275 per tonne for...Read More
Trading was quiet in the Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets, with most mills not showing any eagerness to buy material, and a few still bidding below the current offer prices, sources said on Wednesday August 21.A number of steel mills were staying out of the scrap import markets because of the weak demand for finished long steel products and billet, so the pressure on scrap prices was increasi...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dived further on Wednesday August 21, falling to a level last seen just after Vale's tailings dam accident in Brazil late in January.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.38 per tonne, down by $5.56 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.76 per tonne, down by $5.56 per tonne. Fastmarkets' index for i...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices remained largely stable on Wednesday August 21, with buyers taking a wait-and-see approach.A branded cargo of premium hard coking coal was offered at $150 per tonne fob Australia on the Global Coal trading platform during the day, sources said.Steel mill sources in India highlighted the bleak downstream market conditions in the South Asian country, citing a liquidity cr...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to fall on Wednesday August 21 due to thin trading despite gains in the futures market later in the day.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,710 yuan ($523-526) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,700 yuan per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneSpot prices dropped after mills lowered their offers by 30-50 yuan per tonne in res...Read More
China's rebar prices retreated in both the domestic and export markets on Wednesday August 21 on weaker demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,680 yuan ($517-521) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,600-3,630 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneBuyers cut their procurement rates further during the day amid an early round of decreases in the futures market,...Read More