Demand for flat steel in Turkey failed to improve in June even after the United States halved its import tariffs for Turkish steel to 25%, market participants told Fastmarkets.And local producers have now filled their order books until late August, they said on Wednesday July 3. Turkish steel prices started to rise on May 17 after US import duties of 50% introduced in August 2018 were cut to...Read More
Key data from the July 4 pricing session in London and Shanghai.Fastmarkets' benchmark daily fob Australia alumina index declined to $318.10 per tonne on Thursday July 4 from $319.28 per tonne on the previous day. It remains at its lowest since August 2017 and is down by 12% from $363.08 per tonne on June 4.Chinese free market, metallurgical grade alumina fell to 2,700-2,750 yuan ($400.20) per ton...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday July 4, with price movements largely subdued by a national holiday in the United States while volumes traded were markedly lower.Over the afternoon, tin's three-month price continued its ascent back above $18,000 per tonne, climbing by more than 4% to close at $18,350 per tonne.The metal was subject to i...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has strengthened over the past week following rises in the prices for iron ore and ferrous scrap.Fastmarkets' price assessment for low-manganese pig iron exports, fob main port Baltic Sea, CIS, was up by $5 per tonne to $355-360 per tonne on July 4.Offers of material from Russia's Tulachermet to Europe were reported...Read More
Growth in South African manganese ore exports continued to slow in the first six months of 2019, shipping data shows. Manganese ore exports from South Africa climbed by about 8% to 8.97 million tonnes in the first six months of the year from the same period in 2018.This compares with an increase of 17% year on year between January-June 2017 and January-June 2018. In the relevant period of 2017, ex...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has just finished its trial to calculate nickel prices using a volume weighted average price (VWAP) method on the exchange's electronic trading platform. If early indications are anything to go by, metals market participants did not embrace this method of price discovery in the way some had anticipated. For three months since Monday March 18, closing prices for nickel car...Read More
The United States Secretary of Commerce has joined the growing chorus of voices questioning the current method of setting the US Midwest aluminium premium. Wilbur Ross said the US Midwest aluminium premium is at inflated levels that do not justify the cost of transportation and logistical handling costs that it was originally designed to reflect. His view is being echoed by a number of...Read More
A decade ago, the Shanghai Futures Exchange launched its steel rebar futures contract. In the years that followed it has become the gold standard for steel derivatives, achieving a success that other exchanges aspire to emulate. And they are definitely trying, with a total of 11 steel derivatives contracts launched by the main trading exchanges since. SHFE, which launched a wire rod futures contra...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday July 4, with price movements largely subdued by a national holiday in the United States while volumes traded were markedly lower.Over the afternoon, tin's three-month price continued its ascent back above $18,000 per tonne, climbing by more than 4% to close at $18,350 per tonne.The metal was subject to i...Read More
Seaborne coking coal market was stable on Thursday July 4, underlining some market participants' expectations of a slow price slide for the steelmaking raw material.An 85,000-tonne cargo of a top brand of premium low-vol hard coking coal was traded at $197.19 per tonne cfr China. The cargo is scheduled for loading in August.The same brand had fetched $200 per tonne cfr China last week.A buyer sour...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices were unchanged on Thursday July 4 although trading activity dropped in the afternoon after futures declined amid chatter that a group of Chinese steelmakers has planned a working group to study the import iron ore market where prices have hit record highs this year.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,890-3,900 yuan ($565-567) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianj...Read More
Stainless steel prices in Europe were likely to remain under pressure due to a longer-than-usual summer slowdown and the renewal of the region's safeguarding quota allocations, while in the United States the determining factor was likely to be the level of alloy surcharges.Meanwhile, the resumption of trade talks between the US and China was likely to boost market activity in Asia.EuropeParticipan...Read More
Turkish billet prices have increased over the past week on the back of an uptick in imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday July 4.Billet suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) raised their offers to $440-445 per tonne cfr levels for Turkish customers. However, there was no significant trading activity heard so far this week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for...Read More
Yunnan Tin Group (YTG) has begun negotiations for its potential incorporation into China Minmetals Corp (CMC), according to a notice released on June 17 by Shanghai-listed Yunnan Tin Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of YTG.According to the International Tin Association (ITA), Chinese state-owned Yunnan Tin remains the world's largest producer of refined tin, with output of 77,789 tonnes of tin in...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed across morning trading on Thursday July 4, with low liquidity capping three-month prices in broadly narrow ranges.Overnight, tin's three-month price continued to stabilize above the $18,000 per tonne level after falling by more than 6% at Tuesday's close.Forward spreads have also been favorable in tin, with the benchmark cash/three-month r...Read More
While US equities remain upbeat on expectations for looser monetary policy, the base metals continue to reflect the soft economic conditions brought about by the lack of a United States-China trade deal.The strong rebound in gold after the recent correction suggests some investors remain nervous about what lies round the corner.US stocks close at record levels with the S&P 500 closing in on the 3,...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up during morning trading on Thursday July 4, following record closing highs for US stocks on Wednesday.Tin and nickel led the advance with gains of 0.9% and 0.8% respectively so far this morning, while the others posted more moderate increases ranged between 0.1% for lead and 0.7% for aluminium. Zinc bucked the stronger tone exhibite...Read More
Steel import volumes into Spain fell to 3.51 million tonnes in January-April 2019, down by 3.1% from 3.62 million tonnes in the corresponding period in 2018, according to Unesid, the country's steel association.Import volumes from non-EU countries fell by 5.8% to 1.17 million tonnes in the first four months of 2019, from 1.24 million tonnes in January-April 2018, with Unesid noting the swift exhau...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has re-adopted a cartel ruling against five Italian rebar producers and imposed fines totalling ?,?16.07 million ($18.14 million), it said on Thursday July 4.The decision related to the companies' participation in a price-fixing cartel between December 1989 and July 2000.The five steelmakers named by the EC were Alfa Acciai, Feralpi, Ferriere Nord (Pittini), Partecipaz...Read More
The price of steel billet imported into Egypt increased in the week to July 4 on higher offers, despite poor domestic demand."Higher offers are because of high scrap and iron ore prices," a local market source told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily index for Northern Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap was calculated at $291.88 per tonne cfr on July 4, up from $273.88 per tonne...Read More