An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves. Read More
Fastmarkets MB is proposing the launch of weekly export price assessments for stainless grade 304 Chinese hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil.These assessments highlight China's status as a major exporter of stainless steel and will serve as a price benchmark for the international market for the products.Assessment: Stainless steel cold-rolled coil, grade 304 (2mm), fob China, $/tonne Qualit...Read More
For the second week running, European austenitic alloy steel scrap prices were largely unchanged when the effects of higher nickel prices were cancelled out by very low demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 28."[Weak] demand is winning against nickel [prices] at the moment," a UK trader said, observing that demand is so low it has overtaken nickel prices as the primary driver of austenit...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday June 28:Aluminium scrap Cast: ?,?850-880 per...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday June 27, up by about 2% amid continued buying momentum, with positive US GDP figures shoring up commodity investments. Three-month nickel futures closed at their highest level since April at $12,710 per tonne in the afternoon, improving by just under 9% from a June-low of $11,605 per tonne o...Read More
A gallery collapse at Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 19 people, the company said in a filing on the London Stock Exchange on June 27.The miners were working illegally at a project, which has had on average 2,000 illegal incursions onto its jurisdiction per day, the company said adding that further casualties were a possibility."The incident has no i...Read More
Monthly European alloy surcharges for July deliveries of stainless steel products will be lower than the June surcharge after the price of nickel continued to fall.Fastmarkets' alloy surcharge for July deliveries of grade-304 cold-rolled stainless sheet is set to fall to ?,?1,318-1,362 ($1,498-1,548) per tonne, down ?,?18-21 per tonne from June's surcharge levels, according to calcu...Read More
A gallery collapse at Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 19 people, the company said in a filing on the London Stock Exchange on June 27.The miners were working illegally at a project, which has had on average 2,000 illegal incursions onto its jurisdiction per day, the company said adding that further casualties were a possibility."The incident has no i...Read More
A gallery collapse at Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 19 people, the company said in a filing on the London Stock Exchange on June 27.The miners were working illegally at a project, which has had on average 2,000 illegal incursions onto its jurisdiction per day, the company said adding that further casualties were a possibility."The incident has no i...Read More
The Chinese domestic cobalt metal price fell by 3.1% in the midweek pricing session due to sluggish demand during the traditionally weak consumption season causing suppliers to compete fiercely for limited inquiries in the spot market. Fastmarkets assessed the Chinese domestic cobalt metal price at 220,000-250,000 yuan per tonne ($12.85-14.61 per lb, less China-VAT) on Wednesday June 26, down...Read More
The G20 Summit, which takes place in Osaka, Japan, this weekend has cast a shadow over the Asian ferrous metals markets.Market participants are hoping a quick resolution to the trade war between China and the United States will provide much-needed relief both for steelmakers and downstream buyers at a time of squeezed margins and weak demand.One of the key themes at t...Read More
Turkish steel mills stayed away from the deep-sea markets on Thursday June 27, with few signs of demand for further July scrap cargoes, sources told Fastmarkets.Producers booked a number of deep-sea cargoes for July last week before stepping away from the market.And while a few more cargoes were expected to be booked for July shipment, firm...Read More
Monthly European alloy surcharges for July deliveries of stainless steel products will be lower than the June surcharge after the price of nickel continued to fall.Fastmarkets' alloy surcharge for July deliveries of grade-304 cold-rolled stainless sheet is set to fall to ?,?1,318-1,362 ($1,498-1,548) per tonne, down ?,?18-21 per tonne from June's surcharge levels, according to calcu...Read More
While US officials have given the impression that they will attempt to defuse the ongoing trade dispute with China at the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit on Friday June 28, their Chinese counterparts were less upbeat.Despite the optimistic view shared by US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin that a trade deal with China is "90% completed", market sources in the Asian nation say that Chinese offic...Read More
A gallery collapse at Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 19 people, the company said in a filing on the London Stock Exchange on June 27.The miners were working illegally at a project, which has had on average 2,000 illegal incursions onto its jurisdiction per day, the company said adding that further casualties were a possibility."The incident has no i...Read More
The Chinese domestic cobalt metal price fell by 3.1% in the midweek pricing session due to sluggish demand during the traditionally weak consumption season causing suppliers to compete fiercely for limited inquiries in the spot market. Fastmarkets assessed the Chinese domestic cobalt metal price at 220,000-250,000 yuan per tonne ($12.85-14.61 per lb, less China-VAT) on Wednesday June 26, down...Read More
The G20 Summit, which takes place in Osaka, Japan, this weekend has cast a shadow over the Asian ferrous metals markets.Market participants are hoping a quick resolution to the trade war between China and the United States will provide much-needed relief both for steelmakers and downstream buyers at a time of squeezed margins and weak demand.One of the key themes at t...Read More
European steel mills could further reduce steel production should the volume of steel imported into the European Union continue to increase, market participants said at the European Steel Day in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday June 26."The markets for many steel products in Europe are rather weak. So nearly every steel company is forced in one way or another to cut production," Heinz J??rg Fuhrman...Read More
Eastern China's hot-rolled coil prices widened upward on Thursday June 27 amid fluctuations caused by movements in the futures market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,950 yuan ($567-574) per tonne, widening upward 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,840-3,850 yuan per tonne, unchangedMarket participants in Shanghai rushed to buy at 3,830-3,850 yuan per tonne in the morning after...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday June 27 that are worth another look.European steelmakers are concerned about the future viability of the steel industry in the United Kingdom should it leave the European Union at the end of October without a deal, they said at European Steel association Eurofer's European Steel Day in Brussels on Wednesday June 26. A ...Read More