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
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
Seaborne iron ore prices strengthened further on Thursday June 27, with trading activity on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) 65% Fe iron ore derivative contract also picking up. By 5.45pm Singapore time, 125,000 tonnes of the contract had been traded and cleared, according to SGX data. This compares with 175,000 tonnes traded in the whole of last week. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $118.02 per tonne cfr...Read More
Weakness persisted in the seaborne coking coal market on Thursday June 27 despite news of a suspension of mining activity at a mine in Queensland, Australia.An August-loading cargo of a top Australian brand was sold to an end user in southern China at $200 per tonne cfr China, according to various sources.A shipment of premium low-vol hard coking coal was heard offered at $198 per tonne cfr China,...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
Henrik Adam, who has been chief commercial officer at Tata Steel Europe since 2011, will replace Hans Fischer as ceo when he retires on July 1, the company said on Thursday June 27.Fischer will continue to serve on the board of Tata Steel Europe as a non-executive director, and will continue to act as an adviser to global ceo and managing director TV Narendran."During his tenure as ceo and be...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
The US-China trade dispute has dampened selling appetite among copper scrap dealers in the United States, though China granting restricted quotas has spurred exports once again.Market participants were cautiously optimistic regarding renewing exports to China, as the ongoing tariff spat has altered the flow of material conspicuously. A seller source told Fastmarkets he is finding it "harder to sel...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
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange continued its uptrend during morning trading on Thursday June 27, with short-covering activity pushing the metal's outright price higher while trade optimism supports commodity investment. Building on Wednesday's gains, nickel futures are now trading 1.3% higher than Wednesday's closing price of $12,490 per tonne, reaching an intra-morning hi...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
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Exchange broadly weakened during Asian morning trading on Thursday June 27, dragged down by a firm dollar and persisting uncertainty surrounding US-China trade relations.The firmer dollar of late coupled with macroeconomic uncertainty has spooked investors, limiting trading activity this morning and causing the SHFE base metals complex to give back some of Wednes...Read More
The flat-rolled steel import market in the United States has shown little activity, with most foreign products largely uncompetitive versus their domestic counterparts, which are readily available at a low cost."It's virtually impossible to present any foreign offer to make sense," one Gulf Coast trader source said."A lot of people didn't believe the foreigners were going to stay out of the market...Read More
The price of steel billet imported into Turkey dipped slightly over the past week in line with the recent downturn in the ferrous scrap import values, sources said on Thursday June 27.The offers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were $430-435 per tonne cfr Turkey, down from $435-440 per tonne last week, however, customers were still looking for $420 per tonne and below.Therefore, F...Read More
The price of domestic rebar and wire rod in Turkey declined over the past week to Thursday June 27 amid falling imported scrap values, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,100-3,160 ($537-547) per tonne ex-works on June 27, down from TRY3,160-3,190 per tonne, including 18% VAT, last week.The domestic rebar price in the Izmir region was TRY3,140-3,...Read More
The Turkish long steel export markets remained sluggish amid limited demand over the week ending on Thursday June 27, while prices remained stable, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey was $445-460 per tonne fob on actual weight basis on June 27, unchanged week on week.Steel mills in Turkey were generally offering rebar for export at around...Read More
The price of steel billet imported into Egypt continued to fall in the week to June 27 on lower offers, driven by poor domestic demand."Prices may fall further because demand is weak all over the region. Scrap prices are also falling," a local market source told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily index for Northern Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap was calculated at $273.88 per tonne cfr on Jun...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
Seaborne iron ore prices strengthened further on Thursday June 27, with trading activity on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) 65% Fe iron ore derivative contract also picking up. By 5.45pm Singapore time, 125,000 tonnes of the contract had been traded and cleared, according to SGX data. This compares with 175,000 tonnes traded in the whole of last week. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $118.02 per tonne cfr...Read More
Fastmarkets will two months from the publication of this notice delist and cease to publish 40 steel scrap, non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices that it currently carries from third parties.The delistings are of are steel scrap prices from BDSV; aluminium alloy prices from Affimet; zinc alloy prices from Brock Metals; and non-ferrous scrap and foundry alloy prices from Lettre D'Information M...Read More