China's hot-rolled coil producers raised export prices on Tuesday June 25 amid continual gains in the domestic market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,910-3,920 yuan ($568-570) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,850-3,860 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonnePrices rose further during the day with more and more participants becoming more bullish about the market.The...Read More
Turkish steel mills remained silent in the deep-sea scrap markets amid firm offers and reduced material requirements for July, sources said on Tuesday June 25.Turkey's domestic steel producers reduced their deep-sea scrap purchases last week after booking a number of cargoes for July.Producers still need some more scrap for July shipment, however, sources said, adding that this would make supplier...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials.Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreVale, tender, 100,000 tonnes of...Read More
Metallurgical coke prices in China are trending down this month, with market participants expecting further drops in the coming weeks due to steel mills' narrowing margins and ample inventories.Metallurgical coke prices have fallen by 100 yuan ($14.54) per tonne after steelmakers opposed a fourth round of price rises due to shrinking profit margins.East China's Rizhao Iron & Steel and north China'...Read More
Fastmarkets wishes to clarify the specification of the Vietnam steel scrap assessment, which is based on heavy melting scrap 1&2 of 80:20 quality.The name of this price, which from July 5 will have the symbol MB-STE-0783 exclusively associated with it, has been amended to steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam, $/tonne. The specifications for this price are as follows:Assessment: Steel...Read More
Weakness persisted in the seaborne coking coal spot market on Tuesday June 25 with participants in both the China and ex-China segments keeping to the sidelines amid poor demand."End users' interest in seaborne coking coal cargoes is thin amid weakness in the metallurgical coke market," a Chinese trading source said.A second Chinese trader said that offers for premium low-vol hard coking coal rema...Read More
Fastmarkets' pricing and research team answers some of the key questions raised during our web seminar, discussing recent price moves in the cobalt market and how industry developments might affect the market - and prices.If you missed it, follow this link to listen to the free recording.By what time do you estimate current excess cobalt supply to be absorbed? We expect this will happen by 2023-20...Read More
Northern China's domestic rebar prices continued to rise on Tuesday June 25 amid surging futures, though the eastern Chinese market held steady.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,950 yuan ($567-574) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,770-3,800 yuan per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonneTraders in Shanghai kept prices flat despite rising futures in an attempt to secure more sales.B...Read More
Ferro-silicon prices in China were stable in the week ended Friday June 21, extending a steady run in the market for a fifth consecutive week against firm Chinese futures prices and relatively limited availability in the physical market.In Europe, the market has fallen due to weak spot demand and an increasing number of quarterly deals done below ?,?1,000 ($1,139) per tonne, which has dragged down...Read More
Chrome ore prices dropped again in China and alloy prices weakened globally in the week ended Friday June 21 due to poor demand. Ore prices down for seventh week runningCharge chrome import prices weaken in ChinaAlloy prices dip in Japan, South KoreaEuropean alloy prices slumpUS market flat once again UG2 chrome ore prices in China slid for the seventh consecutive week on Friday after some suppli...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to news that trade negotiation between China and the U.S. are continuing. Tariffs on Chinese goods have been delayed.Index futures were slightly lower following release of the May Durable Goods Orders report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop of 0.1% versus an up...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was up by more than 2% at the close of trading on Monday June 24, settling at just under $2,500 per tonne. Just under 10,000 lots were exchanged.Despite a slight uptick in zinc's three-month price, storage and financing costs for the metal remain sizable. Zinc's forward spreads on the LME remain tight, with the cash/three-month spread recently...Read More
The benchmark for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) in the third quarter of 2019 has settled at a premium of $108 per tonne cif over the London Metal Exchange cash price. The settlement represents a 3% increase from the second-quarter benchmark of $105 per tonne, which was set at the end of March. Deals for a total of 34,500 tonnes between three major producers, two consumers an...Read More
The discount for No2 copper scrap, comprising 94-96% copper content, narrowed in the Chinese market this month while more buyers began acquiring spot units after the first batch of quotas were announced for purchases in the second half of 2019.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment of the discount for No2 copper, birch/cliff stood at $0.29-0.35 per lb on a cif China basis, as of June 24, down from $0.34-...Read More
The discount for No2 copper scrap, comprising 94-96% copper content, narrowed in the Chinese market this month while more buyers began acquiring spot units after the first batch of quotas were announced for purchases in the second half of 2019.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment of the discount for No2 copper, birch/cliff stood at $0.29-0.35 per lb on a cif China basis, as of June 24, down from $0.34-...Read More
Nyrstar will write down the value of its zinc-copper-gold Myra Falls mine by an additional ?,?30 million ($34.18 million), it said on Saturday June 22, bringing total 2018 impairment on assets to ?,?130 million. Specifically, the company is impairing ?,?117.2 million on its Myra Falls and Langlois mines, with its metal smelting unit taking a ?,?11.4 million write-down. "The company has continued t...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Friday June 21. China Key drivers Domestic antimony price in China was flat for the third consecutive week despite sparse trading activity. Many Chinese antimony suppliers remained resolute in refusing to sell their cargoes at below 40,000 yuan ($5,822) per tonne, citing mounting difficulty in sourcing cheap ore m...Read More
The price of cobalt continued to fall last week, while prices for standard and alloy-grade units converged, in a market where sellers lowered their offers to offload material not declared on long-term agreements.Fastmarkets assessed the price of standard-grade cobalt at $13.85-14.50 per lb, in-warehouse, falling from $14.25-15 per lb on June 19, and down 3% week on week. Fastmakrets' assessment of...Read More
Fastmarkets MB's World DRI and Pellet conference, held in Dubai last week, took place against a backdrop of challenging circumstances for the steel industry.Finished steel prices, both in the Middle East region and beyond, have trended down over recent months, while certain raw materials prices - such as for iron ore-derived products - continue to soar, heaping pressure on margins.The best way to...Read More
The discount for No2 copper scrap, comprising 94-96% copper content, narrowed in the Chinese market this month while more buyers began acquiring spot units after the first batch of quotas were announced for purchases in the second half of 2019.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment of the discount for No2 copper, birch/cliff stood at $0.29-0.35 per lb on a cif China basis, as of June 24, down from $0.34-...Read More