The low-vol pulverized coal injection (PCI) segment of the seaborne coking coal market - particularly the fob Australia one - tumbled on Monday June 17 with a cargo changing hands nearly $10 per tonne below prevailing levels.A miner sold a shipment of low-vol product in that segment, scheduled for loading over July 8-17, to a Chinese trader at $121.28 per tonne fob Australia via a tender during th...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices declined further on Monday June 17, with mills coming under pressure to secure orders.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,750-3,780 yuan ($541-546) per tonne, down 30-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,740-3,750 yuan per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonneA few mills gave discounts to their long-term contract customers during the day to secure orders for delivery...Read More
China's rebar prices tumbled on Monday June 17 after the billet market plunged over the weekend.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,850 yuan ($552-556) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,680-3,730 yuan per tonne, down 100 yuan per tonneRe-rollers stopped production in Tangshan's Fengrun district as instructed by local authorities in an effort to stem emissions, res...Read More
The tightness in copper concentrates supply and suspensions at major mines resulting from strikes and accidents have pushed treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for copper concentrates lower over the past two weeks.Fastmarkets' Asia-Pacific TC/RC index dropped to $54.10 per tonne/5.41 cents per lb on Friday June 14, its lowest since the index launched in June 2013. It was $56.10 per tonne/...Read More
The price of pig iron exported from the south of Brazil decreased over the week ended Friday June 14 in line with the price decline for steel scrap material.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exported from the southeastern Minas Gerais region of Brazil was $315-320 per tonne fob on June 14, down by $5 per tonne week on week. "Scrap prices dropped, so we have reduced our offers," one...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday June 17 that are worth another look.Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange posted marginal gains by the afternoon kerb on Monday June 17, buoyed by dovish whispers from the United States Federal Reserve and a weakened US dollar index. The exceptions were nickel and tin, which both logged losses. A number of US alumi...Read More
Newmont Goldcorp's Pe??asquito mine, the largest gold-silver mine in Mexico, has resumed production after a community blockade hindered its production since late April. The New York-listed gold miner said on Monday June 17 that concentrate shipment, delivery of supply and workers orientation have already resumed at Pe??asquito mine. Operations at Pe??asquito, which produced 272,000 oz of gold last...Read More
A number of US aluminium consumers are lobbying for the introduction of the Aluminum Pricing Examination (APEX) Act, designed to enhance regulatory oversight over benchmarking entities for the Midwest premium.These consumers - the Beer Institute, the American Beverage Association, the Brewers Association and the Can Manufacturers Institute - say that aluminium users have faced dramatic supply chai...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly suppressed during morning trading on Monday June 17 amid fragile risk sentiment. Continuing trade tensions between the United States and China and fresh geopolitical tension between the US and Iran, coupled with a slew of lackluster economic data from China, are capping any significant price gains."Whatever gains we seeing today are too m...Read More
The global macroeconomic backdrop remains riddled with high amounts of uncertainty this morning, Monday June 17, as the trade conflict between China and the United States drags on with seemingly little progress being made toward an amicable resolution while tensions between the US and Iran look set to ratchet up in the coming days.Meanwhile in Asia, protests in Hong Kong over a controversial extra...Read More
Malaysia Smelting Corp (MSC) has denied reports that its tin shipments are delayed, but sources have been telling Fastmarkets for weeks that MSC not only has issues delivering metal it has refined but a more fundamental problem of having almost no tin concentrate to refine.Some of these supply-side sources say MSC's concentrate shortages will be an ongoing problem, predicting that reduced output f...Read More
Malaysian rebar is ready to be sold into Singapore after a major Malaysian producer Alliance Steel achieved Cares certification, market sources told Fastmarkets."A major trading company had previously applied for the certification so that [it could] import Malaysian rebar into Singapore," a source told Fastmarkets on Friday June 14.The Cares certification will allow major buyers in Singa...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices declined further on Monday June 17, with mills coming under pressure to secure orders.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,750-3,780 yuan ($541-546) per tonne, down 30-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,740-3,750 yuan per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonneA few mills gave discounts to their long-term contract customers during the day to secure orders for delivery...Read More
China's rebar prices tumbled on Monday June 17 after the billet market plunged over the weekend.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,850 yuan ($552-556) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,680-3,730 yuan per tonne, down 100 yuan per tonneRe-rollers stopped production in Tangshan's Fengrun district as instructed by local authorities in an effort to stem emissions, res...Read More
A top Japanese steelmaker expects hot-rolled coil prices in Asia to rebound soon because they are nearing a bottom, a source told Fastmarkets this week.While it has lowered its offers for its July-shipment HRC to the key Southeast Asian market, in response to competitive offers from other regional producers, it does not expect prices to fall much further in the wider region."Due to weak demand in...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in Vietnam have continued to fall because of limited demand and lower offers from domestic producer Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp.Fastmarkets' weekly import price assessment for HRC in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm re-rolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products sold into Vietnam - was $493-495 per tonne cfr for the week to Monday June 17, down...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products.Latest transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic, commercial-grade...Read More
Physical iron ore prices dropped back on Monday June 17 after staying above $110 per tonne cfr last Thursday and Friday, but premiums remained robust for Pilbara Blend fines.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $108.21 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.09 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $107.01 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $2.09 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $110.75 per tonne c...Read More
The low-vol pulverized coal injection (PCI) segment of the seaborne coking coal market - particularly the fob Australia one - tumbled on Monday June 17 with a cargo changing hands nearly $10 per tonne below prevailing levels.A miner sold a shipment of low-vol product in that segment, scheduled for loading over July 8-17, to a Chinese trader at $121.28 per tonne fob Australia via a tender during th...Read More
The market for pig iron in the United States was calm and weak in the week to Friday June 14 as both buyers and sellers were not ready to negotiate deals, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' import price assessment for pig iron in the US was $345 per tonne cfr on June 14, compared with $345-350 per tonne cfr last week. A workable buyer level "would be around $340-345 per tonne cfr, bu...Read More