Nickel premiums worldwide were predominantly lower during the week ending on June 5, with heightened trade tensions pushing nickel briquette premiums in the United States down for the third consecutive week.European nickel premiums held steady while market participants gathered at Fastmarkets' 7th International Nickel Conference in Amsterdam. US briquette premiums weaken Import window in China clo...Read More
The refined nickel market deficit is expected to nearly halve to around 80,000 tonnes this year from almost 150,000 tonnes in 2018, the International Nickel Study Group said on Wednesday June 5. "The nickel market has been in deficit since 2016. This year, the deficit is expected to be smaller than in 2018 at around 80,000 tonnes," Richardo Ferreira, director of market research and statistics, tol...Read More
ArcelorMittal Italia, formerly known as Ilva, will lay off 1,395 workers from its plant in Taranto for a period of 13 weeks beginning in early July, the company said on Wednesday June 5."It's a difficult decision but market conditions are really critical throughout Europe. These are temporary measures [and] steel is a cyclical market," the chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal Italia, Matthieu...Read More
Voestalpine has blamed lower earnings for its 2018/2019 financial year on an economic slowdown caused by trade wars between the United States, China and Europe, as well as Brexit, chairman Wolfgang Eder said. Looking forward, macroeconomic developments will depend on the extent to which these external factors continue to affect consumer spending patterns in Europe and beyond, the Austria-based ste...Read More
Domestic prices for hollow steel sections in Europe were unchanged this week, but feedstock costs have begun to recover from recent losses, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 5.Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at ?,?600-630 ($675-709) per tonne delivered on Wednesday.Some market p...Read More
Steel H-beam prices in both Northern and Southern Europe were unchanged this week but sentiment was negative due to the low levels of demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 5.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm, category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe was unchanged week on week at ?,?585-615 ($658-692) per tonne delivered on Wednesday.One European mill was hop...Read More
The stainless scrap market in the United States has continued to deteriorate, with prices falling further this week."There has been no improvement in demand, no improvement in the London Metal Exchange [cash nickel price], and there is no shortage of scrap to meet the current demand," one domestic dealer source said."Seems like May was a lost month, and unless the market unexpectedly jumps......Read More
Turkish mills continued their absence from the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday June 5 while the country was on the week-long Eid al-Fitr public holiday, sources told Fastmarkets.The market will remain subdued for the remainder of the week while Turkey marks the end of the period of abstinence for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.As a result of the lack of...Read More
Nickel market analysts were resolutely bearish during a pricing panel at the Fastmarkets' seventh International Nickel conference in Amsterdam on Wednesday June 5, forecasting that the London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price is unlikely to breach $13,000 per tonne this year. The LME three-month price is currently trading below $12,000 per tonne, hitting an intraday high of $11,860 per...Read More
The estimated arbitrage between Southeast Asian warehouses and the US Midwest continued to narrow in May, due to lower Midwest premiums and a spike in spot barge rates.This reduces demand for other origin material, such as that from Southeast Asian warehouses, meaning there is less room for arbitrage opportunities. "The removal of import tariffs on Mexico and Canada will provide cheaper options fo...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices slid further on Wednesday June 5 amid persistently thin trading, though some exporters showed little willingness to sell any lower.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,870-3,880 yuan ($561-562) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,800-3,810 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward 10 yuan per tonnePrices continued to drop, with trading being thinner...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved up slightly on Wednesday June 5 on rebounding futures in the final hours of trading, though the increases resulted in a drop in buying activity. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,920-3,960 yuan ($567-573) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,850-3,900 yuan per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneA few traders who did not have a lot of material...Read More
The London Metal Exchange zinc price continued to increase over morning trading on Wednesday June 5 following another cancellation of 16,475 tonnes. This followed yesterday's cancellation of 15,050 tonnes, which means that 40% of the LME's total zinc stock - at 99,775 tonnes - has been marked for delivery as of today. The sudden cancellation of warrants prompted a zinc price rally, takin...Read More
Cobalt trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are per lb on an in-warehouse basis. Delivered prices are netted back. Fastmarkets prices Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for standard-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb Click here for Fastmarkets' price assessment for alloy-grade cobalt, in-warehouse, $ per lb Click her...Read More
The following Fastmarkets UK non-ferrous scrap and foundry ingot prices changed on Wednesday June 5:Titanium scrapTurnings, unprocessed type 90/6/4, 0.5% Sn max:...Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Wednesday June 5:Minor metalsAntimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $6,500-6,700 per tonne from $6,600-6,800Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $6,350-6,550 per tonne from $6,450-6,650Cadmium MB free market min 99.99%, cents/lb: 120-130 per...Read More
Nervousness in markets has temporarily eased following dovish comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powel that suggested the Fed may be prepared to cut interest rates to sustain growth. This has lifted equity prices on Wednesday June 6 and that has flowed through to some of the metals. World Bank lowers global growth forecast for 2019 to 2.6%, from its 2.9% call in January Dov...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes changes to the specification of its cobalt hydroxide payable indicator. The proposal is to change the payment window to include trades agreed on the basis of the following month's average metal price (ie, M+1). This amendment will allow Fastmarkets to consider more spot liquidity within its assessment of cobalt hydroxide payables. Data collected since the launch of two referen...Read More
It has been one disappointment after another in the world of trade and economic data - now the IMF has cut its 2019 economic growth forecast for China to 6.2%, while the US and Mexico failed to reach a trade deal that would have averted tariffs. The only relief is coming in the form of potential for easier monetary policy, makes for a gloomy outlook.The outlook could be saved if a t...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures gained 8 points in pre-opening trade.European Central Bank maintained overnight lending rates Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was unchanged from the previous week at 215,000. Actual was 218,000. Second estimate of first quarter real P...Read More