The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India was almost unchanged week on week due to market uncertainty and poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 31.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $330.40 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday, little changed from $330.25 per tonne cfr one week earlier.Last week, prices went up by $10 per...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The cif China, Japan and Korea battery-grade lithium hydroxide price fell by 3.3% in the week to Thursday May 30 due to buyer reluctance at current prices, while the Chinese domestic lithium market held steady, with downstream consumers buying on a hand-to-mouth basis. Seaborne Asian battery grade lithium hydroxide market softens on lower reported prices. Battery-grade lithium prices in China...Read More
South American import prices for flat-rolled steel have gone down over the past week, following downturn in China and amid sluggish demand in the region, market sources said on Friday May 31.Fastmarkets assessed the import price of cold-rolled coil (CRC) in South America at $590-595 per tonne cfr on May 31, down from $600-610 per tonne a week before. The price of hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) w...Read More
Indian mills were likely to increase their prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) for June sales by 1,000 rupees ($14) per tonne because of a rise in input costs, Fastmarkets was told on Friday May 31.Officials from at least two mills confirmed that their mills may consider increasing domestic HRC prices because of rises in the costs of key raw materials such as iron ore and coking coal."Domestic spot p...Read More
The price of hot-rolled coil products in Turkey adjusted over the week to Friday May 31, with local demand moderate before next week's Eid al Fitr celebrations, sources told Fastmarkets.Local demand for flat steel in Turkey failed to improve over the week to May 31, even though prices increased last week after the United States' duty reduction. The US halved its import tariffs on Turkish steel fro...Read More
Beam prices in the United States have retreated in the wake of a round of mill price cuts announced in late April, while market sentiment remains weak overall for much of the country, according to sources. Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic W8x8 beams fell by $2 per hundredweight to $41.25 per cwt ($825 per short ton) fob mill on Thursday May 30. That price is down by 4.6% from $...Read More
Troubled UK long steel producer British Steel entered compulsory liquidation on May 22. Fastmarkets examines the reasons behind the company's recent struggles, from uncertainty about Brexit and a slump in orders, to rising costs for raw materials.Brexit uncertaintyThe future of British Steel remains uncertain, with the UK's Insolvency Service approaching "more than 80 potential trade purchasers" t...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in May 2019.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases, see the updates for January,...Read More
The workable price for pig iron in the United States fell in the week to Friday May 31, mainly due to reduced demand for hot-rolled coil, sources told Fastmarkets.Earlier in the week, several pig iron cargoes were booked from Russia and Ukraine at about $350-355 per tonne cfr, which was slightly down on bookings in earlier in May, which were done at around $355 per tonne cfr. B...Read More
Brazil-based miner Vale said fragments of the northern slope of the Gongo Soco mine pit slipped early on Friday May 31 but did not have any adverse effects on the nearby Sul Superior dam."These pieces settled gently at the bottom of the pit, with early assessments indicating that the wall is sliding gradually, verifying evaluations that any further slippage should occur without major consequence,"...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices showed different dynamics during the working week ended Friday May 31, with Turkish import prices declining on limited buying activity and Asian import prices rising or holding their ground on steady demand. Turkish import prices down on lackluster rebar sales US export prices up on weekly basis, but latest sale closed lower Vietnam prices flat, Taiwan prices rise on st...Read More
New export offers from CIS billet producers for July-rolling material appeared to be too high for customers to accept, which resulted in a lack of trading activity this week.Last week's successful sales of billet cargoes at $430-435 per tonne fob Black Sea to North Africa by several CIS mills inspired Russian and Ukrainian producers to increase their offers for July-rolling material to $...Read More
Safeguard measures against billet imported into Vietnam from Malaysia and Kazakhstan will be reinstated from June 13, according to an announcement by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) on May 29.Vietnam's MIT previously granted Malaysia and Kazakhstan exemptions from the tariffs, which amount to 17.3%, in November 2018 after it found that the two countries' combined billet export volum...Read More
China's rebar prices resumed its downtrend on Friday May 31 amid declining futures, though the outlook for the market over the next week remains mixed.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,940-3,980 yuan ($570-576) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,880-3,950 yuan per tonne, narrowed down 10-40 yuan per tonneTrading activity during the day was thinner than that on Thursday...Read More
An overview of the noble alloys markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Transaction prices for grade-304 stainless steel sheet narrowed lower this week ahead of lower alloy surcharges officially taking effect from June 1, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 31. Fastmarkets' price assessment for grade-304 cold-rolled stainless steel sheet was ?,?2,200-2,260 ($2,449-2,516) per tonne delivered to Northern Europe on Friday, down by ?,?40 per tonne on the high side from...Read More
Hebei Steel, China's largest steel mill, has kept its purchase price for silico-manganese unchanged at 7,600 yuan ($1,099) per tonne for June delivery, with suppliers trying to maintain higher offers amid rebounding prices in both the spot and futures markets, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.Hebei Steel, as the majority of market participants had expected, initially bid at 7,500 yuan per tonne...Read More
Brazil-based miner Vale said fragments of the northern slope of the Gongo Soco mine pit slipped early on Friday May 31 but did not have any adverse effects on the nearby Sul Superior dam."These pieces settled gently at the bottom of the pit, with early assessments indicating that the wall is sliding gradually, verifying evaluations that any further slippage should occur without major consequence,"...Read More
Safeguard measures against billet imported into Vietnam from Malaysia and Kazakhstan will be reinstated from June 13, according to an announcement by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) on May 29.Vietnam's MIT previously granted Malaysia and Kazakhstan exemptions from the tariffs, which amount to 17.3%, in November 2018 after it found that the two countries' combined billet export volum...Read More