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
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
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
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Friday May 31, settling just above $2,500 per tonne, while continued tightness across the metal's forward curve deterred fresh buying.Participants seeking to purchase the galvanizing metal must now factor a cash/three-month backwardation of $144 per tonne in, while nearby spreads also remain less favorable f...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell further on Friday May 31 amid losses in the futures and steel markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $101.60 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $2.27 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $100.08 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $2.27 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $105.53 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $2.13 per tonne.MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $94.55 pe...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices have ended this week lower, and expectations are rife that the market would weaken further, which prompted buyers to sit things out on Friday May 31.The Fastmarkets MB fob Australia Premium Hard Coking Coal Index stood at $201.59 per tonne during the day, unchanged from a day earlier but down 1.3% from that on Monday.The Fastmarkets MB cfr China Premium Hard Coking Coal...Read More
Alloy steel scrap prices in the UK and Europe were stable this week but decreases were expected next month because of diminishing demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 31.The market this week was described as stable and uneventful, as regards prices. But the lack of a price reaction to the lower demand was due, at least in part, to the fact that prices had recently fallen by a significant...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Friday May 31, settling just above $2,500 per tonne, while continued tightness across the metal's forward curve deterred fresh buying.Participants seeking to purchase the galvanizing metal must now factor a cash/three-month backwardation of $144 per tonne in, while nearby spreads also remain less favorable f...Read More
Tin's forwards spreads on the London Metal Exchange narrowed significantly over the week ended Friday May 31, easing from their widest backwardation since 2015.This came after a flurry of inflows led to an uptick of more than 80% in LME stocks over May, quelling some concerns about market instability.The metal's cash/three-month spread narrowed from $320 per tonne earlier this week, to trade at $1...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) went up marginally in late May from record low levels on May 24, while traders continued to take spot tonnages at similar terms and smelters became more active.Fastmarkets' Asia-Pacific TC/RC index rose to $58.90 per tonne/5.89 cents per lb on Friday May 31, compared with $58.30 per tonne/5.83 cents per lb a week ago when it was at the low...Read More
Customers of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) told Fastmarkets that copper deliveries for May have arrived on time and June deliveries are not expected to be affected by the Zambian government's recent liquidation order of the 310,000 tonne per year facility. The Zambian government filed an official document to the High Court to liquidate the assets of KCM, which is majority-owned by Vedanta Resources,...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Friday May 31, with most metals trading in narrow ranges despite a marginal downturn in the US dollar index. Volumes traded have been moderate over the morning, with more than 6,800 lots of copper exchanged as of 9:37am London time. The red metal's three-month price continues to trade in negative territory below $...Read More
Deliverable nickel and zinc stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses rose in the week to Friday May 31, while the rest of the complex retreated. SHFE nickel stocks totaled 9,938 tonnes on Friday, up by 840 tonnes or 9.2% from last Friday. The largest inflow of nickel this week was registered at SIPG Logistics' warehouse in Shanghai, with 725 tonnes of the metal entering the warehous...Read More
Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly little changed during morning trading on Friday May 31, while market participants digested disappointing Chinese manufacturing data.In data on Friday, the much-awaited release of China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for May disappointed with a reading of 49.4, significantly lower than the forecast 49.9. Apri...Read More
Cold-rolled coil and coated sheet prices in the United States fell for a third week in a row, with soft demand and bearish sentiment remaining pervasive across the flat-rolled steel markets. Fastmarkets AMM's weekly assessment for US domestic cold-rolled coil dropped to $37 per hundredweight ($740 per short ton) on May 30 from $38 per cwt one week earlier. Fastmarkets AMM also assessed the&nb...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