The export market for steel slab and billet in Iran was very slow in the seven-day period to May 15 after the United States imposed sanctions on the country's steel trade, sources told Fastmarkets.US president Donald Trump ordered new sanctions on Iranian metals - including steel, aluminium and copper - on Wednesday May 8."Today's action targets Iran's revenue from the export of industrial metals...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 15 that are worth another look.Rising inventories of manganese ore at Chinese ports amid soaring import volumes were being fueled by changes to alloy smelters' purchasing habits, offset by low stocks at plants, market participants told Fastmarkets.Trafigura has consolidated its leadership team in the non-ferrous...Read More
Global premiums held over the week ended on May 14, while tin prices on the London Metal Exchange have been erratic and frequently at odds with record-low global stocks.Thin spot trade in the United States provides no basis for change but some offers trend down.Price volatility inhibits European trade.Chinese premiums extend lengthy flat-line trend.Premiums hold, but US buyers emboldenedThe US pre...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday May 15. Please click...Read More
Garry Jones, former chief executive officer of the London Metal Exchange, has been appointed as independent non-executive director and remuneration committee chair at ICBC Standard Bank, Fastmarkets understands. Jones was appointed as CEO of the LME after its acquisition by the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) in 2012 and fulfilled the role until 2017, when current CEO Matthew Chamberlain...Read More
The record-high backwardation in the LME cash/three-month spread pushed the zinc premium in Europe to a historical low and the Taiwan zinc premium to decline for the first time in five months, while the recent drop in the LME lead price attracted buying interest in India and pushed the premium up. The European zinc premium fell to a historical low amid a record high LME backwardationTaiwan zinc pr...Read More
An uninspiring macro picture from China, which released its latest slew of lackluster economic data on Wednesday May 15, kept base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange relatively firm during morning trading on the same day."This morning's Chinese data is weak [and] the immediate reaction in the Chinese equity markets is muted," John Browning of BANDS Financial said.The markets seem to have a...Read More
Vale might invest as much as $250 million in Brazilian slab producer Companhia Sider??rgica do Pec?(C)m (CSP) over the next three years, to improve the steelmaker's balance sheet, the miner told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 15.Despite recording an operating profit recently, CSP faces erosion of its capital, mostly because of the need to pay interest expenses and the depreciation of the Brazilian Rea...Read More
An accident at a steel mill owned by Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) on Wednesday May 15 injured around 20 employees but had no impact on production there, the company said.The accident at the plant in Volta Redonda city, in Brazil's southeastern Rio de Janeiro state, was caused by a reaction during the removal of slag from equipment during the steelmaking process, CSN s...Read More
Steel H-beam prices in Northern and Southern Europe were stable this week, although pressure from falling scrap costs remains a feature of the market and beams prices could fall in the near future, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 15.One factor behind the lack of price movement, particularly in Southern Europe, was the Made in Steel event taking place in Milan, Italy, from May 14-16, wher...Read More
The price of rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe has widened downward by ?,?5 ($6) per tonne amid hesitant end-user buying activity and continued concerns about demand, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 15."Apparent demand from the construction sector is okay, but there is buyer hesitation, which is leading to some nervousness from mills, and they might drop the pri...Read More
The UK ferrous scrap market for deliveries to domestic consumers in May has settled at prices lower than a month earlier, matching losses reported in the export market, trade sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 15.Export prices have fallen in line with weaker sales into the key destination of Turkey, they added.Most UK deals for May deliveries to domestic consumers have been settled at ?15...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes this week, with prices falling further, sources said on Wednesday May 15.The mills were trying to keep their deep-sea scrap purchases as slow as possible, to put downward pressure on prices, because demand for long steel products was sluggish and values were falling, Fastmarkets was told.But two steel mills came to the market...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices picked up on Wednesday May 15 following gains in China's futures market, and amid concerns that BHP's mine maintenance could affect supply at a later date.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $96.95 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $2.61 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $95.63 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $2.61 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $98.53 per tonn...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 transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center (Corex), 90,000 tonnes of 65% Fe Iron Ore...Read More
Prices for seaborne coking coal to China regained some upward momentum on Wednesday May 15, with a transaction being concluded above prevailing levels.A top Australian brand with laycan set for June 19-25 was traded at $212.66 per tonne cfr China, sources told Fastmarkets during the day. This is $1.11 per tonne higher than a transaction involving the same brand late last week.On the same day, anot...Read More
The possibility of another auction of indium stock held by the defunct Fanya Metal Exchange has weakened the buying appetite of consumers both in China and abroad. Word had circulated in the market since last week that around 20-100 tonnes of indium held in Fanya's warehouses could be auctioned by the end of May, market sources told Fastmarkets MB. Officials from the Alibaba online platform, where...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices regained some losses on Wednesday May 15 amid a pick-up in trading activity after futures rebounded.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,000-4,010 yuan ($582-583) per tonne, narrowing from 3,990-4,040 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,930-3,980 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said trading activity during the day was better than on T...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices were largely steady on Wednesday May 15 amid sparse trading in the domestic market, though trading activity in the export segment appeared to pick up after exporters cut their offers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,990-4,000 yuan ($580-582) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,870-3,880 yuan per tonne, narrowing from both endsTrading was persistently t...Read More
Markets were looking brighter on the morning of Wednesday May 15, with the equities and metals firmer, this despite some further poor economic data in China and the uncertainty about which direction US-China trade talks will go.China's CSI 300 up by 2.6%; LME base metals up an average of 0.4%, after a 1.2% gain on TuesdayChina's fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales, all c...Read More