Fastmarkets MB has discontinued its weekly assessments of the Latin America export hot-dipped galvanized coil price, which was reported on a dollar-per-tonne fob main port basis, with effect from Friday May 3.Following a three-month consultation period, Fastmarkets MB received feedback that there is now limited spot liquidity in this market; producers stepped away from the export markets in 2...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Copper continued its sell-off on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday May 2, with the absence of Asian markets a key factor in the downturn while strength in the US dollar caps commodity investment. Volumes were moderately high, with more than 20,000 lots of copper changing hands by the close, indicating strong selling momentum. Open interest has fallen by 3,824 positions overnight, dipping below...Read More
Zinc bears are betting that the London Metal Exchange zinc price will fall to $2,500 per tonne in June, with massive orders for put options placed in recent weeks, Fastmarkets learned.Current open interest on the LME Select platform shows 5,125 lots of put options are active for the June declaration at a $2,500-per-tonne strike price, representing an equivalent of 128,125 tonnes of the metal. Opti...Read More
Comex copper prices sank further in morning trading on Thursday May 2 in the United States after a 3% selloff yesterday fueled by increased warehousing inflows, weak global data and a stronger dollar. The copper price for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.15 cents to $2.7810 per lb. "In line with our expectations, copper has come under downward p...Read More
Zinc bears are betting that the London Metal Exchange zinc price will fall to $2,500 per tonne in June, with massive orders for put options placed in recent weeks, Fastmarkets learned.Current open interest on the LME Select platform shows 5,125 lots of put options are active for the June declaration at a $2,500-per-tonne strike price, representing an equivalent of 128,125 tonnes of the metal. Opti...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market remained quiet on Thursday May 2, with participants expecting lower prices following the sale of a cheaper billet cargo to Saudi Arabia, sources have told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in northern Turkey sold 40,000 tonnes of billet to Saudi Arabia at $425 per tonne fob, equivalent to $452 per tonne cfr, multiple sources reported on Thursday.Following news of th...Read More
Fastmarkets topped the base metals leaderboard in the Apex first-quarter 2019 contest, with an accuracy rating of 98.41%, while Edward Meir of INTL FCStone was top of the precious metals table with 97.45% accuracy.For steel raw materials, Casper Burgering from ABN Amro topped the leaderboard, with 91.16% accuracy.Click on the image below to download the full report.Second in the base metals leader...Read More
Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers bid $546 million on Thursday May 2 to acquire junior lithium spodumene producer Kidman Resources.Fellow Australian company Kidman is developing the Mount Holland asset in Western Australia to produce lithium spodumene concentrate in a 50:50 joint venture with Chilean lithium producer SQM. They are looking to build a lithium hydroxide plant with capacity for 45,50...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) moved downward in the south of Europe over the week to Thursday May 2 due to slow trading, sources have told Fastmarkets.And although domestic prices in Northern Europe have been stable, sentiment remained negative with buying activity still subdued, according to market participants.Southern EuropeIn Southern Europe, domestic prices have moved down and buy...Read More
Prices for reinforcing bar steel in the United States continued to soften on weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets AMM. Fastmarkets AMM's price assessment for domestic rebar is $34.25-35.25 per hundredweight fob mill as of Wednesday May 1, down 0.7% from $34.50-35.50 per cwt two weeks earlier and off 2.1% from $35-36 per cwt at the beginning of the year. At the same time, Fastmarkets' assessment f...Read More
Rebar prices in the domestic market of Egypt picked up in the week ended Thursday May 2 amid higher import billet costs due to the temporary duty imposed on foreign material and lower availability of rebar as a consequence.Egypt imposed temporary import duties on billet and rebar on April 15 at a rate of 25% for rebar imports and 3-15% for billet imports.The safeguard duty on billet is c...Read More
Domestic long steel prices have gone up in Turkey over the past week but only because the country's lira has continued to weaken against the US dollar, sources said on Thursday May 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment on Thursday for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,300-3,350 ($553-562) per tonne ex-works, including 18% VAT, up from the TRY3,240-3,340 per tonne of last week.The local rebar pric...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) remained silent during the week ended Thursday May 2, with suppliers taking public holidays and the price of scrap unclear in the United States, the key outlet market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for CIS exports of high-manganese pig iron was $335-340 per tonne fob Black Sea on Thursday, narrowing upward from $330-3...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market remained quiet on Thursday May 2, with participants expecting lower prices following the sale of a cheaper billet cargo to Saudi Arabia, sources have told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in northern Turkey sold 40,000 tonnes of billet to Saudi Arabia at $425 per tonne fob, equivalent to $452 per tonne cfr, multiple sources reported on Thursday.Following news of th...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices remained flat on Thursday May 2, with trading activity muted due to the ongoing Labor Day public holiday in China.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.17 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $97.27 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 58%...Read More
Rebar prices in the domestic market of Egypt picked up in the week ended Thursday May 2 amid higher import billet costs due to the temporary duty imposed on foreign material and lower availability of rebar as a consequence.Egypt imposed temporary import duties on billet and rebar on April 15 at a rate of 25% for rebar imports and 3-15% for billet imports.The safeguard duty on billet is c...Read More
The CIS export billet market started May with no major price changes, mainly due to the May holiday lull in seller countries, but also because most producers sold all their May-rolling volumes in April.Several offers were heard as high as $430 per tonne fob Black Sea, but sources said the workable price was $420-425 per tonne fob, the level at which recent bookings were done.A 30,000-tonne ca...Read More
Turkish billet prices have softened over the past week, with news of fresh export sales at lower prices confirming the downturn, sources said on Thursday May 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for billet exports out of Turkey was $425-430 per tonne fob on Thursday, down from last week's $450-455 per tonne.A steel mill in northern Turkey sold 40,000 tonnes of billet to Saudi Arabia at $425 per....Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia were down in the week to Thursday May 2 amid weak buying interest and falling nickel prices that led to lower offers from producers in the region.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday May 1's official trading session at $12,205-12,210 per tonne, down $220-240 per tonne week on week.The price has trended downward...Read More