Anglo American's refined copper production increased by 4% in the first quarter of 2019 due to rising higher-grade ore output at its Los Bronces and El Soldado mines in central Chile. Refined copper production totaled 161,100 tonnes in the first three month of 2019, up from 154,900 tonnes in the same quarter of 2018, the London-listed miner said on Tuesday April 23.Refined copper production from L...Read More
While the cost of steel beams in the United States has continued to hold steady, slow demand and weakening raw material costs could prompt an official mill price decrease next month, sources told Fastmarkets AMM.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic W8x8 beams has remained at $43.25 per cwt ($865 per short ton) fob mill since late February, after that month's mill increases were passed throug...Read More
Prices of cold-rolled coil and coated steel sheet in the United States continued to decline over the past week, falling by 50 cents across the board and taking cues from softness in the hot-rolled coil market in spite of relatively stable demand.Fastmarkets AMM's weekly assessment for domestic cold-rolled coil fell to $41 per hundredweight ($820 per short ton) on Thursday April 25, down from $41.5...Read More
Indian mills were likely to reduce their domestic prices for hot-rolled coil HRC) by about 1,000 rupees ($14) per tonne to boost sales and remain competitive against cheaper imported coil products, Fastmarkets has heard."Our HRC sales are suffering because imported material is being offered at lower prices," an official from an Indian steel mill said.The Indian domestic HRC price assessed by Fastm...Read More
Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest, which was the largest global pig iron supplier in 2018, reduced its pig iron sales volumes twice in January-March 2019 because it switched to higher output of steel slab, the company said in an operational report on Friday April 26.The company shipped 225,000 tonnes of pig iron to the market in the first quarter of 2019. That was a sharp drop of 50% from pig iron sa...Read More
Coated flat steel prices in Turkey fell in the week to Friday April 26, with demand soft in both the domestic and export markets.Demand failed to improve because of the weak Turkish lira and ongoing economic uncertainty in the country.The lira was trading at TRY100 to $17.0279 on April 26, compared with TRY100 to $17.4791 on April 12 and TRY100 to $18.7654 on March 1, according to exchange ra...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India moved up again this week on a lack of available material, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 26.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India inched up to $334.65 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday, from $332.25 per tonne cfr one week before.There were very few deals heard in the market for shredded s...Read More
The light iron market in the UK has not changed over the past week, extending this trend into a sixth week with prices supported by a slightly tighter supply of feedstock coming into yards, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 26.The trend reflected a similar pattern in business in the European export markets to key destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent.Fastmarkets' weekly pr...Read More
The Turkish steel mills broke their silence in the deep-sea scrap market on Friday April 26 after a US scrap cargo was sold at lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Mills in Turkey had been quiet for the previous 10 days due to weak finished steel demand in the local and export markets, thereby putting downward pressure on scrap prices.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo, comp...Read More
Physical iron ore prices showed only small changes, or did not change, on Friday April 26 amid mixed news in the market.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $93.58 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.08 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.36 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.08 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $96.03 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.05 per tonne.MB 58% Fe Premium Index...Read More
Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange ticked higher during morning trading on Friday April 26, making headway back towards $2,800 per tonne and shrugging off fresh inflows of just under 4,000 tonnes into European locations.This month, more than 30,000 tonnes of zinc have been delivered into LME-registered warehouses, with over 20,000 tonnes sent to European warehouses in Rotterdam,...Read More
Generally London Metal Exchange prices have been weak in recent days and the strong dollar has been a factor in that, but dip-buying appears to be providing support in morning trading on Friday April 26. Asian equities generally weaker this morning Dollar index extends gains Market waiting for US GDP data Base metals Base metals prices on the LME were for the most part firmer across the...Read More
Only nickel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange managed to make significant headway during morning trading on Friday April 26, with the rest of the complex struggling against a firm US dollar.The most-traded June nickel contract on the SHFE stood at 98,350 yuan ($14,594) per tonne as at 10.22am Shanghai time on Friday, up by 0.7% or 650 yuan per tonne from Thursday's close of 97,700 yuan per t...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday April 26:Minor metals Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 46,000-47,000 yuan per tonne from 46,800-47,800 yuanCadmium MB free market min 99.99%, cents/lb: 135-143 per lb from 137-143Chromium MB free market alumino-thermic, $/tonne: $8,200-8,700 per...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Swedish steel trader BE Group believes that the second quarter of 2019 will be positive for the company's principal markets, it said on Thursday April 25."Demand in the next quarter is expected to remain strong in the company's main markets," president and chief executive officer Anders Martinsson said."Steel prices are expected to stay at the same level as in the first quarter, and the prices of...Read More
Monthly European alloy surcharges for stainless steel products have increased for May due to the euro's weak position against the dollar, Fastmarkets heard on Friday April 26.The May surcharge for grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless sheet has increased to ?,?1,410-1,450 ($1,571-1,616) per tonne, a gain of ?,?20-23 per tonne from April levels, according to data released by Outokumpu, Acerinox and...Read More
China's leading stainless steel mills - Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco), Tsingshan Group and Baosteel - have released their May tender prices for high-carbon ferro-chrome this week, which are 50 and 200 yuan ($7.40 and 29.70) per tonne lower month on month. Tisco announced its May tender price for high-carbon ferro-chrome at 6,900 yuan per tonne on Wednesday April 24, a drop of 50 yuan per tonne from...Read More
The price of alloy steel scrap in Europe and the UK have decreased this week following lower nickel and ferrous scrap prices. The London Metal Exchange nickel price was the main driver behind the decline, having fallen to $12,345-12,350 per tonne on April 26 from $12,690-12,700 per tonne on April 18. Austenitic alloy scrap prices, for which nickel values are the most significant influence, reacted...Read More