Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have remained stable over the past week with demand limited by trade blockages in the major markets, sources said on Thursday April 25.Turkish steel producers were offering rebar for export at $480-485 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, while a few customers were bidding less than $475 per tonne.Fastmarkets' weekly price...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has fallen into a lull for late April-early May holidays in the United States, Europe and the CIS, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday April 25.Fastmarkets' price assessment for CIS exports of high-manganese pig iron was $330-340 per tonne fob Black Sea on Thursday, down by $5 per tonne week on week.No trading activity was...Read More
Swedish iron-ore pellet producer LKAB expects continued strong demand for iron ore pellets for the remainder of 2019, it said on Thursday April 25."Prices for iron ore with a high iron content and for highly upgraded iron ore [products], such as LKAB's iron ore pellets, are at the same time continuing to increase, relative to iron ore with a lower iron content," LKAB said.Fastmarkets' MB 65% Fe Br...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have continued their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets because of the low levels of demand for finished steel in both the export and domestic markets, sources said on Thursday April 25.Some suppliers in the Baltic Sea region were offering HMS 1&2 (80:20) at prices around $310 per tonne cfr, but the mills were not willing to buy any scrap cargoes before selling some...Read More
The import price for steel billet in Egypt fell in the week to Thursday April 25, on declining demand caused by uncertainty over the imposition of import duties.Demand for imported rebar was also down and domestic rebar prices increased as a result.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $445-450 per tonne cfr on Thursday, falling from $450-455 per tonne cfr l...Read More
Domestic and export billet prices in Turkey remained stable over the past week due to weak demand, while import billet prices fell in lower offers from the CIS region, sources said on Thursday April 25.The suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region lowered their offers slightly to attract buyers in their major export markets.The CIS mills lowered their offers for Turkey to $4...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market were down slightly on Thursday April 25 after a major mill in the Commonwealth of Independent States reduced its asking prices for billet to attract buyers in the region. Fastmarkets MB's daily import price for billet in Southeast Asia was $465-470 per tonne cfr Manila on Thursday, down $5 per tonne on the high end from the previous day. Bil...Read More
Falling UG2 chrome ore prices in April have been partly caused by ferro-chrome smelters in China selling their raw material back to the market, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' UG2 chrome ore index, cif China, has dropped every week so far in April and stands at $169 per tonne as of Tuesday April 23, down from $186 per tonne on March 29. The smelters are understood to have bought too much ma...Read More
China's stainless steel prices dropped slightly over the past week as sellers focused on destocking amid weak demand.Fastmarkets MB's domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,000-14,500 yuan ($2,083-2,157) per tonne including value-added tax for the week ended Wednesday April 24, widening downward 100 yuan per tonne from 14,100-14,50...Read More
Swedish iron-ore pellet producer LKAB expects continued strong demand for iron ore pellets for the remainder of 2019, it said on Thursday April 25."Prices for iron ore with a high iron content and for highly upgraded iron ore [products], such as LKAB's iron ore pellets, are at the same time continuing to increase, relative to iron ore with a lower iron content," LKAB said.Fastmarkets' MB 65% Fe Br...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has fallen into a lull for late April-early May holidays in the United States, Europe and the CIS, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday April 25.Fastmarkets' price assessment for CIS exports of high-manganese pig iron was $330-340 per tonne fob Black Sea on Thursday, down by $5 per tonne week on week.No trading activity was...Read More
The import price for steel billet in Egypt fell in the week to Thursday April 25, on declining demand caused by uncertainty over the imposition of import duties.Demand for imported rebar was also down and domestic rebar prices increased as a result.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $445-450 per tonne cfr on Thursday, falling from $450-455 per tonne cfr l...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Thursday April 25, with the upward price action capped by broad strength in the US dollar index, while fresh cancelations fail to galvanize lackluster price action. Copper's three-month price fell to a low of $6,355 per tonne over the afternoon, its lowest price since March 27 amid an uptick in the US doll...Read More
Australia-based King Island Scheelite has signed an offtake agreement for tungsten concentrate with Austrian producer of refined tungsten Wolfram Bergbau und Hutten AG (WBH), it announced this month. The offtake agreement is for the delivery of 140,000 metric tonne units (mtu) of tungsten trioxide in concentrate, or 1,400 tonnes of tungsten trioxide over a four-year period. This equates to the exp...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday April 25 that are worth another look.Imports of non-ferrous scrap into China will be halted suddenly for the first two weeks of July, if not longer, due to the administrative procedures required for the government to issue licenses and scrap import quotas on July 1, multiple sources close to the matter have told Fastmarkets.Aus...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Thursday April 25, with the upward price action capped by broad strength in the US dollar index, while fresh cancelations fail to galvanize lackluster price action. Copper's three-month price fell to a low of $6,355 per tonne over the afternoon, its lowest price since March 27 amid an uptick in the US doll...Read More
Comex copper prices failed to maintain the previous day's gains amid a surging dollar on Thursday April 25, which is putting downward pressure on most of the base metals prices. The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 3.8 cents to $2.8720 per lb. The red metal has been unable to set a clear price direction over the past few weeks, with...Read More
Physical iron ore prices were rangebound on Thursday April 25 while futures transactions rose early in the day and fell later, to end moderately lower overall.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $93.50 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.05 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.28 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.05 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $95.98 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up...Read More
Swedish iron-ore pellet producer LKAB expects continued strong demand for iron ore pellets for the remainder of 2019, it said on Thursday April 25."Prices for iron ore with a high iron content and for highly upgraded iron ore [products], such as LKAB's iron ore pellets, are at the same time continuing to increase, relative to iron ore with a lower iron content," LKAB said.Fastmarkets' MB 65% Fe Br...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have continued their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets because of the low levels of demand for finished steel in both the export and domestic markets, sources said on Thursday April 25.Some suppliers in the Baltic Sea region were offering HMS 1&2 (80:20) at prices around $310 per tonne cfr, but the mills were not willing to buy any scrap cargoes before selling some...Read More