The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday Marcy 29:Aluminium ingotDuty paid delivered works...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Asia have started to decline on weakening markets for billet and long steel products downstream, sources told Fastmarkets MB this week.The decreases came despite buyers in Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea placing bookings cargoes to replenish their inventories. Steelmakers in Vietnam and South Korea in particular booked large volumes.Scrap prices are expected to slide furthe...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly range-bound at the close of trading on Thursday March 28, with continued strength in the dollar deterring commodity investment while weaker-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) figures from the United States continued to indicate economic contraction.Nickel's three-month price was the biggest downward mover of the day, closing once...Read More
Prices in the US copper market continued to push upward on Thursday March 28, with macroeconomic data outweighing recent growth in market participants' bearish speculative positioning.The copper price for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up by 1.15 cents to $2.8745 per lb on Thursday.On the technical side, the net speculative length has declined marke...Read More
Robin Scheiner will lead a merged aluminium-alumina department at Glencore following the departure of David Streule, sources close to the matter told Fastmarkets. "Change will take place in the coming weeks or months," a source close to the matter said, while two sources said Streule will be departing by the end of June.Streule will leave Glencore...Read More
The extreme weather that hit Australia over the past week will cause some delays but should have no impact on total deliveries of manganese ore for April, according to producers that mine high-grade material in areas affected by the cyclones. Consolidated Minerals, which owns the high-grade manganese ore Woodie Woodie mine in Western Australia via its Pilbera Manganese subsidiary, said Cyclone Ver...Read More
Robin Scheiner will lead a merged aluminium-alumina department at Glencore following the departure of David Streule, sources close to the matter told Fastmarkets. "Change will take place in the coming weeks or months," a source close to the matter said, while two sources said Streule will be departing by the end of June.Streule will leave Glencore...Read More
Market participants expect alumina prices to plummet upon any future announcement that Hydro's alumina refinery, Alunorte, can return to full capacity, but agree the scheduled court date does not provide any further clarity. Alunorte, the largest alumina refinery in the world, has been running at only 50% of its production capacity since March 2018 because of restrictions imposed by authorities in...Read More
Turkish steel mills made no new bookings in the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday March 28, but more transactions made last week were revealed, sources said on Thursday March 28.News of three deep-sea cargoes from last week came to light on Thursday.A steel producer in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $320 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded a...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices continue to produce sluggish price action, down 0.2% on average in the morning of Thursday March 28. Copper bucked the trend with a mild gain of 0.1% while aluminium was unchanged at $1,903 per tonne. But LME zinc and lead prices were down 0.1% while nickel and tin were down 0.5%. Trading volume was fairly subdued at 4,325 lots as of 6:48am Lond...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil (CRC) in Southern Europe have fallen this week due to limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic CRC in Southern Europe was ?,?530-560 ($598-630) per tonne ex-works on March 27, down by ?,?30 per tonne compared with ?,?560-590 per tonne ex-works a week earlier.Italian mills were reported to be...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were flat on Thursday March 28, with market participants taking a wait-and-see approach.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,860 yuan ($573-574) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,790-3,800 yuan per tonne, unchangedA few buyers raised their procurement rates amid gains in the futures market in the earlier part of the day, sources said.But o...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices remained largely unchanged over the past week on a lack of demand, sources said on Thursday March 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports from Turkey was unchanged at $490-500 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis.Turkish steel producers continued to offer rebar for export at $500-510 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis, but buy...Read More
Turkish domestic prices for rebar and wire rod have remained fairly stable over the past week, with demand showing few signs of recovery, sources said on Thursday March 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,200-3,250 ($593-602) per tonne ex-works, narrowing downward slightly compared with the TRY3,200-3,263 per tonne of last week.The domestic rebar...Read More
Steel billet import prices fell in Egypt in the week ended Thursday March 28, with demand remaining weak, but the domestic price for rebar held steady, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $460-480 per tonne cfr on Thursday, widening downward from $475-480 per tonne cfr last week.CIS-origin billet was offered to the country at $480-485...Read More
Turkish steel mills made no new bookings in the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday March 28, but more transactions made last week were revealed, sources said on Thursday March 28.News of three deep-sea cargoes from last week came to light on Thursday.A steel producer in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $320 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded a...Read More
Physical iron ore prices weakened on Thursday March 28 following losses in the futures markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $84.68 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.43 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $83.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.43 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $86.93 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.17 per tonne. MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $76.97 per tonne cfr Qi...Read More
Brazil's Vale has adopted the Fastmarkets MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index as the reference for the pricing of contract cargoes of its blast furnace and direct-reduction pellets in 2019."The [Fastmarkets MB 65% Fe Iron Ore Index] is the new reference index and the premiums for blast furnace and direct-reduction pellets remained the same as [that in] 2018 - $60 per tonne on average," the miner said on Thur...Read More
The Turkish billet import market was very quiet this week, with demand for imported material still soft although the export and domestic markets showed some signs of revival, sources said on Thursday March 28.The suppliers in the CIS region increased their offers to $475-480 per tonne cfr because of the renewed demand from North Africa, and Algeria in particular.But Turkish buyers were still looki...Read More
Steel billet import prices fell in Egypt in the week ended Thursday March 28, with demand remaining weak, but the domestic price for rebar held steady, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $460-480 per tonne cfr on Thursday, widening downward from $475-480 per tonne cfr last week.CIS-origin billet was offered to the country at $480-485...Read More