South American flat steel import prices increased significantly this week, with mills in China returning to the market with high-priced offers after the Chinese New Year holiday."On Thursday and Friday last week, the market seemed to open weakly in China, so all mills held their offers," a South America-focused trader said. "Then on Monday, the market opened very strongly, and mills applied strong...Read More
Some coated coil producers in Turkey have raised their prices this week, but market participants were expecting prices to increase further.Domestic pricesOne Northern Turkish producer was offering hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil in 0.50mm gauge at $830 per tonne ex-works this week, while a second producer in the same region was fully booked until late May and did not offer any price.https://www.m...Read More
Flat steel prices in Turkey's domestic, import and export markets kept increasing this week amid strong demand, market participants told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 2.Local producers were fully booked until the middle of May, and were not giving discounts.Domestic pricesHot-rolled coil (HRC) producers in Turkey have been offering material at $660-670 per tonne ex-works for May production, up fr...Read More
Turkish steel exports to the United States will not be seriously affected by trade sanctions under Section 232 as long as the 25% tariff is applied equally to all countries, the Turkish Steel Exporters Assn (??IB) said on Friday March 2.US President Donald Trump announced his much-anticipated decision on whether to impose trade sanctions under Section 232 before the deadline of April 11, bowing to...Read More
Indian local secondary billet prices rose by 100 rupees ($2) per tonne week on week on Friday March 2, after recovering from significant fall on Monday and Tuesday. Metal Bulletin's price assessment for domestic billet in India, which is mainly produced through the induction furnace route, ended the week at 33,100-33,700 rupees per tonne ex-mill, up 100 rupees compared with&nbs...Read More
Steel mills in the United Kingdom will be heavily disadvantaged if blanket 25% tariffs are applied to their exports to the United States, Richard Warren, head of policy at industry group UK Steel, said on Friday March 2."There is significant apprehension about the indirect effects of these measures in the form of steel trade diverted away from the US to other markets, such as the UK," Warren said....Read More
Scrap prices in the global markets have continued to increase his week, amid strong demand for material in the major importing countries and upward momentum in the US export markets.Turkish steel mills continued to book more-deep sea scrap for April at escalating prices, with the country still enjoying strong demand for its finished steel products.Meanwhile, Taiwan import scrap prices also rose fu...Read More
The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel scrap has gone unchanged this week because a rise in nickel prices at the end of last week was offset by a later drop this week, sources said on Friday March 2.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?950-990 ($1,306-1,361) per tonne delivered on Friday, unchanged over the week."The ni...Read More
Strengthening export demand from Europe to key destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent has pulled up prices for light iron, grade-5C steel scrap in the United Kingdom this week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 2.The UK light iron scrap market has now moved up for three weeks in a row. Metal Bulletin's price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant b...Read More
The possible introduction of steel import restrictions in the United States under Section 232 became the dominant topic of conversation in the global market in the second half of February.Section 232 allows the US president to impose trade sanctions on imports if he believes that they pose a threat to national security.One product that is central to the operations of several US mills is semi-finis...Read More
The European Steel Association, Eurofer, has welcomed the European Commission's pledge of "appropriate and swift measures" after the United States finally announced Section 232 trade tariffs.US president Donald Trump announced the imposition of import duties of 25% on steel and 10% aluminium on March 1. "We welcome the [EC] announcement [that] appropriate and swift measures will be taken...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices dropped slightly on Friday March 2 with trading activity falling ahead of the weekend.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,060-4,100 yuan ($639-646) per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 4,100-4,130 yuan per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonne A weakening of demand pushed down rebar prices during the day. Market participants expect trading activity...Read More
The base price assessments for flat and long stainless steel products in Europe were unchanged this week on reduced market activity, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 2.Metal Bulletin's weekly base price assessment on Friday for 2mm, grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet was ?,?1,060-1,110 ($1,294-1,355) per tonne delivered in Northern Europe on March 2, steady over the week."Market activit...Read More
Strengthening export demand from Europe to key destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent has pulled up prices for light iron, grade-5C steel scrap in the United Kingdom this week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 2.The UK light iron scrap market has now moved up for three weeks in a row. Metal Bulletin's price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap on an inter-merchant b...Read More
European alloy surcharges for March deliveries of grade-316 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet have risen sharply month on month amid further increases in nickel and molybdenum costs.The March assessment for molybdenum-containing 2mm grade-316 CR sheet - compiled by Metal Bulletin based on data released by Outokumpu, Acerinox and Aperam - rose by ?,?88-112 per tonne to ?,?2,011-2,072...Read More
The European Steel Association, Eurofer, has welcomed the European Commission's pledge of "appropriate and swift measures" after the United States finally announced Section 232 trade tariffs.US president Donald Trump announced the imposition of import duties of 25% on steel and 10% aluminium on March 1. "We welcome the [EC] announcement [that] appropriate and swift measures will be taken...Read More
Turkish steel exports to the United States will not be seriously affected by trade sanctions under Section 232 as long as the 25% tariff is applied equally to all countries, the Turkish Steel Exporters Assn (??IB) said on Friday March 2.US President Donald Trump announced his much-anticipated decision on whether to impose trade sanctions under Section 232 before the deadline of April 11, bowing to...Read More
Major steel producer Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp (NSSMC) expects demand and profit margins for steel to remain high in Japan for the next three years, a senior official has told Metal Bulletin.The forecast is based on tight market fundamentals and healthy demand from downstream industries, as well as indirect demand for infrastructure projects associated with the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020...Read More
The Mexican steel association, Canacero, has called on the federal government to take "reciprocal measures" against the United States if it imposes a 25% duty on steel imports from Mexico. "Canacero expresses concern and it expects immediate reciprocal measures from our government if our country is included in the [232] measures," the association said late on Thursday March 1.The US recorded a ste...Read More
Vietnamese re-rollers are fretting over a 25% import tariff that the United States is set to impose on steel imports, expecting them to reduce the volumes of finished flat products that they can ship there, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 2.This could in turn result in a supply glut of flat steel in Asia, they warned."Vietnamese re-rollers are growing increasingly worried and th...Read More