The US automotive industry's recovery is a tale of two trends - production and sales - and while a strong rebound in production has a more immediate impact on demand for steel, so far the bounce back has been greater in sales.This has translated into a slower rebound in steel demand, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) chief economist Timothy Gill said. "The auto market situation has certainl...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were stable day on day on Monday August 3 due to a seasonal market slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?412.50 ($485.77) per tonne on Monday August 3, unchanged from Friday July 31.Monday's index was based on "workable" prices heard at ?,?410-415 p...Read More

88 Energy (ASX:88E) Prepares for Billion Barrel Farm OutSPONSORED88 energyLithium no quiet place for AVZSPONSOREDavz mineralsScoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.IronRidge shows its mettleSPONSOREDironridge resources However, that's exactly what's happened for Newcrest Mining at the Havieron project in Western Australia's Paterson Province.Read More

The metals and equity indices were mixed this morning, Monday August 3, with numerous crosscurrents affecting the markets.Data this morning showed China’s Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) climbed to 52.8 in July from 51.2 a month earlier, while Japan’s manufacturing PMI rebounded to 45.2 from 42.6 over the same comparison.But the continuing spread of the Covid-1...Read More

Ferrous scrap sellers in Brazil were expecting to raise their prices in new negotiations with steelmakers, with domestic consumption starting to recover and with increases seen in international prices for scrap and local prices for steel rebar, according to national ferrous scrap association Inesfa.After a lackluster first half of the year in terms of scrap demand, which led in turn to higher expo...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe resource estimate could easily have ended up as an addendum to the company's first (June) half profit report.Read More

Export flat steel product prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region surged by as much as $45 per tonne in the week to Monday August 3.Some suppliers managed to achieve higher sales prices because of rising raw materials costs and limited availability of material in the region.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $435-...Read More

Prices for domestic and imported merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel in the United States were again flat in July while demand was generally stable and modest gains in sales volumes were seen in some markets. Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel bar 2 x 2 x 1/4 -inch angle merchant products, fob mill US was $33.80 per hundredweight ($676 per short ton) on Friday July 31, unchanged since...Read More

Target (TGT) an S&P 100 stock moved above $125.97 extending an intermediate uptrend. NVIDIA (NVDA), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $431.69 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Natural Gas ETN (UNG) moved above $11.27 completing a double bottom pattern.Pre-opening Comments for Monday August 3rdU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 20 po...Read More

British Steel has regained control of port facility Immingham Bulk Terminal (IBT), the company said on Monday August 3. British Steel has agreed a deal with Associated British Ports (ABP) for operational control of IBT, according to the release. The terminal is an important logistics hub for the company because it can handle up to 9 million tonnes per tonne of raw materials to feed steel productio...Read More

Turkish steel mills made no moves in the deep-sea scrap markets on Monday August 3 due to the Eid al-Adha religious holiday in the country.Turkey has been out of the market for the eid since Thursday of last week, when the latest known purchases were heard on the market. The holiday will...Read More

Bangladesh is one of the world's fastest-growing import markets for steel scrap. The country's rapid industrialization in recent years and its lack of natural steelmaking raw material resources mean that scrap imports - in addition to domestic material - are of high importance to the country's steelmakers.But why has 2020 been a particularly important year for the Bangladesh market? And how is Ban...Read More

Fastmarkets' iron ore index for 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qindao reached a record high on Monday August 3 from one year earlier, with prices surging under better market expectations of future iron ore demand amid strong China manufacturing PMI, sources said. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $116.03 per tonne, up $5.45 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $11...Read More

With competition in the global steel markets remaining fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in July 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for January, February, March, April, May and June this year.1. US: wire rod from Mexico2. EU: ferro-silicon from China and Russ...Read More

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices remained relatively flat on Monday August 3 on a lack of transactions in the spot market, while most Chinese market participants can only stand by due to the country's stringent import restrictions on seaborne materials. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $108.36 per tonne, down $0.13 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $11...Read More

Negotiations over premiums for direct-reduced (DR) iron ore pellet for the third quarter of 2020 are still ongoing, sources told Fastmarkets.Vale - the largest global supplier of DR pellets - will diversify the premium depending on the tonnage a buyer will purchase during the quarter, sources told Fastmarkets. "We've not agreed the premium yet because normally we buy five to six cargoes per q...Read More

Aluminium premiums in Rotterdam are on an upward trend for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold of Europe, with benchmark P1020 premiums at four-month highs. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dup Rotterdam at $90-95 per tonne on Friday July 31, up from $85-90 per tonne the week before. The midpoint of $92.50 per tonne is the highest since April 3 - the...Read More

China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices surged on Monday August 3 to reach their highest since October 2018 amid optimism generated by rising manufacturing activity.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,060-4,070 yuan ($582-584) per tonne, up 70-90 yuan per tonneSeveral Shanghai-based traders told Fastmarkets that trading activity in that region was merely moderate because buyers were reluctant to p...Read More

The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was down during morning trading on Monday August 3, with price action slipping back below the newly-established $2,300-per-tonne support level, while narrower forward spreads helped tin futures retain recent momentum. Zinc's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $2,289 per tonne, slipping just over 1% from Friday's closing price of $...Read More

China's domestic and export prices for rebar moved up on Monday August 3 amid rising futures stimulated by the release of positive economic data. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,640-3,670 yuan ($522-526) per tonne, up by 40 yuan per tonneChina's manufacturing purchasing managers' index was 51.1 points for July, up by 0.2 points from June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This i...Read More