There are numerous crosscurrents running through the markets this morning, Tuesday August 18, with the base metals mainly firmer and gold rebounding strongly, while equity markets were mixed and the dollar continued to weaken.Broader US equity markets were weaker this morning following Monday's poor US manufacturing data and rising mortgage delinquencies, but the Nasdaq established a fresh record...Read More

The annual Asia Copper Week gathering has been canceled this year due to the global spread of Covid-19, its Chilean organizer, the Center for Copper and Mining Studies (Cesco), announced on Tuesday August 18."We regret to announce the cancellation of all Asia Copper Week hosted events during ACW2020. However, we will maintain our presence during the week by offering a series of complimentary webin...Read More

Sales volumes from flat-rolled steel distributors in Brazil grew by 19.4% in July 2020, compared with figures from the corresponding month in 2019, amid lower availability from steelmakers, distributors' association Inda said on Tuesday August 18.Domestic shipments from Inda members totaled 344,000 tonnes in July, up from 288,000 tonnes a year before. Volumes also rose from 290,500 tonnes in June,...Read More

Hot-rolled coil import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continued to increase this week while demand was moderate, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 18.Buyers said they preferred to postpone booking because the recent price increases were too sharp and they expected some correction.Additionally, some buyers were in no rush to secure deals after bookings were made last w...Read More

Prices for steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates have continued to increase over the past week but buying was only moderate, market sources said on Tuesday August 18.Domestic rebarSince Monday, the country's biggest rebar producer has been offering the product at 1,830 dirhams ($498) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in September. This was up from 1,773 dirhams per tonne ex-works for...Read More

There are numerous crosscurrents running through the markets this morning, Tuesday August 18, with the base metals mainly firmer and gold rebounding strongly, while equity markets were mixed and the dollar continued to weaken.* Broader US equity markets were weaker this morning following Monday's poor US manufacturing data and rising mortgage delinquencies, but the Nasdaq established a fresh recor...Read More

Export prices for steel rebar and wire rod from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased in the first half of August, supported by a combination of favorable market factors, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday August 18.The revival of interest in finished long steel products among some European and Middle Eastern suppliers, reduced allocation of materials from Russian mills and the positive...Read More

The uptrend continued in the export market for flat steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States during the week to Monday August 17 on higher sales to Turkey, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $475-480 per tonne on Monday, narrowing upward from $460-480 per tonne a week before.A sale of Rus...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil exporters kept offering high on Tuesday August 18 based on stable domestic market, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,080-4,090 yuan ($588-590) per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonneOne Shanghai-based trader said the futures price gains continued to improve market sentiment in the spot market, however, the demand mainly came from speculators who w...Read More

S&P 500 Index moved above 3393.52 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Frontier iShares (FM) moved above $24.69 extending an intermediate uptrend. JD Inc. (JD), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $69.18 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday August 18thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 6...Read More

The Turkish steel producers have continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap markets due to weak demand for their finished long steel products, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 18.Turkish steel mills paused their deep-sea bookings on August 7, when the price for HMS 1&2 (80:20) reached $285 per tonne cfr for US- and Baltic Sea-origin material.The poor demand for long steel was the mai...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were relatively flat across the board on Tuesday August 18 in a day of muted trading. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $103.49 per tonne, down $0.06 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $115.07 per tonne, up $0.05 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $85.02 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking...Read More

Digital financing will ease a lot of strain businesses are facing on liquidity due to the Covid-19 pandemic, DBS Bank group head of trade product management Sriram Muthukrishnan told Fastmarkets in a recent interview. "Quicker and more cost-efficient financing" available to suppliers earlier in the business cycle compared with conventional post-shipment supplier financing programs is especially re...Read More

Market participants believe that the strong demand from steelmakers has prompted seaborne iron ore prices to rise sharply on Tuesday August 18, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $128.57 per tonne, up $6.63 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $127.08 per tonne, up $5.58 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $113.15 per tonn...Read More

Iron ore fines prices held steady in the physical market on active trading on Monday August 17, largely due to low mid-grade fines port inventories in China and despite a decrease in Dalian Commodity Exchange futures values, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.94 per tonne, down $0.50 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.50 pe...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices edged up further on Tuesday August 18 amid rising futures, though demand in the spot market was largely flat. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,680 yuan ($527-531) per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonne Sellers in the spot market raised their prices following the gains in the futures market, but buyers did not raise their procurement rates. High temperatures...Read More

The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has determined there is "a reasonable indication" of injury to domestic silicon metal producers from imports of silicon metal from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, allowing a trade case to proceed.The unanimous ruling, released on August 13, followed a June-30 petition to the commission by the two dominant US producers, Fe...Read More

The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs...Read More

The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 15.15-15.4 on Tuesday...Read More

A summary of major Chinese vanadium producer Pangang Group Vanadium & Titanium Resources Co's half-year results released on Tuesday August 18. In brief The Shenzhen-listed company reported a net profit of 85.60 million yuan ($12.34 million) for the first half of...Read More