Activity in the EU hot-rolled coil market has been limited on Friday July 16 due to buyers and sellers both being in wait-and-see mode, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers have been holding back from acquiring material due to a seasonal slowdown and uncertainty about the price trend. Domestic prices have remained high despite a slight correction lower while buyers, who have sufficient stocks for...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of June U.S. Retail Sales at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop of 0.4% versus a decline of 1.3% in May. Actual was an increase of 0.6%. Excluding auto sales, consensus was an increase of 0.5% versus a decline of 0.2% in May. Actual...Read More

Export prices for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States fell over the week to Thursday July 15 because buyers had restocked earlier and were in no hurry to make new purchases.Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $600-620 per tonne on Thursday July 15, down from $610-630 per tonne a week before.Pig iron offers from Russia...Read More

Prices for shredded steel scrap imports into Pakistan were broadly stable during the week to Friday July 16, while Indian prices fell further, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $547.80 per tonne on Friday, compared with $547.34 per tonne a week ago.Pakistan market participants reported deals at $550 per tonn...Read More

Italian domestic steel scrap prices increased in the month to Friday July 16 on support from short supply of the material, particularly of "new scrap" grades, sources told Fastmarkets.Supplies of new scrap, including E8-grade, were short due to low automotive production caused by a shortage of computer chips used in cars, sources said. Car manufacturers are the main suppliers of E8-grade scrap mat...Read More

The inter-merchant light iron scrap market in the United Kingdom was up ?5 ($6.92) per tonne in the week to Friday July 16 amid firm fundamentals, with some sources suggesting the market may consolidate higher in the near term while others say a correction may be likely due to the steel summer slowdown, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old li...Read More

Some Chinese mills are seeking alternative scrap import suppliers because of expensive offers for Japanese heavy scrap (HS), sources said on Friday July 16.Bids were heard at $535 per tonne cfr northern China on July 16, which would be equivalent to $525 per tonne cfr eastern China, and no new offers were heard on July 16. Prior to that, the latest to come in was on July 14 at $580-590 per tonne c...Read More

Turkish steel mills were quiet at the end of the week due to the public holidays being observed in the country, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 16.Turkish market participants were not working on Thursday July 15 because the country was celebrating its Democracy and National Unity Day.The Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday will be observed during the coming working week, so trade is expecte...Read More

Ukraine's ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has begun modernization of its blast furnace (BF) No9. The BF has a current capacity of 3.7 million tonnes per year of hot metal but the reconstruction will increase capacity by 35.7%, to 4.5 million tpy, sources told Fastmarkets.The BF modernization aims to optimize raw materials consumption.The works should be finalized by the end of 2023. Total investment in t...Read More

Deliverable stocks of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses showed varying changes in the week to Friday July 16, with the biggest decrease being in copper while lead showed the highest increase in percentage terms.Copper stocks totalled 113,593 tonnes this week, down by 15,876 tonnes (12.3%) from 129,469 tonnes the week before.The largest outflow was from the 830 GuangDon...Read More

Iron ore prices mostly edged downward on Friday July 16 under the influence of increasing inventory at China's ports despite reduced shipments.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $221.43 per tonne, down by $0.66 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $223.39 per tonne, down by $0.36 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $181.57 per tonne, down by $0.49...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were firm in the cfr market on Friday July 16 despite quiet trading. Offers for September loaded cargoes rose but the fob coking coal market also remained stable, sources said.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) inched up in the cfr market in the week to July 16 due to tight supply for high quality resources from Russia. The fob market continued to incre...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices across China's domestic market edged lower on Friday July 16, while futures prices dropped to a one-week low following Beijing's fresh pledge to ensure stable supply and prices for commodities.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,860-5,900 yuan ($906-913) per tonne, narrowing downward by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 5,710-5,720 yuan per tonne, up by 100-210 yua...Read More

Nickel reached $19,205 per tonne on the morning of Friday July 16 on the London Metal Exchange, with most prices also maintaining their high levels from Thursday due to increasing worries about supply from countries with rising Covid-19 cases.Nickel's three-month price reached its highest level since February 26 during early trading, recoiling back to $18,965 per tonne at 9am but still 1% higher t...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices halted its upward trend on Friday July 16 due to market participants' concern of price supervision from government offices.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,200-5,240 yuan ($804-811) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 5,070-5,120 yuan per tonne, up by 120-130 yuan per tonneEastern rebar prices were 180-190 yuan per tonne higher than on July 9, mainly due...Read More

An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Carrie Shi, Jessica Long and Ruby...Read More

The silicon metal price in the United States has fallen for the first time since October 2020, retreating from its 10-year high, partly due to reduced buying by silicon-bearing alloy makers who lack the staff to make their alloys, sources told Fastmarkets.US employees have been leaving their jobs in record numbers, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in June. Four million Americans resigned...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 transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...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 transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies....Read More

The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt hydroxide p...Read More