South American flat-rolled steel import prices edged lower in the week to Friday August 20 amid aggressive bidding from customers for material from origins other than China and much more competitive alternatives emerging from the Commonwealth of Independent States.Chinese offers to the continent remained scarce due to uncertainties involving a potential export tax expected to be introduced in the...Read More

Brazil's pig iron export market was calm but prices weakened during the week to Friday August 20 due to low demand.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $510-520 per tonne on Friday, down from $540-545 per tonne a week earlier."[The] market is very slow now because demand is almost non-existent, buyers are very cautious...Read More

Prices of imported scrap in Turkey continued to weaken amid limited finished steel trade in the week to August 20, while buyers in Asia resisted higher offers. Turkish steel mills book more scrap for September shipments at decreasing prices The United States scrap export market reports further price decrease with a fresh cargo sale to Turkey Buyers in Vietnam resist higher offers for bulk cargoes...Read More

An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday August 20.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More

Short-covering activity helped some base metals prices on the LME end the week on a higher note at the end of trading on Friday August 20, but it was not enough to offset the losses seen after Thursday's sell-off.Copper's three-month price was $9,037 per tonne at 5pm on Friday, up 1.6% on Thursday's $8,894 per tonne, with the 200 daily moving average (DMA) acting as key support at $8,843 per...Read More

Iron ore prices rebounded on Friday August 20 from losses the day before, although demand from Chinese mills showed no sign of picking up and market participants remained cautious.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $140.44 per tonne, up by $7.78 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $141.15 per tonne, up by $7.85 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao:...Read More

Prices of hot-rolled coil in China's domestic market edged higher on Friday August 20 following two days of sharp losses sparked by increased demand concerns.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,620-5,670 yuan ($865-872) per tonne, up by 20-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): weekly assessment: 5,600-5,640 yuan ($862-868) per tonne, down by 100-110 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract...Read More

Short-covering activity helped some base metals prices on the LME end the week on a higher note at the end of trading on Friday August 20, but it was not enough to offset the losses seen after Thursday's sell-off.Copper's three-month price was $9,037 per tonne at 5pm on Friday, up 1.6% on Thursday's $8,894 per tonne, with the 200 daily moving average (DMA) acting as key support at $8,843 per...Read More

The light iron scrap market in the United Kingdom was stable over the week to Friday August 20 while scrap processors held their offer prices to ensure a steady flow of material into their yards, sources told Fastmarkets.UK export prices were also relatively stable despite quieter trade due to the seasonal slowdown, cementing support for domestic British prices. The export market accounts for more...Read More

Some secondary alloy prices in the United States rose to all-time highs again on Thursday August 19, though the benchmark A380.1 price held steady.This resulted from continued tight supply and despite what some said was lackluster summer demand. "Volume is still suspect, but copper and silicon are still very high," one trader said of the continuing cost push for alloy prices. "On the other hand, p...Read More

Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) index is currently at its highest level since April 2019.Treatment charges of October cargoes were reportedly sold to smelters in the range of $58-62 per tonne this week, roughly equivalent to the 2021...Read More

A combination of low liquidity, supply constraints that were said to be easing, and a rushed exit from long positions took the three-month price of tin on the London Metal Exchange down by 11% on Thursday August 19, despite its recent and seemingly unstoppable rise. Where will it go from here?Prior to the fall on Thursday, tin's benchmark futures price had reached an all-time high of $35,955 per t...Read More

Global aluminium prices and premiums have been on a near-vertical uptrend, touching record highs along the way, with consumers of aluminium in various sectors finding ways to absorb and pass on the increasing costs.Managing high raw material costs has become a key theme in quarterly earnings reports and in conference calls for manufacturing companies throughout the summer months of 2021. Despite h...Read More

Nickel and copper were up by 1% and above in the LME morning session on Friday August 20, with most base metals bouncing back from Thursday when all prices declined. A higher US Dollar Index - which touched a new year-to-date peak of 93.65 on Friday morning - and renewed concerns about demand due to the ongoing spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant were key factors behind Thursday's price falls.&nb...Read More

Most base metal stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) warehouses declined this week, with nickel falling the most in percentage terms and zinc increasing the most at 10%, according to the stocks report on Friday August 20.Nickel inventories stood at 5,344 tonnes on August 20, a decrease of 1,071 tonnes from 6,415 tonnes one week earlier.The inflows mainly came into warehouses operated by SIPG...Read More

Many Chinese alumina buyers are currently steering clear of purchasing seaborne alumina due to persistent congestion at several Chinese ports, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 19.Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina index, fob Australia stood at $301.61 per tonne on August 19, little changed from the Wednesday's calculation. The index has been at around $300 per tonne since July 23 due to a l...Read More

Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States strengthened after more domestic mills notified customers that maintenance outages will reduce output in the coming months. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US climbed to $107.50 per hundredweight ($2,150 per short ton) on Thursday August 19 from $107 per cwt on Thursday August 12. The a...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States hovered around the $97-per-hundredweight ($1,940-per-short-ton) threshold for a second day, with buyers projecting that upcoming mill maintenance will reduce supply.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.83 per hundredweight ($1,936.60 per ton) on Friday August 20, down by 0.12% from $96.95 per cwt on Thursday A...Read More

Slab export prices from Brazil remained unchanged during the week ended Friday August 20, as raw materials' costs decreased while flat steel prices remained strong.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $900-920 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous week.Offers from Brazil remained above $900 per tonne fob, while buyers continued to look for...Read More

Indian hot rolled coil export prices edged down on Friday August 20, with mills lowering their HRC export offers to destinations in Southeast Asia, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil (commodity) export, fob main port India was $875-920 per tonne on August 20, widening down by $45 at the low end of the range from $910-920 per tonne last week.The lo...Read More