A large drop in Chinese import steel billet bid prices has caused sellers to slash offer prices in an attempt to sell material to alternative markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 20.Chinese ferrous futures were in free-fall from Monday August 16 to Thursday August 19 amid pessimistic outlook for near-term economic growth and steel demand in China. Although contracts recovered slightl...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 15 points in pre-opening trade.Volume on U.S. equity markets is expected to be higher than average today due to "Triple Witching" activity.The Canadian Dollar was unchanged at US77.50 cents following release of Canada's June Retail Sales report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a gain of 4.5% versus a decline of 2.2% in M...Read More
Coated steel coil prices decreased in Turkey during the week to Friday August 20 because of low levels of demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Buyers wanted to see which direction global prices would move before placing orders, they said.Many export market participants were on holiday, so demand for exports was low during the week.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-...Read More
Sentiment in the European hot-rolled coil market turned negative this week due to the downtrend in the global market, falling feedstock prices and competitive import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 20.The post-summer outlook for buyers was largely downbeat, sources said, with HRC prices around the world following this week's sharp decline in iron ore prices."Sentiment [in th...Read More
Import pig iron prices in the United States fell during the week ended Friday August 20 due to bearish buyers and negative sentiment in the iron ore and ferrous scrap markets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was at $560-580 per tonne on Friday, down from $585-595 per tonne cfr a week before."The CIS still has unsold cargoes with August shipment,...Read More
The export market for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States went down during the week to Thursday August 19 due to buyer pessimism and a fall in iron ore prices.Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $525-540 per tonne on Thursday, down from $540-560 per tonne the previous week."Trade has been muted - buyers have been very...Read More
The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap in Europe moved higher this week because of tight supply, despite nickel costs dropping off sharply through the week, Fastmarkets heard on Friday August 20.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids import, cif main European port was ?,?1,600-1,670 ($1,869-1,951) per tonne on Friday, up...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap into Pakistan and India continued to diverge on Friday August 20, with demand in India slowing down during the monsoon season, while there was active trading in Pakistan, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $ 539 per tonne on Friday, up from$532.37 per tonne.The Ashura p...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes with prices continuing to weaken at the end of the week to Friday August 20, market participants told Fastmarkets. A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $450 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus and 7,000 tonnes of shredded at $470 per tonne cfr. ...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
Seaborne coking coal prices maintained their upward trend in the cfr China market following a strong domestic coking coal market and prices inched higher in the fob market on Friday August 20 amid necessary restocking demand.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) increased in both the cfr China and fob Australia markets in the week to August 20 due to supply tightness in both markets,...Read More
Eastern China rebar prices rose on Friday August 20 due to restocking demand ahead of the weekend, but a drop earlier in the week means that prices are down by 120 yuan ($18) per tonne week on week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,080-5,110 yuan per tonne, up by 70 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 5,010-5,050 yuan per tonne, down by 160 yuan per tonneBuyers raised procu...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Jessica Long, Ruby Liu and Carrie...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Dalila Ouerghi and...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.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam,...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....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
The Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonne 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...Read More
Shares of Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI) have lost almost 20% of their value in two days, as the company announced it was "reviewing its options" following a court ruling that determined the miner no longer has water rights for commercial use from the Pecos River in New Mexico. Intrepid's use of the Pecos River water became controversial after the company disclosed it planned to pump wat...Read More