Long steel producer Badische Stahlwerke has denied that there was a stoppage at its rolling mill in southwest Germany, a source at the company told Fastmarkets on Friday July 23.Heavy floods in Germany have interrupted the supply of steel products and raw materials across the country, with some flat steel producers even declaring force majeure to customers.There were market rumors on Friday indica...Read More
Inflation surged in May, and some worry that it has already reached its peak. Has it indeed? This issue is key for the Fed and the gold market.Inflation has soared recently. The CPI annual rate surged 5% in May, which was the fastest jump since the Great Recession. However, the Fed officials still maintain that inflation will only be temporary. Some of the analysts even claim that inflation has al...Read More
The Turkish steel mills continued to limit their deep-sea scrap bookings in the week ended Friday July 16 due to weak finished steel sales, while the downturn in the country had a knock-on effect on prices in the global markets.Turkish mills restrict deep-sea purchases to put downward pressure on pricesSummer slowdown hits US export marketCovid-19 pandemic shuts down local long steel and scrap mar...Read More
Global scrap prices remained broadly stable over the week to Friday July 23; trading remains subdued due to public holidays and a resurgence of Covid-19.Turkish mills remain silent on public holidayUnited States export market apprehensive of downward correctionChinese prices improve on rising demandVietnam market flat on lack of interestTaiwanese scrap prices impacted by Covid-19 related lockdownI...Read More
The inter-merchant light iron scrap market in the United Kingdom was steady in the week to Friday July 23, consolidating small gains from the previous week amid strong domestic fundamentals, despite quiet export sales to key destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil have edged down, with most market participants remaining cautious and holding onto their inventory positions.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $975-985 per tonne on Friday July 23, down from $975-995 per tonne the previous week. The latest Brazilian slab deals to the United States have been heard...Read More
A barrage of import steel billet deals have been concluded with Chinese buyers this week at progressively higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 23.Demand for imported billet has spiked at mills in China amid targets which would push down steel production in the country over the second half of 2021.Chinese steelmakers can use import billet to roll long steel products while simultan...Read More
The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) is leading an industry-wide pushback against the country's proposed export tax of 5% on steel billet, it said on Friday July 23."The proposal to increase export taxes on billet and reduce import taxes on finished steel products is not suitable with the current situation of steel production," the association said.This was in response to domestic demand for steel...Read More
European steelmakers are returning to the bulk alloys markets for quarterly deliveries to be shipped between October and December due to persistent supply tightness, shipping delays and container shortages and strong steel production and prices, sources told Fastmarkets.It had appeared that steelmakers were satisfied with their current quarterly intake of ferro-alloys and would typically return fo...Read More
Is there still hope for a renewed rally, or is silver a lost cause? by Craig Hemke via Sprott Money NewsIt has been a challenging and frustrating year thus far for COMEX silver. Inflation is raging while interest rates are falling, yet COMEX silver prices are down year-to-date. This has left many silver investors wondering: Is there still hope for a renewed rally, or has all of this become a lost...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose on Friday July 23 on stronger restocking demand and lower production, but end-user demand weakened in the eastern coastal region ahead of an upcoming typhoon.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,280-5,300 yuan ($815-818) per tonne, up by 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 5,160-5,200 yuan per tonne, up by 80-90 yuan per tonneTyphoon In-fa...Read More
A major Japanese steel producer will raise its offer for October-shipment steel heavy plate to around $1,200 per tonne cfr Southeast Asia amid positive expectations, a source close to the producer told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 22.Inquiries for October-shipment plate from Southeast Asian buyers have been good despite a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the region, he said, and September-shipment...Read More
The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) is leading an industry-wide pushback against the country's proposed export tax of 5% on steel billet, it said on Friday July 23."The proposal to increase export taxes on billet and reduce import taxes on finished steel products is not suitable with the current situation of steel production," the association said.This was in response to domestic demand for steel...Read More
The world's largest carbon trading market is slowly gaining momentum and will eventually be a key component of China's ferrous industry, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.China kicked off nationwide carbon trading on July 16, with mostly thermal coal-fired power plants participating on the first day. Companies can buy carbon emission quotas from the market, while those with lower emissions...Read More
Domestic and export prices for Chinese stainless steel prices rose sharply over the week ended Wednesday July 21 on tight supply, which led to increased expectations of an export tariff to ease the shortage.DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 19,000-20,100 ($2,939-3,109) per tonne, up by 1,000-1,300 yuan per tonne from a week earlierPrices have risen to their hi...Read More
Import prices for flat steel in South American markets edged up for most grades due to higher offers from Chinese producers, while some participants reported a slowdown in the market.Offers of hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil rose at least by $20-30 per tonne on lower material availability, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main ports South Americ...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil have edged down, with most market participants remaining cautious and holding onto their inventory positions.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $975-985 per tonne on Friday July 23, down from $975-995 per tonne the previous week. The latest Brazilian slab deals to the United States have been heard...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies and...Read More
The Turkish steel mills continued to limit their deep-sea scrap bookings in the week ended Friday July 16 due to weak finished steel sales, while the downturn in the country had a knock-on effect on prices in the global markets.Turkish mills restrict deep-sea purchases to put downward pressure on pricesSummer slowdown hits US export marketCovid-19 pandemic shuts down local long steel and scrap mar...Read More
Iron ore prices edged down on Friday July 23 amid weaker demand.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $201.33 per tonne, down by $1.30 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $202.86 per tonne, down by $1.76 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $165.45 per tonne, down by $1.43 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao: $236.10 per tonne, down by $3...Read More