Low-volatility pulverized coal injection (PCI) prices in both the fob and cfr market jumped following price gains in coking coal the week to Friday August 27. And a shortage of railway wagons in Russia has delayed the transport of PCI to China, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $408.51 per tonne, down $0.42 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $385.67 per...Read More

Fastmarkets has corrected its weekly price assessment for Molybdenum drummed molybdic oxide 57% Mo min, in-whs Rotterdam following a data entry error.The weekly price assessment for MB-FEO-0003 molybdenum drummed molybdic oxide 57% Mo min, in-whs Rotterdam on Friday August 27 should have been $20.50-20.65 per lb Mo, but was published as $2.50-20.65 per lb MoFastmarkets' pricing database has been u...Read More

Indian domestic prices for secondary steel billet tumbled by 1,900 rupees ($26) per tonne in the week ended Friday August 27 with the price of the key raw material, direct-reduced iron (DRI), dropping by 1,200 rupees per tonne.The slide in billet prices through the week was driven by sluggish demand and fewer inquiries from buyers.The price of steel billet, domestic, exw India, assessed by Fastmar...Read More

At $3 below $2,700 per tonne, aluminium reached its highest three-month price on the London Metal Exchange since May 2011 on Friday August 27, and most prices on the complex were also up following long-awaited statements from the US Federal Reserve Chair. The new year-to-date peak for aluminium was $2,697 per tonne on Friday; the metal was up by 1.1% at 5pm to $2,649.50 per tonne from Thursday's $...Read More

Fastmarkets copper concentrate treatment charge/ refining charge (TC/RC) index continued to rise in the week to August 27. Fastmarket's calculation of the copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific is now at its highest level since mid-April 2020, with smelters bidding for clean tonnage at mid-to-high $60s. Blended cargos from Asia were offered in the mid-$60s...Read More

Treatment charges for lead concentrate rose in August on a strongly negative import arbitrage and a steep backwardation on the London Metal Exchange, market participants told Fastmarkets.In addition, more mined material has become available to the Chinese market, which has been tightly supplied for the past three months.Fastmarkets' lead spot concentrate TC, low silver, cif China and the lead spot...Read More

Most base metals registered declines in inventories at Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses during the week to Friday August 27, with nickel falling the most in percentage terms at 16.6%.Recording four consecutive weeks of losses, nickel stocks dropped by 16.6% to 4,455 tonnes from 5,344 tonnes last week. The largest outflow was from warehouses operated by Zhongchu Dachang based in Shan...Read More

One western aluminium producer has extended an offer for fourth-quarter delivery aluminium to Main Japanese ports (MJP) at a premium of $250 per tonne cif, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday August 27.The offer is the second reported in the market for the fourth quarter and is $20 per tonne higher than the first offer, sources said. At the point of publication, no producers could be re...Read More

Aluminium's three-month price reached a new year-to-date high of $2,664.50 on the morning of Friday August 27 and most other future contracts on the London Metal Exchange were also up at the start of the day. Aluminium's price was up by 1.7% from Thursday's $2,619.50 per tonne reading at 5pm. The metal was just $1.50 away from the August 2011 high of $2,666 per tonne. The physical aluminium m...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed on the morning of Friday August 27 while market participants wait to hear what United States Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has to say about the US monetary policy timeline when he speaks later today. Asian-Pacific equity indices were mixed this morningBase metalsLME three-month zinc ($2,981 per tonne) an...Read More

Steel beam prices rose in the United States' domestic and import markets on Thursday August 26 following a second round of monthly mill price increases. Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel beams 8- x 8-in, fob mill US rose to $65.50 per hundredweight ($1,310 per short ton) on August 26, up by 3.97% from $63 per cwt on July 29 and by 9.17% from $60 per per cwt in May and June.Fastma...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States vaulted above $97 per hundredweight for the first time, with mill shutdowns and robust demand seen prolonging the already extended rally, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $97.06 per hundredweight ($1,941.20 per ton) on Friday August 27, up by 0.24% day on day and week on week from $96....Read More

Color-coated steel coil prices decreased in Turkey during the week to Friday August 27 in a slow market, sources told Fastmarkets.Uncertainty over the future direction of prices, which have decreased recently for most markets, made buyers refrain from booking material.Most export markets are still in holiday season, sources said.Domestic pricesFastmarkets assessed steel hot-dipped galvanized coil....Read More

The Latin American market continued to render support to CIS billet exporters with a second deal to the region reported during the week to Friday August 27. The price of the second one was, however, lower than the first.A cargo of 35,000 tonnes of Ukraine-origin billet with increased manganese content was sold to Latin America at $685 per tonne cfr. Sources said the price for basic grade would be...Read More

Most flat steel prices in Turkey declined further in the week to Friday August 27 on slow demand during the summer holiday season, with buyers holding back from placing orders until prices stop falling, sources told Fastmarkets.The uncertainty over China's export tax on hot-rolled coil exports also remained in the market this week, so buyers want to wait until September for a clear direction of th...Read More

An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday August 27.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 11 points in pre-opening trade. Investors are waiting for an update on U.S. monetary policy by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium at 10:00 AM EDT.U.S. index futures were virtually unchanged following release of July Personal Income and July Personal Spending at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus f...Read More

Brazil's pig iron export market came under pressure from subdued demand during the week to Friday August 27 although no trades were reported.Fastmarkets' assessment of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was $495-500 per tonne on Friday, down from $510-520 per tonne a week earlier and extending the...Read More

The Commonwealth of Independent States' pig iron export market was weak during the week to Thursday August 26 due to a lack of demand.Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $510-520 per tonne on Thursday, down by $15-20 from $525-540 per tonne the previous week."That was another muted week in the market," one trader said. "[The] gen...Read More

The import pig iron market in the United States weakened during the week to Friday August 27 on low demand and a weak scrap market, which adds pessimism to buyers.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $545-550 per tonne on Friday, down $15-30 from $560-580 per tonne cfr a week before."Everyone was well covered [with pig iron] and then some panicked and boug...Read More