Steel traders in Asia have been feverishly short-selling their cargoes in recent weeks due to the bearish sentiment in the Asian market, with back-to-back offers for steel products often accompanied by short-selling offers at a wide discount to mill cargoes.These discounts can reach up to $15 per tonne, which indicate the additional price falls that traders expect when short-selling cargoes. Buyer...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices fell on Tuesday November 20 amid tumbles across financial markets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,790-3,820 yuan ($546-550) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,770-3,780 yuan per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonneHRC prices nationwide fell, though the decreases were relatively smaller in comparison with other steel products such as rebar, a tr...Read More

Domestic rebar producers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced new prices for December production, although imported rebar prices remained stable over the past week.Steel billet prices, meanwhile, were unchanged because the rebar producers in the UAE have enough stock to last for more than one month, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 20.Domestic rebarThe country's biggest pro...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transactions: rebarRebarUAE, domestic (Emirates Steel), rebar, offered at 2,016 dirhams ($549) per tonne ex-works, December...Read More

Steel traders in Asia have been feverishly short-selling their cargoes in recent weeks due to the bearish sentiment in the Asian market, with back-to-back offers for steel products often accompanied by short-selling offers at a wide discount to mill cargoes.These discounts can reach up to $15 per tonne, which indicate the additional price falls that traders expect when short-selling cargoes. Buyer...Read More

Turkish steel mills have continued to hold back from making deep-sea scrap purchases due to fear of product outflow from China, sources said on Tuesday November 20.Chinese rebar is widely expected by market participants to be offered in increasing amounts in the near term while its domestic market softens. This will soon affect prices all over the world, including Turkish scrap import prices,...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices retreated on Tuesday November 20 amid weakness in the steel and ferrous futures markets.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $74.65 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.46 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $73.84 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.46 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $79.22 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.58 per tonne.MB 58% Fe Premium Index: $64.34 p...Read More

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) will launch high-grade iron ore swaps and futures contracts on December 3. Here is a summary of the contracts' specifications:Name: SGX MB Iron Ore cfr China (65% Fe Fines) SwapsTicker symbol: M65Contract size (one lot): 500 metric tonnesTrading hours (Singapore time)*: T session: 7.25am-8.00pmT+1 session: 8.00.01pm-4.45amLast trading day: 7.25am-8.00pmNote: After the...Read More

Domestic rebar producers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced new prices for December production, although imported rebar prices remained stable over the past week.Steel billet prices, meanwhile, were unchanged because the rebar producers in the UAE have enough stock to last for more than one month, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 20.Domestic rebarThe country's biggest pro...Read More

Steel traders in Asia have been feverishly short-selling their cargoes in recent weeks due to the bearish sentiment in the Asian market, with back-to-back offers for steel products often accompanied by short-selling offers at a wide discount to mill cargoes.These discounts can reach up to $15 per tonne, which indicate the additional price falls that traders expect when short-selling cargoes. Buyer...Read More

Chrome ore and alloy prices continued to trend lower in China on Friday November 16 on thin market activities and lingering weak sentiment, while the European and US markets continued to suffer from increased seller competition amid subdued demand conditions. UG2, charge chrome prices soften on thin trading, bearish sentimentChinese domestic market holds flat amid inactivityKorean prices slide on...Read More

Demand for Japanese steel fell 12.4% on the year to 5.1 million tonnes in September, mainly due to the smaller appetite of Japan's manufacturing sector, according to the latest statistics released this week.Manufacturing steel demand in the country fell 10.5% to 1.51 million tonnes during the month, the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) said.Demand from the Japanese automotive sector fell 13.2%...Read More

Swiss multinational investment bank, UBS Group, has applied for Category II membership on the London Metal Exchange, according to a note released by the exchange on Thursday November 15. The LME currently has 32 Category II members and the Swiss bank's London subsidiary, UBS Ltd, is already a member. Last month, Chinese broker Nanhua Futures similarly took steps...Read More

Special steelmaker Voestalpine attributed an 11% fall in its earnings for the first half of 2018 to continuing global trade conflicts, it said late last week.The Austrian company reported a decline of 11.2% in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) over April-September 2018, the first half of its financial year, to ?,?860 million ($969 million). This compared with...Read More

European stainless steel market participants were losing confidence that the market will recover early in the New Year, they told Fastmarkets on Friday November 9, with transaction prices falling further this week.Transaction prices for grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless sheets were assessed at ?,?2,150-2,200 ($2,454-2,511) per tonne delivered on Friday, down by ?,?30-60 per tonne from ?,?2,180-...Read More

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday November 20.Please click...Read More

Supply constraints continued to drive European ferro-vanadium and vanadium pentoxide prices to new heights, with both markets reaching record highs while the Chinese export market remained dormant. Chinese export prices remain flat absent export activityEU FeV prices set new record heightsEU V2O5 market edges upward to new record highUS FeV bolstered despite thin spot trading ChinaChina's ferro-va...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Tuesday November 20, with broad risk-off sentiment emerging across global commodity markets amid continued trade tensions and a fresh one-year low in oil futures.Both zinc and lead futures were the worst affected, falling by around 2% over the afternoon, to below their respective support levels at $2,600 p...Read More

The London Metal Exchange is planning to launch a lithium contract in the second quarter of 2019 to meet growing demand from the electric vehicle industry, Fastmarkets learned during Asia Copper Week in Shanghai. The contract, announced as part of the exchange's Strategic Pathway in September 2017, will be settled against an index price, with Fastmarkets MB's lithium spot price index one of those...Read More

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday November 21.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of...Read More