The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday October 4.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively higher during morning trading, with aluminium's price rally continuing after Norsk Hydro announced a full suspension of operations at its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil.The three-month aluminium price has gained just under 10% th...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively higher during morning trading on Thursday October 4, with aluminium's price rally continuing after Norsk Hydro announced a full suspension of operations at its Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil. The three-month aluminium price has gained just under 10% this week and breached $2,200 per tonne following Hydro's announcement at its A...Read More
The aluminium import arbitrage between the United States and Asia narrowed on Wednesday October 3 due to a weaker London Metal Exchange price and a softer P1020 US Midwest delivered premium. Despite the tighter arbitrage window, market participants still see opportunities in taking metal from Asia into the US. The differential between canceling aluminium without the 10% Section 232 tariff from LME...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker during morning trading on Thursday October 4.The exception was lead where prices were up by 0.4%. The rest were down between 0.2% for copper, aluminium and nickel and 0.7% for tin, with zinc off by 0.3%. Copper prices were recently quoted at $6,320 per tonne. Although Chinese markets are still closed for the...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia were unchanged over the past week, ending a month's worth of decline, with trading activity slowing down due to China's National Day break.Fastmarkets MB's assessment of import prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil was $2,100-2,160 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday October 3, the same as a week earli...Read More
Turkish billet prices have remained broadly stable over the past week despite sluggish demand, especially for imported material, sources said on Thursday October 4.Suppliers in the CIS region were offering the semi-finished material to Turkish customers at $485-490 per tonne cfr, while the few buyers active in the market were bidding $480...Read More
Turkish domestic long steel prices have continued to soften over the past week on sluggish demand, while the country's lira was gradually regaining value against the US dollar, sources said on Thursday October 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,650-3,700 ($605-613) per tonne ex-works, down from last week's TRY3,700-3,800 per tonne, including 18% VAT.The do...Read More
Domestic and import steel billet and rebar prices in Egypt remained unchanged in the week to Thursday October 4, although demand for rebar was slightly better in the country.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was unchanged at $495-500 per tonne cfr on Thursday.CIS-origin billet...Read More
Turkish long steel producers continued to struggle with weak demand in the country's export markets over the past week, sources said on Thursday October 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey was $495-500 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, narrowing downward from last week's $495-510 per tonne.The mills in Turkey have lowered their offers as low as $500-505 pe...Read More
The downtrend in the majority of the world's steel slab markets is likely to continue in October amid increased competition between Brazilian, Iranian and CIS suppliers as well as unfavorable conditions in customers' markets, Fastmarkets was told on Thursday October 4.CISSources in the export slab market in the Commonwealth of Independent States were rather pessimistic about price movements in the...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil in Europe were largely unchanged over the past week but they are likely to slide, sources told Fastmarkets MB.This week, domestic prices for hot-rolled coil - used as feedstock for HDG production - moved down due to competitive import offers and slow trading. As such, HDG prices are expected to mirror the decline, according to market sources.Buyers ha...Read More
European buyers are holding back from making purchases of cold-rolled coil to wait for clearer trends to emerge from the market, sources told Fastmarkets MB.But domestic prices for hot-rolled coil, used as feedstock for CRC production, declined in the region due to competitive import offers and slow trading.Buyers of CRC in Europe have sufficient stock of the product, according to market sources....Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday October 5.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Thursday October 4, with the three-month aluminium price logging the biggest percentage decline due to headwinds from a strong US dollar index. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close o...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its manganese ore indices, which were published incorrectly on Friday September 28 due to a calculation error. The 44% manganese ore index, cif Tianjin, should have been published at $7.14 per dmtu. It was originally published at $7.29 per dmtu. The 37% manganese ore index, fob Port Elizabeth, should have been published at $6.18 per dmtu. It was originally published at $6...Read More
Swiss trading house Helvetia Resources will start cold commissioning three furnaces at its new Karaganda ferro-silicon operation in Kazakhstan at the end of the year, according to chief executive officer Yuri Rioneli. Helvetia has been working with its partner, the recently formed Kazakh company YDD Corp, on the project. The announcement brings forward commissioning of ferro-silicon at the plant f...Read More
Manganese ore markets gained on higher offers from miners, while alloy prices dropped in China, capping ore market sentiment. Ore prices jump by up to 20 cents per dmtuSilico-manganese spot prices weaken in ChinaIndian silica-manganese market weakensEuropean alloy prices steadyUS manganese alloy prices largely stable in dormant spot market Manganese ore prices jumped in the week ended Friday Septe...Read More
Fastmarkets amended the specification of the chromium content of the 0.10% C low-carbon ferro-chrome Europe price to 65-70%.Fastmarkets has considered all data points within the existing low-carbon ferro-chrome price with a carbon and chromium content of 0.10% and 60-70% respectively. Some market participants felt that a divergence in the spread that had developed between the high and low end of t...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday October 4.Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly up during early trading on Thursday following the release of positive economic data from the United States overnight.Check Fastmarket MB's live futures report here.Premiums for zinc remained high in Asi...Read More
Vanadium trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets MB.To view the latest price quotations, follow the links below:Europe- Ferro-vanadium delivered duty-paid in Europe- Vanadium pentoxide in-warehouse RotterdamChina- Ferro-vanadium, 78% min, fob China, $ per kg V- Vanadium pentoxide, 98% min, fob China, $ per lb V2O5Friday September 28Ferro-vanadium - 5 tonnes sold at $1...Read More
The iron ore market stayed flat on Thursday October 4 with the Chinese market still shut for a week-long holiday to mark its national day.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $69.24 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $68.27 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $74.50 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged.Metal...Read More