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
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
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
The prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Thursday October 4, with the three-month aluminium price closing 1.6% lower amid headwinds from a strong US dollar index.News of the full closure of Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil earlier this week spurred a 4.5% spike in the three-month aluminium price, pushing it to an intraday...Read More
The export market for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States was re-activated during the week ended Thursday October 4 with new deals being heard in Italy and Western Europe.At least one deal was done to Italy at $385-388 per tonne cfr, breaking a long-lasting silence in the market. That price would be close to $360-363 per tonne fob Black Sea, considering rough estimations of the fr...Read More
Fastmarkets is increasing the minimum tonnages for some of its benchmark minor metals price assessments following a month-long consultation. Fastmarkets' minimum lot size for its in-warehouse Rotterdam indium, gallium, germanium metal and germanium dioxide price assessments is rising to 100kg from Friday, October 5, from 50kg currently. There will be no changes to the publishing time and dates of...Read More
Turkish steel producers made no deep-sea bookings on Thursday October 4 but a rumor of a US cargo deal surprised the market.A Turkish producer was heard to have booked a US cargo at $330 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) earlier on Thursday, but a number of sources said later in the day that the deal had not been concluded.There was also market chatter about a rebar shipment traded at $495 per ton...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
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
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
The prices of base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Thursday October 4, with the three-month aluminium price closing 1.6% lower amid headwinds from a strong US dollar index.News of the full closure of Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil earlier this week spurred a 4.5% spike in the three-month aluminium price, pushing it to an intraday...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 seaborne coking coal market remained at a standstill on Thursday October 4 with participants waiting for China's return from a weeklong holiday to determine the direction of prices. Despite higher offers for both unbranded and branded premium hard coking coal on a trading platform during the day, counterbids remained largely unchanged, sources told Metal Bulletin.Meanwhile, the Australian gove...Read More
* Cushing oil stocks up 1.7 mln, Genscape says -traders* Charts had Brent, U.S. crude in overbought territory* IEA boss urges oil producers to ease supply concerns* Emerging market woes weigh on demand outlook (New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments to settlement)By Stephanie KellyNEW YORK, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday as the prospect of increased crude produ...Read More
(Adds details and comments throughout)By Mayank Bhardwaj and Aditya KalraNEW DELHI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - India is cutting prices of gasoline and diesel by 2.50 rupees ($0.03) a litre, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday, the government's latest step to tackle the impact of a sharp rise in crude oil prices and a weak local currency.The cut includes a reduction in excise duty of 1.50 rupees...Read More
MUMBAI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Indian stocks and bonds weakened on Thursday, while the rupee plumbed record lows as global oil prices rose, heightening speculation that the central bank may hike interest rates on Friday more aggressively than earlier expected.The partially convertible rupee INR=D2 hit a life low of 73.82 per dollar before recovering slightly to 73.74/75 by 0545 GMT. It had closed at 73...Read More
(Adds company news items and futures)Oct 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 10 points lower at 7,500 according to financial bookmakers with FTSE 100 futures .FFIc1 down 0.38 percent on Thursday ahead of the cash market open, according to financial bookmakers.* TED BAKER: British clothing and accessories retailer Ted Baker TED.L posted a 3.5 percent rise in half-year rev...Read More
Oct 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 10 points lower at 7,500 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.* GLENCORE: Global miner Glencore GLEN.L and Japan's Tohoku Electric Power 9504.T agreed on a price of $109.77 per tonne for supplies of thermal coal from Australia for the year through September 2019, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter....Read More
"We want to be leaders in what we do," Vital Materials' chief executive officer, George Zhu, told Fastmarkets MB during a visit to the company. Vital Materials, one of the largest and most diverse minor metals producers in China - has five sites across the country: four in Qingyuan and a pigment plant in Tianjin, and employs more than 2,500 people worldwide. Each of the plants runs 24 hours per da...Read More
Participants in the alumina industry are bracing themselves for a turbulent end to the year following Hydro's announcement that it will suspend 100% of operations at its Alunorte facility. Alumina refinery Alunorte has been running at 50% capacity since March. The decision for a full curtailment came on Wednesday October 3 following embargoes from Brazilian authorities. Hydro said that the cl...Read More