Domestic long steel prices have gone up in Turkey over the past week but only because the country's lira has continued to weaken against the US dollar, sources said on Thursday May 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment on Thursday for domestic rebar in Turkey was TRY3,300-3,350 ($553-562) per tonne ex-works, including 18% VAT, up from the TRY3,240-3,340 per tonne of last week.The local rebar pric...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) remained silent during the week ended Thursday May 2, with suppliers taking public holidays and the price of scrap unclear in the United States, the key outlet market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for CIS exports of high-manganese pig iron was $335-340 per tonne fob Black Sea on Thursday, narrowing upward from $330-3...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market remained quiet on Thursday May 2, with participants expecting lower prices following the sale of a cheaper billet cargo to Saudi Arabia, sources have told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in northern Turkey sold 40,000 tonnes of billet to Saudi Arabia at $425 per tonne fob, equivalent to $452 per tonne cfr, multiple sources reported on Thursday.Following news of th...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices remained flat on Thursday May 2, with trading activity muted due to the ongoing Labor Day public holiday in China.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $94.17 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $93.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $97.27 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged. MB 58%...Read More
Rebar prices in the domestic market of Egypt picked up in the week ended Thursday May 2 amid higher import billet costs due to the temporary duty imposed on foreign material and lower availability of rebar as a consequence.Egypt imposed temporary import duties on billet and rebar on April 15 at a rate of 25% for rebar imports and 3-15% for billet imports.The safeguard duty on billet is c...Read More
The CIS export billet market started May with no major price changes, mainly due to the May holiday lull in seller countries, but also because most producers sold all their May-rolling volumes in April.Several offers were heard as high as $430 per tonne fob Black Sea, but sources said the workable price was $420-425 per tonne fob, the level at which recent bookings were done.A 30,000-tonne ca...Read More
Turkish billet prices have softened over the past week, with news of fresh export sales at lower prices confirming the downturn, sources said on Thursday May 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for billet exports out of Turkey was $425-430 per tonne fob on Thursday, down from last week's $450-455 per tonne.A steel mill in northern Turkey sold 40,000 tonnes of billet to Saudi Arabia at $425 per....Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia were down in the week to Thursday May 2 amid weak buying interest and falling nickel prices that led to lower offers from producers in the region.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday May 1's official trading session at $12,205-12,210 per tonne, down $220-240 per tonne week on week.The price has trended downward...Read More
Martin LovePosted May 1, 2019In the broadest sense, without all the nuances and other information, this is how things stand very basically regarding the United States:At least $6 trillion (If not $20 trillion which the Pentagon cannot account for) has gone down the drain over the past 20 years or so with the U.S. efforts to gut or destabilize seven countries as per the “Project for a New Ame...Read More
Rebar prices in the domestic market of Egypt picked up in the week ended Thursday May 2 amid higher import billet costs due to the temporary duty imposed on foreign material and lower availability of rebar as a consequence.Egypt imposed temporary import duties on billet and rebar on April 15 at a rate of 25% for rebar imports and 3-15% for billet imports.The safeguard duty on billet is c...Read More
The CIS export billet market started May with no major price changes, mainly due to the May holiday lull in seller countries, but also because most producers sold all their May-rolling volumes in April.Several offers were heard as high as $430 per tonne fob Black Sea, but sources said the workable price was $420-425 per tonne fob, the level at which recent bookings were done.A 30,000-tonne ca...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) remained silent during the week ended Thursday May 2, with suppliers taking public holidays and the price of scrap unclear in the United States, the key outlet market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for CIS exports of high-manganese pig iron was $335-340 per tonne fob Black Sea on Thursday, narrowing upward from $330-3...Read More
Copper continued its sell-off on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday May 2, with the absence of Asian markets a key factor in the downturn while strength in the US dollar caps commodity investment. Volumes were moderately high, with more than 20,000 lots of copper changing hands by the close, indicating strong selling momentum. Open interest has fallen by 3,824 positions overnight, dipping below...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday May 2 that are worth another look.Peruvian tin producer Minsur resumed normal operations at its San Rafael mine in the southern province of Melgar, following the end of a workers' strike that was first announced on April 30, the company said on Wednesday May 1.Zinc bears are betting that the London Metal Exchange zinc price wil...Read More
The differential between the Chinese and European ferro-vanadium prices has continued to widen since the beginning of March, with European demand lagging behind and prices in Europe now trading at its lowest level since November 2017.Currently, the price gap between the Chinese and European markets has widened to around $8.50-11 per kg, according to Fastmarkets data.The most recent Fastmarkets MB'...Read More
Copper continued its sell-off on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday May 2, with the absence of Asian markets a key factor in the downturn while strength in the US dollar caps commodity investment. Volumes were moderately high, with more than 20,000 lots of copper changing hands by the close, indicating strong selling momentum. Open interest has fallen by 3,824 positions overnight, dipping below...Read More
Zinc bears are betting that the London Metal Exchange zinc price will fall to $2,500 per tonne in June, with massive orders for put options placed in recent weeks, Fastmarkets learned.Current open interest on the LME Select platform shows 5,125 lots of put options are active for the June declaration at a $2,500-per-tonne strike price, representing an equivalent of 128,125 tonnes of the metal. Opti...Read More
Higher offers and concerns over possible supply disruptions gave the seaborne coking coal market a boost on Thursday May 2 despite the absence of Chinese participants during the day."I made an inquiry for a cargo of premium mid-vol hard coking coal for loading in June. But the miner told me that the particular cargo could fetch more than $205 per tonne fob Australia due to tight supply," an Indian...Read More
The European molybdenum market moved up in the first half of the week starting Monday April 29, supported by molybdenum oxide supply tightness, sources said.Spot market activity picked up at the beginning of the week, with both the alloy and oxide market prices increasing week on week on Wednesday May 1.The continued material tightness supported the oxide market, with Fastmarkets assessment for th...Read More
Zinc bears are betting that the London Metal Exchange zinc price will fall to $2,500 per tonne in June, with massive orders for put options placed in recent weeks, Fastmarkets learned.Current open interest on the LME Select platform shows 5,125 lots of put options are active for the June declaration at a $2,500-per-tonne strike price, representing an equivalent of 128,125 tonnes of the metal. Opti...Read More