Lead stocks held in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouse plunged by 13.8% week on week on Friday April 26 due to rising utilization rates.Deliverable lead stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses have tumbled by 4,052 tonnes since April 19 to reach 29,329 tonnes as of this Friday.This week's sharp drop follows an increase of 232 tonnes on April 19, before which stocks had been falling. Zhejiang...Read More

Pig iron export offers from the south of Brazil went down during the week ended Friday April 26 on lower local demand and a pessimistic mood among buyers, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron exports from the southeastern Minas Gerais region of the country was $330-340 per tonne fob on April 26, widening downward from $335-340 per tonne a week before.One cargo of...Read More

Indian secondary billet prices remained flat for the second consecutive week on Friday April 26 even as finished long steel product prices continued to slide.The Indian domestic secondary billet price was assessed by Fastmarkets on Friday at 31,400-31,600 rupees ($446-449) per tonne ex-mill, unchanged since last week."Secondary billet prices are stable only because there is not enough supply," an...Read More

Some smelter-grade aluminium scrap prices have started to show renewed signs of deterioration, due to falling secondary aluminium alloy prices, ample scrap availability and new concerns over Chinese scrap demand during the northern hemisphere's summer months."The market is under pressure, triggered with the news about China import delays and 380 prices under pressure. There is metal out there, and...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close of trading on Friday April 26, supported by a slight dip in the US dollar index below the psychological level of 98.Solid GDP figures from the US also aided buying momentum.The three-month zinc price closed at $2,768 per tonne, up by more than 1% over the afternoon, in decent volumes - almost 10,000 lots changed...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves.Read More

Warrant traders are reporting an uptick in European zinc warrants available on the London Metal Exchange amid fresh inflows of material this month, while a strong backwardation in the metal's nearby spreads has left participants questioning what is incentivizing buying. This week, Fastmarkets was informed of business at $25-30 per tonne for 99.995% North European zinc warrants, its highest le...Read More

Lead stocks held in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouse plunged by 13.8% week on week on Friday April 26 due to rising utilization rates.Deliverable lead stocks at SHFE-approved warehouses have tumbled by 4,052 tonnes since April 19 to reach 29,329 tonnes as of this Friday.This week's sharp drop follows an increase of 232 tonnes on April 19, before which stocks had been falling. Zhejiang...Read More

Lead and zinc recycler Recylex reported sales revenue of ?,?75.8 million ($84.76 million) in the first quarter of 2019, a fall of 20% year on year due to major maintenance shutdowns and falling prices for lead and zinc, the company said on Wednesday April 24. Sales revenue from lead, accounting for 60% of the company's total sales, declined by 23% to ?,?45.8 million during the first three months o...Read More

Comex copper prices recovered from a one-month low during the final weekly session in the United States on April 26, with the dollar once again driving price movement.The copper price for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 2.40 cents to $2.8915 per lb. The red metal has been unable to set a clear price direction over the past few weeks, with a volatile...Read More

Anglo American's refined copper production increased by 4% in the first quarter of 2019 due to rising higher-grade ore output at its Los Bronces and El Soldado mines in central Chile. Refined copper production totaled 161,100 tonnes in the first three month of 2019, up from 154,900 tonnes in the same quarter of 2018, the London-listed miner said on Tuesday April 23.Refined copper production from L...Read More

While the cost of steel beams in the United States has continued to hold steady, slow demand and weakening raw material costs could prompt an official mill price decrease next month, sources told Fastmarkets AMM.Fastmarkets' price assessment for domestic W8x8 beams has remained at $43.25 per cwt ($865 per short ton) fob mill since late February, after that month's mill increases were passed throug...Read More

Prices of cold-rolled coil and coated steel sheet in the United States continued to decline over the past week, falling by 50 cents across the board and taking cues from softness in the hot-rolled coil market in spite of relatively stable demand.Fastmarkets AMM's weekly assessment for domestic cold-rolled coil fell to $41 per hundredweight ($820 per short ton) on Thursday April 25, down from $41.5...Read More

Indian mills were likely to reduce their domestic prices for hot-rolled coil HRC) by about 1,000 rupees ($14) per tonne to boost sales and remain competitive against cheaper imported coil products, Fastmarkets has heard."Our HRC sales are suffering because imported material is being offered at lower prices," an official from an Indian steel mill said.The Indian domestic HRC price assessed by Fastm...Read More

Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest, which was the largest global pig iron supplier in 2018, reduced its pig iron sales volumes twice in January-March 2019 because it switched to higher output of steel slab, the company said in an operational report on Friday April 26.The company shipped 225,000 tonnes of pig iron to the market in the first quarter of 2019. That was a sharp drop of 50% from pig iron sa...Read More

Coated flat steel prices in Turkey fell in the week to Friday April 26, with demand soft in both the domestic and export markets.Demand failed to improve because of the weak Turkish lira and ongoing economic uncertainty in the country.The lira was trading at TRY100 to $17.0279 on April 26, compared with TRY100 to $17.4791 on April 12 and TRY100 to $18.7654 on March 1, according to exchange ra...Read More

The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India moved up again this week on a lack of available material, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 26.Fastmarkets' weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India inched up to $334.65 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on Friday, from $332.25 per tonne cfr one week before.There were very few deals heard in the market for shredded s...Read More

The light iron market in the UK has not changed over the past week, extending this trend into a sixth week with prices supported by a slightly tighter supply of feedstock coming into yards, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 26.The trend reflected a similar pattern in business in the European export markets to key destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent.Fastmarkets' weekly pr...Read More

The Turkish steel mills broke their silence in the deep-sea scrap market on Friday April 26 after a US scrap cargo was sold at lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Mills in Turkey had been quiet for the previous 10 days due to weak finished steel demand in the local and export markets, thereby putting downward pressure on scrap prices.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo, comp...Read More

Physical iron ore prices showed only small changes, or did not change, on Friday April 26 amid mixed news in the market.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $93.58 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.08 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $92.36 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.08 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $96.03 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.05 per tonne.MB 58% Fe Premium Index...Read More