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

Zinc's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange ticked higher during morning trading on Friday April 26, making headway back towards $2,800 per tonne and shrugging off fresh inflows of just under 4,000 tonnes into European locations.This month, more than 30,000 tonnes of zinc have been delivered into LME-registered warehouses, with over 20,000 tonnes sent to European warehouses in Rotterdam,...Read More

Generally London Metal Exchange prices have been weak in recent days and the strong dollar has been a factor in that, but dip-buying appears to be providing support in morning trading on Friday April 26. Asian equities generally weaker this morning Dollar index extends gains Market waiting for US GDP data Base metals Base metals prices on the LME were for the most part firmer across the...Read More

Only nickel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange managed to make significant headway during morning trading on Friday April 26, with the rest of the complex struggling against a firm US dollar.The most-traded June nickel contract on the SHFE stood at 98,350 yuan ($14,594) per tonne as at 10.22am Shanghai time on Friday, up by 0.7% or 650 yuan per tonne from Thursday's close of 97,700 yuan per t...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday April 26:Minor metals Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 46,000-47,000 yuan per tonne from 46,800-47,800 yuanCadmium MB free market min 99.99%, cents/lb: 135-143 per lb from 137-143Chromium MB free market alumino-thermic, $/tonne: $8,200-8,700 per...Read More

An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More

Swedish steel trader BE Group believes that the second quarter of 2019 will be positive for the company's principal markets, it said on Thursday April 25."Demand in the next quarter is expected to remain strong in the company's main markets," president and chief executive officer Anders Martinsson said."Steel prices are expected to stay at the same level as in the first quarter, and the prices of...Read More

Monthly European alloy surcharges for stainless steel products have increased for May due to the euro's weak position against the dollar, Fastmarkets heard on Friday April 26.The May surcharge for grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless sheet has increased to ?,?1,410-1,450 ($1,571-1,616) per tonne, a gain of ?,?20-23 per tonne from April levels, according to data released by Outokumpu, Acerinox and...Read More

China's leading stainless steel mills - Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco), Tsingshan Group and Baosteel - have released their May tender prices for high-carbon ferro-chrome this week, which are 50 and 200 yuan ($7.40 and 29.70) per tonne lower month on month. Tisco announced its May tender price for high-carbon ferro-chrome at 6,900 yuan per tonne on Wednesday April 24, a drop of 50 yuan per tonne from...Read More

The price of alloy steel scrap in Europe and the UK have decreased this week following lower nickel and ferrous scrap prices. The London Metal Exchange nickel price was the main driver behind the decline, having fallen to $12,345-12,350 per tonne on April 26 from $12,690-12,700 per tonne on April 18. Austenitic alloy scrap prices, for which nickel values are the most significant influence, reacted...Read More

The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday April 26:Aluminium scrapFloated Frag: ?,?1,030-1,065 per tonne from ?,?1,030-1,075Cast: ?,?930-950 per...Read More

Vietnamese buyers have shifted their purchasing focus to Japanese H2 ferrous scrap in light of falling prices in the domestic Japan markets.However, prices in Taiwan rebounded on the back of firmer prices from key supplier the United States.Some market participants think that ferrous scrap prices have reached the bottom and will rebound soon, although others feel that more price falls will come du...Read More

Tata Steel aims to produce 32 million tonnes per year of crude steel at its Indian operations by 2025, the company said.The 2025 capacity target in India would constitute the entirety of the steelmakers' global crude capacity following the planned divestment of operations in Asia and a planned joint venture of European flat steel operations with Germany's ThyssenKrupp.Of the Indian steelmaker's cu...Read More