Some coated-steel coil producers in Turkey decreased their prices but demand was weak during the week ending Monday November 1, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand for coated coil was moderate to weak in the country because buyers wanted to see what direction prices would take, sources said.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG coil domestic, exw Turkey was $1,280-1,35...Read More
The carbon footprint of finished nickel produced at Vale's Long Harbour processing plant, in the Canadian eastern Newfoundland and Labrador province, has been certified to be significantly below the global average, the Brazilian company said on Monday November 1.This grants Vale an advantage in supplying North American and European markets with low-carbon nickel for the next generation of electric...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets fell in the week ended Friday October 29 amid a narrowing of margins among steelmakers in China, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $137.48 per tonne, down $10.10 per tonne.65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $182.04 per tonne, down $9.37 per tonne.Iron ore pellet premium over 65% Fe fines, cfr China...Read More
The Commonwealth of Independent States' export prices for hot-rolled coil increased during the week ended Monday November 1, but market activity was weak, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $870-880 per tonne on November 1, rising from $850-870 per tonne on October 25.Offers from Ukraine to Turkey were at $900-910...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore increased during the week to Monday November 1 amid limited supply, with only the Middle East offering material which was deemed the lowest by local buyers.Middle Eastern rebar was offered at $760 per tonne cfr on a theoretical weight basis to Singapore in the past week, although there was limited demand."The price is still a little high and there's no point ru...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased across the European Union during the week to Friday October 29, despite limited trading activity in the spot market.European steelmakers have been focused on settling long-term agreements with big buyers, such as the automotive and white goods sectors. As a result, they have not been active in the spot market.At the end of last week, ArcelorMittal anno...Read More
Market participants in the European Union expressed uncertainty on how the flow of European-produced aluminium to the United States will be impacted by a deal to between the US and EU to replace Section 232 import tariffs with a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system."The news is still fresh and it is not clear yet what it means for the market," one European trader told Fastmarkets."On the European side,...Read More
Japanese imports of aluminium rose by 24.9% in August from the prior month, according to data released by the Japan Aluminium Association. Japan imported 250,700 tonnes of aluminium in August, an increase of 50,000 tonnes from July and 104,000 tonnes more than that in August 2020. July's volume of 200,700 tonnes marked a nine-month low.Imports include unwrought and wrought aluminium and aluminium...Read More
Most flat steel prices continued to increase in Turkey during the week ending Monday November 1, but future price moves remain uncertain because of decreasing prices in China and weak demand in the Turkish local market, sources told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled coil prices in China have been decreasing, which may affect global prices.Local demand for flat steel was also weak because most buyers placed t...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed on the morning of Monday November 1 compared with their month-end figures from last Friday, with Chinese data pointing to a slowdown in its economy and a strong US Dollar index capping price moves. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) readings from China over the weekend showed the manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in Octobe...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Bulk and noble alloys both moved largely in line with our price forecasts globally over the past month, though several markets surprised to the upside, exceeding our forecast gains. Stronger-than-forecast pricing momentum was primarily triggered by supply shortages in numerous...Read More
After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has liberalized the criteria for deals to be included in the calculations for the steel scrap month-to-date deal weighted average price, cfr Turkey.Previously, Fastmarkets' MB-STE-0894 steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), month-to-date deal-weighted average, North Europe origin, cfr Turkey only included deals that were classified as confirmed, which means that...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices dropped on Monday November 1 after the release of a lower steel industry purchasing managers' index.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,120-5,150 yuan ($799-804) per tonne, down by 100 yuan per tonneThe PMI for the steel industry was 38.3 points in October, down by 6.7 points from September, according to the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing's Steel Logistic...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US prices for hot-rolled coil moved in line with our forecasts in August, averaging $1,910 per ton, within 1% accuracy of our forecast of $1,925 per ton. The market has achieved much-needed stability in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating in the range of $1,900-1,94...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 1 that are worth another look....Read More
Previously stranded Australian coking coal has started to affect the seaborne coking coal cfr price; seaborne prices in the fob market were relatively stable, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $600.25 per tonne, down by $7.87 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $525.23 per tonne, down by $19.65 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $...Read More
The three-month copper contract is trading near record highs on the London Metal Exchange, cash prices are rising even faster, and inventories are descending toward zero. Try running a hedge book in those conditions.It's been a very real quandary facing the physical trade and industry, which awoke on Tuesday October 19 to find copper's cash to November spread had flared to a backwardation of more...Read More
The collapse of the iron ore market and market turbulence over Chinese property developer Evergrande Group are adding to the economic woes caused by the Delta variant of Covid-19 for much of this year.It is hard to find bright sparks in the months ahead for the ferrous supply chain, which has been buffeted repeatedly in a short span of few months, starting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's comment...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 1 that are worth another look....Read More
EN+ group IPJSC and SUAL Partners Limited, the two largest shareholders of aluminium producer UC Rusal, announced their joint support for de-mergering Rusal's high-carbon businesses.Rusal announced in May it intended to pursue a demerger of its higher-carbon assets via the creation of two different businesses with separate strategies.The announcement said the demerger is still awaiting further dec...Read More