Fastmarkets MB has discontinued its weekly assessments of the Latin America export hot-dipped galvanized coil price, which was reported on a dollar-per-tonne fob main port basis, with effect from Friday May 3.Following a three-month consultation period, Fastmarkets MB received feedback that there is now limited spot liquidity in this market; producers stepped away from the export markets in 2...Read More
Fastmarkets MB proposes to launch a weekly price assessment of South America import aluminium-zinc alloy coated steel coil, reported on a dollar-per-tonne cfr South America basis.Market participants have been reporting significant liquidity in this market, with steady volumes being traded weekly.Based on the most widely traded product specification, the weekly price assessment for S...Read More
Russia has criticized Mexico at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for maintaining anti-dumping duties on Russian steel exports, which it claims are outdated, being based on pricing assessments using data from a different country.The Mexican government used this method for past dumping calculations on Russian steel because it is permitted under WTO rules where a government dominates an economy tha...Read More
With competition in the global steel markets remaining fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in April 2019.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing...Read More
Domestic prices for rebar in Poland have been supported by strong demand in the construction industry, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 3."Demand is good, which is normal at this time of the year," a Polish trader said. "But there is some pressure coming from unexpected scrap price decreases, because mills are...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has proposed measures that would prevent the effects of anti-dumping or anti-subsidy duties being combined with the safeguard measures that have been applied on imports of certain steel products."Cumulation of anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures with safeguards may lead to a greater effect than desirable, and this issue should be examined in due course," the EC said...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States was under pressure from lower prices for high-phosphorous material from Brazil, while supplies of low-phosphorous material continued to be restricted, Fastmarkets heard on Friday May 3."The only thing really dragging pig iron [prices] down is the weak domestic [pig iron] market in Brazil and the lack of markets for high phosphorous material," one buyer in t...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices trended downward in the week ended Friday May 3 due to low demand and high inventories held by steel mills.There was mixed sentiment about spot price trends. While most market participants expected a continued softening of prices, others expected prices to become firmer once holidays in Europe, Turkey, Japan and China came to an end. Weak steel markets in Turkey damp de...Read More
Austenitic alloy steel scrap prices in Europe went down in the week ended Friday May 3 because of further losses in the nickel market, Fastmarkets has heard.Fundamentals in the market were unchanged and were not exerting pressure on prices. While some traders reported slow supply, this was matched by demand. All sources said that the fundamentals were balanced.In the UK, Fastmarkets' assessment...Read More
The light iron market in the UK has dropped in the past week, with traders cutting their prices amid weaker European export markets, particularly into Turkey, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 3.Moreover, with European scrap export markets into Turkey set to get weaker in the near term, UK consumer monthly delivery settlements for May are likely to drop by a similar amount, they said.Fastmark...Read More
Latin American steel group Ternium expects sales of steel slab to continue rising in the second quarter of 2019, after an increase of 8.51% year on year in the first quarter.The company sold 880,000 tonnes of steel slab in the first three months of the year, compared with 811,000 tonnes a year before, it said on Thursday May 2."Our slab facility in [Brazil's] Rio de Janeiro state is doing well, an...Read More
Prices for grade-304 stainless steel cold-rolled (CR) sheets in Europe narrowed in the week ended Friday May 3 under the conflicting influences of higher alloy surcharges for May and lower nickel prices.The May surcharge for grade-304 CR sheets increased by ?,?20-23 per tonne to ?,?1,410-1,450 ($1,578-1,623) per tonne on April 26, despite falling nickel prices.Sources said earlier that, if nickel...Read More
UK long steel producer British Steel has been granted approval from a French court to take over troubled French special steelmaker Ascoval, the company said on Thursday May 2.Following the approval from the tribunal de grande instance (TGI) in Strasbourg, Ascoval, which is located in Saint-Saulve, Northern France, will officially become part of British Steel on Wednesday May 15 and will be renamed...Read More
Russia has criticized Mexico at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for maintaining anti-dumping duties on Russian steel exports, which it claims are outdated, being based on pricing assessments using data from a different country.The Mexican government used this method for past dumping calculations on Russian steel because it is permitted under WTO rules where a government dominates an economy tha...Read More
UK long steel producer British Steel has been granted approval from a French court to take over troubled French special steelmaker Ascoval, the company said on Thursday May 2.Following the approval from the tribunal de grande instance (TGI) in Strasbourg, Ascoval, which is located in Saint-Saulve, Northern France, will officially become part of British Steel on Wednesday May 15 and will be renamed...Read More
While 2016 and 2017 each had a single, clear factor that drove up seaborne coking coal prices, this was a key feature that was missing last year, when the market continued to strengthen regardless.And if the first few months of 2019 are anything to go by, the seaborne coking coal market might have just reached a new level of complexity.When China decided to tackle overcapacity in its coal sector i...Read More
Fastmarkets MB has discontinued its weekly assessments of the Latin America export hot-dipped galvanized coil price, which was reported on a dollar-per-tonne fob main port basis, with effect from Friday May 3.Following a three-month consultation period, Fastmarkets MB received feedback that there is now limited spot liquidity in this market; producers stepped away from the export markets in 2...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.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