Gerdau will lay off 100 workers at its special steel unit in Pindamonhangaba city, in Brazil's southeastern S??o Paulo state, due to the weak performance of the Brazilian automotive industry, according to the company."Gerdau confirms negotiations with the union to conduct a layoff program at its Pindamonhangaba works, starting in April," the Brazilian steelmaker said.Supply to clients wi...Read More
Egypt has imposed a temporary additional duty on imports of rebar and billet, effective from Monday April 15. The duty is 25% for rebar imports, and between 3% and 15% for billet imports. The duty for billet is as follows: If the cost, insurance and freight (cif) price is below $450 per tonne, the safeguard duty will be the maximum 15%. If the cif price is between $450 and below $470 per tonne, th...Read More
Buyers in Singapore's spot rebar market are finding Turkish materials the most economical at the moment, sources told Fastmarkets MB.A major steel producer in Turkey sold a 50,000-tonne cargo, which consisted of 35,000 tonnes of rebar and 15,000 tonnes of coiled debar - to Singapore last week. Fastmarkets MB's import price assessment for rebar in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at cargoes of t...Read More
Turkish steel mills had a quiet start to the week in the deep-sea scrap markets, but market participants are expecting more bookings for May deliveries, sources said on Monday April 15.There were no new deep-sea transactions done on Monday, but mills continued to negotiate on May cargoes for lower prices, Fastmarkets heard. Some traders reported that mills were bidding for US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices have increased over the past week, while domestic ship scrap prices moved downwards on a weak lira, sources said on Monday April 15.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle (DKP-grade) scrap in Turkey was TRY1,730-1,870 ($300-325) per tonne delivered on Monday, compared with TRY1,695-1,870 per tonne last week. The slight change in the...Read More
Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy have decreased over the past month, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 15.The monthly price assessment for Italian grade-E3 scrap was ?,?260-275 ($294-311) per tonne delivered on April 15, compared with ?,?270-285 per tonne delivered in the previous month.The reasons behind the decrease were slower scrap buying activity by Italian mills, lack of dem...Read More
China's rebar prices rebounded on Monday April 15 after market participants' outlook for demand in the next few months improved following the release of the latest data from the property sector. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,060-4,110 yuan ($606-613) per tonne, up 40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 4,000-4,030 yuan per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonneThe housing market in first-tier C...Read More
The US government has proposed new import duties of up to 100% on a wide range of products from the European Union, as a countermeasure for sales lost by the US aerospace industry due to EU subsidies paid to Airbus, the US Trade Representative said in a notice published in the Federal Register on Friday April 12.In a preliminary list, the USTR named a variety of goods that would be subject to...Read More
The US government has proposed new import duties of up to 100% on a wide range of products from the European Union, as a countermeasure for sales lost by the US aerospace industry due to EU subsidies paid to Airbus, the US Trade Representative said in a notice published in the Federal Register on Friday April 12.In a preliminary list, the USTR named a variety of goods that would be subject to...Read More
The price of antimony in China ticked upward in the latest assessment on Wednesday April 10, after the country's producers raised their offer prices in response to production stoppages in Lengshuijiang.The city, in China's central province of Hunan, is a major hub for antimony production.Fastmarkets' price assessment for MMTA standard-grade II antimony, delivered duty-paid in China, was 44,000-45,...Read More
Movements in base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Monday April 15, with continued weakness in the US dollar index doing little to spur buying activity while low volumes continued to indicate risk-aversion.The three-month nickel price fell to its lowest level since March 28 in the afternoon, dipping to $12,860 per tonne before closing at $12,991 per...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in London on Friday April 12.China Key drivers ?EUR? The Chinese grade 553 silicon export price remained unchanged at $1,520-1,600 per tonne on Friday April 12 due to thin inquiries and deals. ?EUR? Weak market sentiment was driven by softer demand abroad and fierce competition with off-grade materials. ?EUR? In addition, the export price is likely to be under pre...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday April 15 that are worth another look.Rusal intends to start an aluminium rolling mill in Kentucky, a key region for US aluminium production, with US holding company Braidy Industries Inc, the Russian aluminium producer said. Rio Tinto has committed $302 million of additional capital to advance its Resolution Copper...Read More
Chinese trading house ASK Resources has moved into the European market, hiring Guillaume Taieb to open an office in Geneva, Switzerland.ASK had a turnover of $900 million in 2018, trading mainly in copper but also in zinc, aluminium and nickel, Taieb said.The...Read More
The collaboration and integration among nickel miners and battery makers in the electric vehicle (EV) sector will continue to expand, driven by higher margins, according to panelists at Fastmarkets' Battery Materials Conference in Shanghai on Thursday April 11."I think you do see more and more integration in the industry with chemical companies and battery raw material producers, which has been ha...Read More
Movements in base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Monday April 15, with continued weakness in the US dollar index doing little to spur buying activity while low volumes continued to indicate risk-aversion.The three-month nickel price fell to its lowest level since March 28 in the afternoon, dipping to $12,860 per tonne before closing at $12,991 per...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices went through corrections on Monday April 15, while prices for high-grade products remained robust, Fastmarkets has heard.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $95.42 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.05 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $94.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.54 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $98.57 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.25 per...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices bounced back on Monday April 15, with domestic gains continuing to encourage steelmakers to raise their export offers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,000-4,020 yuan ($597-600) per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,930-3,950 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonnePrices in Shanghai rose significantly during the day, with most transactions t...Read More
Peruvian copper mine Las Bambas restarted concentrates transportation to the Matarani port on April 13 after operations normalized following the end of a two-month roadblock, major shareholder MMG said on Monday April 15. Since the blockade ended, Las Bambas began restoring critical supplies and increasing staff numbers to resume normal operations, MMG added The mine entered an agreement with the...Read More
Zinc mining output in Kazakhstan is expected to augment the world's production figures ex-China in 2019 and beyond, a representative from the International Lead & Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) said on Monday April 15. The Obruchevskoe, Shalkiya and Zhairem mining facilities in Kazakhstan will have total capacity to produce 355,000 tonnes per year of zinc-contained when they open between 2019 and 2021,...Read More