The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday December 5.Positive developments in the United States-China trade dispute kept London Metal Exchange base metal prices mostly elevated at the close on Tuesday December 4, although broad strength in the dollar is capping price rallies. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:Flat stee...Read More
The hot-rolled coil price strengthened slightly in the United States on Monday December 3, due to domestic mills trying to hold the price at $40 per hundredweight ($800 per short ton).Fastmarkets AMM's daily US Midwest hot-rolled coil index inched up to $37.77 per cwt on December 3 from $37.41 per cwt on Friday November 30.Lead times are around four weeks, market participants said.Heard in th...Read More
Flat steel import prices in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have increased slightly over the past seven days due to higher offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday December 4.Demand was subdued because buyers do not want to build inventory before finalizing their year-end accounting procedures, while it is also the case that existing stocks are enough to meet current consumption...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transactions: HRC, CRC, HDGHot-rolled coilChina, export, hot-rolled coil, offered at $530 per tonne cfr, to Saudi Arabia.India, export, hot-rolled coil, offered at $540-550 per tonne cf...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transactions: rebarRebarOman, export, rebar, traded at $525-530 per tonne cfr, theoretical weight,...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transactions: billetBilletSaudi Arabia, export, billet, offered at $480-500...Read More
China is the principal driver of growth in electricity-based steelmaking globally, an effort that is supported by the country's ecological policies and the increasing availability of scrap steel, experts said at a recent industry forum.By 2030, around 33% of China's steel is expected to be produced using electric-arc furnaces (EAFs), up from 6% in 2015, Joerg Schwoerer, head of sales for electric...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday December 4.Base metals prices, bar those for tin, on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all down during Asia morning trading on Tuesday, with investors taking profits following the strong performance by the complex on Monday. Check Fastmarkets MB's live futures report here.United Kingd...Read More
Ferro-chrome spot prices in China were unchanged in the week ended Friday November 30 after the drop in tender prices to December from November was smaller than expected. Chinese mills' ferro-chrome tender price falls by 50 yuan ($7) per tonneChinese imported and domestic ferro-chrome spot prices stableAlloy prices into Japan and South Korea fallHigh-carbon ferro-chrome price into Europe unmoved,...Read More
The ammonium paratungstate (APT) market was subdued in the week ended Friday November 30 while the ferro-tungsten price in Europe nudged lower. APT prices in China and Europe stable amid slow trades Concentrates market quiet Ferro-tungsten price in Europe edges down; Chinese prices unchanged In Europe, Fastmarkets assessed the free market ammonium paratungstate price at $275-295 pe...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale is committed to maintaining iron ore production at 400 million tonnes per year until 2023 from its estimated capacity of 450 million tpy, the company said on Tuesday December 4 during an investor presentation at the New York Stock Exchange.The miner, the world's largest iron ore producer and one of the most efficient ones, is not alarmed by recent price weakness, chief executi...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Tuesday December 4 amid gains in the futures and swaps markets, as well as a sharp uptick in the yuan's value against the US dollar.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $67.16 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.78 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $66.43 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.78 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $71.40 per tonne cfr Qingdao,...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreVale, Global Ore, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Brazilian Blend fines, sold at the January average of the Fastmarkets MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina at...Read More
Participants in the seaborne coking coal spot market stayed on the sidelines on Tuesday December 4 even as bids on the Global Coal trading platform climbed.A bid for a January-loading shipment in the branded segment was made at $234 per tonne fob Australia on the platform during the day, market sources said. This compares with $230 per tonne fob Australia just a day earlier. "I am not aware of any...Read More
China's domestic coking coal market maintained its strength in November despite a rapid price decline for coke in the country amid negative sentiment in the steel market. Fastmarkets MB's weekly domestic price assessment for hard coking coal in Shanxi delivered to Tangshan stood at 1,520-1,900 yuan ($220-275) per tonne last Friday November 30, widening upward from 1,520-1,850 yuan per tonne on the...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices retreated over most of the day on Tuesday December 4, but word of a meeting on pollution controls led to some late gains in the market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,700 yuan ($534-536) per tonne, narrowing downward by 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,580-3,600 yuan per tonne, down 40-50 yuan per tonnePrices in eastern China mostly hov...Read More
China's rebar prices retreated on Tuesday December 4 on an inactive market, just a day of a surge due to a pause in the country's trade war with the United States.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,910-3,950 yuan ($566-572) per tonne, down 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,600-3,630 yuan per tonne, down 120 yuan per tonnePrices failed to breach the 4,000-yuan-per-tonne mark, with buye...Read More
Price gains inspired by the trade developments at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit over the weekend were sold into during afternoon trading on Monday December 3, but likewise the dips have been bought into again this morning. Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up by an average of 0.5% on Tuesday morning, with all of the metals - bar nickel which was unchanged - in pos...Read More
UK-listed miner and commodities trader Glencore has revised downward by 8,000 tonnes its forecast for cobalt production in 2019 from its Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), following a suspension of exports.Cobalt production from the mine next year will be 26,000 tonnes, according to guidance released on Monday December 3.The company has lowered its guidance "to reflect [the] c...Read More
Comex copper prices recovered Monday morning in the US, after Chinese and US leaders decided to freeze additional tariffs for 90 days over the weekend at the G20 summit.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 5.40 cents to $2.8415 per lb. A temporary detente is positive for the metals markets because the ongoing uncertainty betwee...Read More