US flat product steelmakers are bucking the seasonal price trend, by pressing for a rise in local values, despite the summer lull in activity. Domestic suppliers, in an attempt to stave off the threat of further losses, introduced a series of list price hikes, during the July/August period. Local mills had little option but to…
Turkish steel billet prices have gone down over the past week in line with falling scrap values and limited demand for the material, sources said on Thursday August 29. Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr main port Turkey, was $395-405 per tonne on Thursday, down from last week’s $410-415 per tonne cfr.…
Reuters reported that Nippon Steel Corp aims to raise product prices and boost productivity by streamlining its manufacturing structure to help shore up faltering earnings. Nippon Steel EVP Mr Katsuhiro Miyamoto told Reuters in an interview “Steel demand is weakening this quarter, especially overseas and is expected to deteriorate later this year. Demand for flat…
Physical iron ore prices retreat slightly on Thursday August 29 while market participants await confirmation of production restrictions in China. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $81.47 per tonne, down $0.98 per tonne. 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $81.85 per tonne, down $0.98 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr…
Moody’s Investors Service says in a new report that rising input costs and an inability to pass on higher costs to customers is pressuring the profitability of Asian steel producers, and has as a result revised its outlook for the sector to negative. Chris Park, an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group, said…
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange increased slightly during morning trading on Thursday August 29, bolstered by a fresh cancellation of 24,425 tonnes, while the nickel-tin price differential continues to widen. The fresh cancellations in copper now total just over 59,000 tonnes, the bulk of which have occurred out of LME-registered warehouses…
The price of steel hollow sections in the European domestic market has been reduced, with mills looking to stimulate demand by making lower offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 28. Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was €585-630 ($649-699) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward by €30 per…
According to economists polled by Reuters, Indian economy likely expanded at its slowest pace in more than five years in the April-June quarter, driven by weak investment growth and sluggish demand. While poll median showed the economy is expected to have grown at a year on year pace of 5.7% in the June quarter, a…