China's new tax regime for ferrous raw materials and steel exports will kick off a new era for the steel sector, one in which demand and supply will become more balanced and the country cuts its dependency on iron ore at a faster pace.

The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market went quiet after the sharp increase in prices following China’s cancellation of export tax rebates on some steel products, market participants said on Tuesday May 4.

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have increased sharply since China decided to remove the export tax rebate on some steel products. But demand among major scrap importers in Asia was still limited because of upcoming holiday periods in the region.

Demand for refined copper in China has now surpassed levels seen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Vancouver, Canada-based Teck Resources.

Fastmarkets proposes to revise the outlier detection method used in the calculation of its copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index to reflect timely changes of an increasingly active spot market.

Fastmarkets will, on Wednesday April 21, launch a weekly price assessment for the zinc SHG ingots in-warehouse Southeast Asia warrant premium.

Spot prices for imported ferrous scrap in China were stable on Friday April 16 even with Chinese steel mills continuing to seek out cargoes of HRS101, the Chinese grade for plate and structural scrap.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely trading sideways during the morning session on Tuesday April 13, after decreases across the board on Monday due to warnings out of China about rising commodity prices.

The London Metal Exchange three-month nickel price was down by 2.8% to $16,165 per tonne during morning trading on Monday April 12, with the other base metals also starting the week lower after turning to the downside last Friday following comments out of China regarding rising commodity prices.

Fastmarkets is changing some of the specifications of its daily Southeast Asia steel billet import price assessment from Monday April 12.