A global shortage of steel slab is a key factor in rocketing flat steel prices, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.

The following molybdenum prices were inadvertently published by Fastmarkets on Thursday April 1 due to a reporter error.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker this morning, Thursday April 1, and those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were more mixed, while markets contend with cross winds.

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices edged up further on Wednesday March 31 on news of a fresh US cargo, market participants told Fastmarkets.

Market sources believe hot-rolled coil prices in the Northern European domestic market will remain on an upward trend into the second quarter despite reaching a new peak this week, with steelmakers widely seen as having in the upper hand in current market conditions that have shown no signs of easing.

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices edged up on Tuesday after firm offers from the Baltic Sea region, although many mills were looking to achieve further rebar sales in the export and domestic markets before purchasing more scrap, sources said on March 30.

Tin market participants say they saw the record-breaking squeeze coming, but in pandemic-time trading, how does it get back to normal?

Asia will soon be hit by a “steel tsunami”, a veteran trader in Vietnam told Fastmarkets recently, with a combination of factors expected to keep prices high into the second and third quarters of 2021.

Vietnamese buyers have been seeking bulk deep-sea ferrous scrap to make up for a lack of supply from Japan, market sources told Fastmarkets.

Turkish scrap import prices have gone down, as expected, with news of a UK cargo being sold at the end of last week coming to light on Thursday March 25.