UK steel trader Stemcor’s debt claim against insolvent Latvian steelmaker Liepajas Metalurgs has been upheld by a Latvian court, a court spokeswoman told Steel First on Thursday February 13.

Editor Vera Blei looks at the main news covered by Steel First over the past week.

Metal Bulletin has amended its Brazilian domestic steel prices to reflect standard market practices, making changes to the calculation of its monthly assessments.

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday October 10.

Fastmarkets has discontinued its weekly price assessments for long and flat steel products in southern China.

The global billet market showed signs of reaching a turning point last week, as prices in most regions took a downward turn following developments in the Turkish scrap market.

Brazilian long steel imports were 52.6% higher in September compared with the corresponding month last year.

Fastmarkets summarizes six hot topics that will likely dominate discussions during the 20th Asian Ferro-alloys Conference in Hong Kong on March 10-12.

Export prices for long steel products in Brazil were all stable during May, due to thin trading activity, sources told Metal Bulletin.

Steel traders in Asia are trying to work out an arbitrage for at least 70,000 tonnes of billet to China in a highly unusual move, market sources told Metal Bulletin this week.