Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories affecting the steel market over the past week.

Fastmarkets MB’s weekly price assessments for the CIS export steel market will not be published on October 15 because of a public holiday in Ukraine.

Fastmarkets published its India domestic, export and import prices later than scheduled on Friday April 12, because of a technical issue.

Anshan Iron and Steel Group’s investment in Steel Development Company (SDC) wasn’t the first time a Chinese company had taken a stake in a US steelmaker

The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London last weekend.

Steel billet prices increased in most global regions last week, following consecutive rises in the Chinese billet market and better demand in some importing countries.

The seaborne iron ore market was quiet at the start of the week, although news of output cuts at mills in a key steel production region in north China, shook market confidence.

Seaborne coking coal prices rose on Wednesday April 15 due to active trading in China, though demand from countries such as Japan was heard to be weak amid production cuts implemented by mills.

Steel billet prices dropped in almost all markets last week, affected by falling finished steel prices in China and continued weak buying activity due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

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