China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) reached an iron ore supply agreement last week with Rio Tinto, the world's largest iron-ore miner, according to people familiar with the matter, though the terms were not immediately known. The deal followed an August instruction by CMRG to some steel mills to suspend talks with Rio Tinto over September-loading cargoes.
CMRG remains in dispute with Fortescue, which indicated on October 22 that operations could be affected if talks are not concluded by the end of the year. An earlier dispute in which CMRG restricted purchases from BHP was resolved in April; terms were not disclosed, but the miner is understood to have agreed to use several pricing indexes and to accept small discounts.
CMRG is the state-controlled buyer acting as an intermediary between miners and steel mills, and market participants view its series of measures on the Australian miners as attempts to exert greater control over prices and supply contracts. China purchases roughly 75% of global seaborne iron ore supplies, while Australian miners meet around two-thirds of China's requirements. China continues to pursue supplier diversification, with the ramp-up of the 120-million-tons-a-year Simandou project in Guinea cited as the primary example.
Houthis claim strikes on Saudi East-West crude pipeline pumping stations; Brent and WTI ease but stay near six-month highs as mediation talks begin.
(P&GJ) — Oil prices eased Monday but stayed near six-month highs after the Iran-backed Houthis said they struck pumping stations on Saudi Arabia's East-West crude oil pipeline over the weekend, keeping supply concerns in focus despite new diplomatic efforts to calm the region.
The Houthis also claimed an attack on Riyadh's airport. Saudi Arabia said Sunday it had intercepted more missiles and drones.
Brent crude futures fell $1.90, or 1.63%, to $114.82 a barrel by 0959 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped $2.08, or 2%, to $101.19. Both benchmarks settled nearly $3 higher Friday, with Brent gaining 6% for the week and WTI rising 2.3%.
"With the jeopardy doubled by Houthi attacks into Saudi, any Brent price dips back to the lows of last week will find grateful buyers," said John Evans, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates.
Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Sunday as part of an effort coordinated with the U.S. to ease regional tensions, according to an official briefed on the situation. Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, the Mecca Pact countries, were scheduled to meet Iranian leaders in Tehran on Monday, their first high-level contact since the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia became a flashpoint in the wider conflict.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began Feb. 28, continues to disrupt commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. October has been the worst month for attacks on commercial vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which has tracked maritime security incidents worldwide since 2017.
Separately, the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and Singapore said Saudi Aramco will begin storing crude oil in Singapore in the second half of 2027 to strengthen the resilience of its supply chain in the region.
International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol said Monday at an industry event in Singapore that he does not expect energy markets to return to pre-war conditions in 2027.
US President Donald Trump said a deal for Russian oil company Lukoil's foreign assets, as well as possible agreements with Moscow to extract natural gas in Alaska, will be reached.
Trump commented on the topic to journalists at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington before departing for Michigan. When asked about the prospects for the sale of Lukoil's assets and Russia's possible participation in energy projects in Alaska, he replied: "These deals will be concluded at some point."
The US president added that the oil sector should not be "held hostage" to issues that should have been resolved earlier. According to him, the war in Ukraine should not have started and "must be stopped".
Sale of "Lukoil" assets remains without a final buyer
“Lukoil“ began looking for a buyer for its international assets after the United States imposed sanctions on the company over the war in Ukraine. The portfolio includes oil fields, refineries and a network of gas stations in various countries.
Its value was initially estimated at about $22 billion. The American investment company Carlyle reached an agreement to acquire the assets in January, but later said that it was no longer actively working on the deal. Other companies have also expressed interest in the portfolio, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Hungary's MOL, Reuters reported.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow and Washington were discussing the future of Lukoil's international assets. According to Reuters, the talks are part of broader contacts between the two countries related to attempts to end the war in Ukraine.
Alaska gas project also not finally agreed
Plans to extract, process and export natural gas from Alaska include the construction of large-scale infrastructure and investments of about $54 billion. The Trump administration presented the project as part of a broader investment agreement with South Korea.
However, Seoul made it clear that its participation depends on the economic viability of the project. Vice President J.D. Vance also said that details of the Alaska pipeline remain to be worked out.
This means that Trump's statement outlines political confidence in a future agreement, but does not confirm a signed contract for either the “Lukoil“ assets or Russia's participation in the Alaska natural gas project. The specific buyers, financial terms and Moscow's possible role have not yet been officially announced.
Sources: investing.com, uk.marketscreener.com, ca.investing.com
https://fakti.bg/en/world/1093828-trump-expects-deal-for-lukoil-alaska-gas
By Alex Kimani - Oct 26, 2026, 7:00 PM CDT
Britain is deciding whether to drill its largest untapped oilfield in the middle of an oil shock, with Brent above 100 and more than 70% of its oil already coming from abroad. Rosebank, west of Shetland, is an £8.7 billion (~11.6 billion) development that its operator says would pump about 69,000 barrels a day at peak, roughly a tenth of the country’s expected oil output. The production vessel has been on site since June, and Ithaca Energy, which owns a fifth of the field, says it will likely stop investing in Britain if the government says no.
A major Cabinet split has emerged within Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government over whether to approve drilling at the Rosebank oilfield, with energy security on one side and climate commitments on the other.
Chancellor John Healey wants Rosebank approved for the jobs and the Treasury revenue, and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is backing him. An unnamed minister told the Mail on Sunday that Burnham will ultimately back the development too. Unite and GMB, two of Britain’s largest unions, are pushing for approval.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh makes the call, and she is minded to say no. In 2022 she wrote that funding new fossil fuels was “irresponsible and shortsighted,” and that the world “can’t have any new oil or gas fields” if it wants to keep warming to 1.5C. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who blocked new licences when he held her job, is backing her.
Fahnbulleh approved Jackdaw on October 21 and has already explained why Rosebank is different. She calls Jackdaw “a gasfield that caters for the domestic market” and Rosebank “an oilfield that is mainly for export.” She also says the decision is hers alone under a quasi-judicial framework, and that bending it would invite a court to strike it down. Scotland’s Court of Session did exactly that in January 2025, quashing the first consents for both fields because their environmental assessments ignored the emissions from burning the oil and gas.
Rosebank lies about 80 miles northwest of Shetland in the North Atlantic. Rystad Energy estimates it holds nearly 500 million barrels of oil equivalent, about 90% of it oil, and Ithaca puts recoverable oil across two development phases at around 300 million barrels. Campaigners estimate that burning that oil would release more than 200 million tonnes of CO?, and government officials put the field’s emissions at roughly seven times Jackdaw’s.
Adura, the North Sea joint venture between Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) and Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) that operates Rosebank with an 80% stake, has deployed an electrification-ready Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel at the field. Adura says the field will produce oil at about 12 kg of CO? per barrel, against a North Sea average of about 20 kg. Powering the vessel from shore could cut those emissions by more than 70%, to below 3 kg per barrel, once the technology is qualified and the consents are in place. The oil will be shipped by shuttle tanker to customers’ refineries in Europe.
North Sea production is in steep decline. The North Sea Transition Authority reported last week that UK proven and probable reserves fell to 2.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent at the end of 2025, down 0.4 billion in a year, and that not a single exploration well was drilled on the UK Continental Shelf in 2025.
Jackdaw, which is nearly complete, is expected to start supplying gas within weeks and could account for about 6% of North Sea gas production at full output. The government says approving it does not break Labour’s pledge against new exploration licences because Jackdaw holds an existing licence. The field had been held up by the legal challenge over downstream emissions.
Alongside the Jackdaw approval, Healey announced a £2 billion down payment for a new Energy Wealth Fund. Future North Sea oil and gas revenues will flow into it, and the capital is earmarked for renewable generation, low-carbon infrastructure and industries to replace the oil and gas economy. Treasury modelling found that had the UK invested its roughly £200 billion in North Sea receipts since the 1980s at returns similar to Norway’s, the fund could have reached about £1 trillion.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, officially the Government Pension Fund Global, is worth approximately $2.3 trillion, making it the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. It is financed primarily by surplus revenues from the Norwegian state’s petroleum sector, alongside returns from its global investments. Managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, the fund posted a record profit of $184.3 billion in the first half of 2026, then lost $29.7 billion in the third quarter as rising borrowing costs cut the value of its bond portfolio.
HydroWing Ltd, the tidal energy division of Inyanga Marine Energy Group, has signed a contract with Ecodetect to introduce AI-driven environmental monitoring solutions to its pioneering tidal stream energy project at Morlais in Wales.
Richard Parkinson, CEO of Inyanga Marine Energy Group, says: “Tidal energy projects operate in sensitive marine environments. Ecodetect’s AI-driven monitoring solutions will help us balance performance and environmental responsibility. By continuously detecting marine life interactions and assessing infrastructure activity, we will be able to minimise ecological risks while maximising energy efficiency.”
Inyanga’s 30MW project at Morlais, which is backed by the Welsh Government and the UK government, will use Inyanga’s patented HydroWing technology.
Ecodetect designs, deploys and operates end-to-end marine wildlife monitoring systems for offshore renewable energy projects. Its surface and seabed-mounted sensor systems, combining underwater cameras and sonar, integrate directly with offshore renewable energy infrastructure.
Dr David Gold, CEO of Ecodetect, says: “Tidal energy will only reach its full potential if it can show it works in harmony with marine life. Inyanga is already leading the world in tidal stream development. With real-time AI monitoring, it can lead the way on environmental protection too.”
Ecodetect’s AI processes the data as it is collected, automatically distinguishing marine wildlife, such as seals, dolphins, fish and diving seabirds, from seaweed, debris and algae. Its marine communications network then relays the results in real time, so operators can trigger instant environmental mitigation protocols. The same data builds the evidence needed to demonstrate compliance with UK, EU and international environmental standards.
The HydroWing project will be deployed at Morlais on Anglesey in North Wales, which is the largest consented tidal stream energy scheme in Europe. Morlais is owned by social enterprise Menter Môn and managed by Menter Môn Morlais Ltd.
Andy Billcliff, Chief Executive of Menter Môn Morlais Ltd, says: “The deployment of the HydroWing project will be a key milestone for offshore renewable energy in Wales and the UK. It is great that the project will embed state-of-the-art environmental monitoring, supplied by Ecodetect, an innovative tech company also based on Anglesey. This is a superb example of local sourcing, which will bring further momentum to the North Wales economy, generating new jobs and social value.”
The first HydroWing tidal energy device is set for deployment at Morlais in 2027. When delivery of the project is completed in 2030, the project will deploy 18 tidal energy devices, each generating 1.67 MW of electricity. This will make the HydroWing Morlais project one of the largest tidal stream energy projects in the world.
Russia and Kazakhstan are offloading some central-bank gold, while Poland's is buying more. What does this reshuffle mean for individual gold investors?
Russia has been selling off gold throughout this year. September brought a further reduction in its reserves of the precious metal of around 6.2 tonnes, bringing the total reduction since January to about 62 tonnes.
Only once in its modern history has Russia disposed of gold at a similarly rapid pace, when in 1998 it sold 118 tonnes from its reserves in just three months.
Russia is offloading gold, China is buying
According to Adam Stroniawski, managing director of Polish precious metals dealer Mennica Skarbowa, "Russia has a serious budget shortfall because of its war in Ukraine and wants to inject more funds into the defence sector". He tells Euronews that Russia is selling gold outside the London bullion market, saying that "the sell-off of reserves will take place in Hong Kong, and the main buyer is China's central bank".
Stroniawski concludes that the impact of these transactions on the global gold price would therefore be negligible.
According to Hong Kong trade data, from January to July around 100 tonnes of Russian gold reached Hong Kong – nearly three times as much as in the same period last year.
The expert does not rule out Russia returning to the group of countries buying gold and rebuilding its reserves, just as it did after its 1998 sell-off.
Gold market: Kazakhstan takes profits
A few days before the Russian central bank published its data, investors learned that Kazakhstan also plans to sell part of its gold reserves.
The country, which straddles two continents, was among the world's biggest buyers of gold in the first eight months of 2026. It has now announced that by the end of the year it intends to reduce its gold holdings so that gold accounts for 75% of its total reserves.
"The liquidation of part of Kazakhstan's gold-denominated foreign reserves may seem surprising, because for years the country was one of the biggest buyers of bullion," says Stroniawski.
He says the shift may be temporary, driven by the need to plug a budget deficit or take profits.
"Kazakhstan has been buying gold for a long time, so it will now be selling at a significant profit," he adds.
The expert stresses that both the scale of the planned reduction – from around 78% to 75% of total reserves – and the spreading of sales over time mean that these transactions, too, will not have a major impact on global gold markets.
Is this the start of a gold sell-off?
The change in approach by Russia and Kazakhstan raises questions about whether this is the beginning of a new trend among central banks, and whether Poland might follow in their footsteps. In recent years Poland has significantly increased its gold reserves and could take profits while gold prices remain high. In Stroniawski's view, however, this scenario is highly unlikely.
"This stems from internal factors, with government policy and central bank policy moving in different directions. In this parliamentary term it is unlikely that reserves will be liquidated," says Stroniawski.
Indeed, the National Bank of Poland has been actively buying gold for several years, and Poland's current reserves are already close to the target of 700 tonnes. According to the expert, this does not have to mean the end of gold purchases by the central bank. He says large gold reserves improve the country's credit standing and help to stabilise the currency.
"At present, with its level of gold reserves, Poland ranks 10th in the world. In my opinion, reaching 700 tonnes will only be one stage. It does not mean the end of purchases or the start of a sell-off," says Stroniawski.
Gold price forecasts: 'I wouldn't assume it will ever be cheaper'
"At the moment, many investors who bought gold a few years ago may be thinking about taking profits," the expert says. He adds that the precious metal saw significant price increases in recent years, although its price has weakened in 2026.
Gold prices rose 25.5% in 2024 and 67.4% in 2025 in US dollar terms, according to the World Gold Council. However, they fell 4.4% in the first nine months of 2026.
Stroniawski sees temporary corrections in the price of gold as not affecting its long-term upward trend. He believes buying by central banks and investors who treat gold as a safe haven and a reserve asset will support further price rises.
"When it comes to gold, I wouldn't assume it will ever be cheaper. However, buying it delivers reliable profits only over the long term," Stroniawski emphasises.
A partial view of Copper Giant's Mocoa project area. Credit: Copper Giant.
Colombia’s OP Gold Capital outbid U.S. copper giant Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) for exploration rights in the country’s north, raising its offer to retain a 60-sq.-km block in Cesar.
OP Gold increased its proposed additional payment to the state to 2.5% from 1.5% after Freeport countered with 2%, according to the National Mining Agency’s final evaluation. As the original bidder, OP Gold had the right to improve its proposal.
The block was among eight copper, gold and polymetallic contracts signed Oct. 9 with five companies. Other winners included China’s Zijin Mining (HKEX: 2899; SSE: 601899) and Vancouver-based Copper Giant Resources (TSXV: CGNT; US-OTC: CGNRF), which announced Monday it had secured the 16-sq.-km Chaparral block in Tolima.
The awards show Colombia’s strategic mineral tenders drawing both domestic bidders and international miners, with competition improving the state’s return on at least one block. The contracts open ground for exploration, though discoveries, economic studies and further approvals would be needed before any new mines could follow.
Counteroffer
Freeport’s counteroffer for Block 2 met the tender requirements after the company supplied additional documentation. OP Gold then exercised its right to improve its proposal, exceeding Freeport’s economic offer by half a percentage point. Its winning proposal also included a social contribution of 1.5%, according to the agency’s evaluation.
OP Gold also secured Block 3. Carbones San Cayetano won Block 5 in La Guajira, while Mineros Aluvial, a subsidiary of gold producer Mineros (TSX: MSA; US-OTC: MNSAF), took Blocks 17 and 18 in Antioquia, the agency’s award register shows.
Zijin Mining, through its South American exploration subsidiary, secured Block 23 and Block 42 in Buriticá, Antioquia. Neither block attracted a counteroffer, according to the award resolutions.
“These contracts, which included strategic mining areas located in Cesar, La Guajira, Antioquia, Tolima and Huila, represent a very important step to continue promoting exploration projects and responsible use of mineral resources in the country,” Zijin-Continental Gold said in a Spanish-language LinkedIn post last week.
A ninth agreement signed at the same ceremony covered phosphates. Empresa de Fosfatos del Huila received Block 13_1 in a separate tender.
https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/news/local-miner-outbids-freeport-for-colombia-exploration/
Investing.com -- Goldman Sachs cut Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro to "neutral" from "buy" and lowered its price target to NOK 79 from NOK 100, saying falling aluminium premiums and rising costs make 2027 earnings harder to lift.
Norsk Hydro expects fourth-quarter realised premiums of 550-600 a tonne, with about 50% of sales already booked at $742 a tonne, Goldman said. Realised premiums rose to $673 in the third quarter from $563 in the second.
Goldman said customers are delaying purchases and Middle East volumes are reaching the market, easing European tightness faster than it expected.
New supply from Indonesia is also ramping up faster than expected, Goldman said.
Costs are rising at the same time. Hydro expects spot gas purchases at its Alunorte refinery to cost $90-$110 million in the fourth quarter, after about $85 million in the third.
Its commercial sourcing and trading unit is guided to a fourth-quarter loss on higher logistics and handling costs and the loss of the Qatar marketing and offtake fee.
Goldman lowered its 2026 and 2027 forecasts for core earnings (EBITDA) by 6% each, citing lower aluminium prices and higher costs.
Hydro's third-quarter adjusted EBITDA was NOK 9.1 billion, 6% below Goldman's estimate and 5% below analysts' consensus, with weaker results in Aluminium Metal, Metal Markets and Energy.
Free cash flow was NOK 1.4 billion, 41% below Goldman's estimate, reflecting lower EBITDA and a NOK 3.7 billion build in working capital.
The shares are -30.1% since Goldman added them to its "buy" List on April 2, versus -0.2% for the FTSE World Europe index. They closed at NOK 71.76 on Oct. 22, and the new target implies 10.1% upside.
Goldman said the main upside risk is any unforeseen supply outage from the ongoing Middle East conflict. Hydro is due to give its 2027 outlook at a capital markets day next month.
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/goldman-cuts-norsk-hydro-falling-123812824.html
Investing.com -- BofA Securities upgraded miner Anglo American to "buy" rating, saying value has re-emerged after a pullback and a proposed merger with Teck would create a copper-focused company.
BofA set a price objective of 4,700 pence per share, based on 1x its sum-of-the-parts valuation, which adds up the value of each business. It assumes the Teck merger proceeds and includes risked values for near-term corporate and procurement synergies and longer-term ones at Collahuasi and Quebrada Blanca.
On a combined basis, BofA estimates the shares would trade at less than 7 times 2027 and 2028 estimated enterprise value to EBITDA, versus 8 to 15 times for copper peers.
The companies expect the merger to close by March 2027, subject to China anti-trust approval, which BofA called a key risk. Anglo and Teck have engaged with Chinese authorities and said talks are proceeding "as expected".
Reuters has reported that a multi-year offtake agreement could be enough to ease China's anti-trust concerns. BofA said forced asset disposals would make completing the deal more challenging.
BofA models near-term combined copper production of about 945,000 tonnes a year. Collahuasi in Chile, 44% owned by Anglo, is about 570,000 tonnes a year and one of the world's largest copper mines.
Adding QBII, about 240,000 tonnes a year and 60% owned by Teck, plus 175,000 tonnes a year of volume upside from operational synergies, could take the combined site to about 1 million tonnes a year, with Anglo Teck's equity share about 50%.
Other assets include Quellaveco in Peru (300,000 tonnes a year, 60% Anglo), Los Bronces in Chile (175,000 tonnes, 50% Anglo), Antamina in Peru (400,000 tonnes copper equivalent, 22.5% Teck) and Highland Valley in Canada (120,000 tonnes, 100% Teck).
Anglo is shedding non-core assets: coking coal and nickel sales are agreed, though nickel remains subject to anti-trust approval, while the De Beers diamonds sale is ongoing and challenged by pricing. BofA said it does not think any of these would derail perception of value in the combined company.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/bofa-upgrades-anglo-american-teck-112527931.html
In September this year, Germany's crude steel output decreased by 13.0 percent year on year to 2.63 million mt, according to data released by the German Steel Federation (WV Stahl). In the January-September period of 2026, crude steel production in Germany rose by four percent year on year to 26.53 million mt. The federation stated that the decline in September was mainly driven by a 20.2 percent year-on-year decrease in oxygen steel production. Based on production in the first nine months, WV Stahl estimated full-year crude steel output at 35.4 million mt, compared to its earlier projection of 37.3 million mt based on first-half production.
In the given month, Germany's pig iron output amounted to 1.56 million mt, down by 19.9 percent year on year, while production in the January-September period increased by 2.6 percent to 16.49 million mt.
Meanwhile, the country's hot rolled steel output moved down by 10.6 percent year on year to 2.32 million mt in September and increased by 2.5 percent to 23.33 million mt in the first nine months of the year.
Members of Posco's labor union enter the company's Pohang headquarters on the 14th of this month for main negotiations on 2026 wage talks. News1
Clouds of labor disputes and strikes are gathering over South Korea's steel and shipbuilding industries. With China raising its global market share on the strength of both price and technological competitiveness, concerns are mounting that the walkouts could directly weaken the country's manufacturing base and erode its export competitiveness. The union at POSCO, which already staged two partial strikes last month, has given notice of an indefinite strike starting on Nov. 2. The union escalated its industrial action after failing to narrow differences with management over its demands, which include a 7.1% increase in base pay and incentive payments equal to 600% of monthly wages.
Demanding better treatment is a union's rightful prerogative. But insisting on excessive wage increases when earnings and business conditions have deteriorated only complicates matters further. POSCO's revenue fell 6.8% from a year earlier last year amid intensifying competition. Meanwhile, China has pushed its global share above 50% on the back of a low-price volume offensive, sweeping up overseas orders. The United States and the European Union have also played the import-control card, imposing high tariffs on foreign steel. The obstacles are piling up one after another.
Shipbuilders are going through their own labor turmoil. The union at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which has continued partial strikes, holds a vote on the 27th on a second tentative agreement after members rejected the first one last week. If it is voted down, the possibility of renewed strikes cannot be ruled out. At Hanwha Ocean, the union representing permanent employees is at odds with the company over profit sharing, while subcontracted workers are staging a high-altitude sit-in to demand direct bargaining with the prime contractor. Chinese shipbuilders, by contrast, are cementing their dominance in the global market. Backed by government support and solid supply chains, Chinese companies took 81% of new shipbuilding orders in the first nine months of this year. South Korea's share was in the 10% range.
Steel and shipbuilding are pillars that support South Korean manufacturing. Both industries have more partner and subcontracting firms than other sectors and generate larger upstream and downstream ripple effects. If labor disputes and strikes disrupt production, worsening earnings and weaker export competitiveness will be unavoidable. The priority is to find common ground, with unions refraining from one-sided wage demands and companies offering reasonable alternatives. Both sides should keep in mind that Chinese companies are smiling behind their backs as they watch the standoff.
https://en.sedaily.com/opinion/2026/10/27/china-floods-market-and-sweeps-orders-no-time-for-steel
The European long steel market has continued to show differing trends this week. Higher energy and logistics costs are prompting some producers to take a firmer stance, while distributors and end-users continue to limit purchases to immediate requirements.
In the Italian rebar market, producers’ price requests have remained unchanged compared to the previous week, €720/mt including regular extras.
In Poland, market feedback indicates new offers at around €660/mt (PLN 2,900/mt) delivered, compared to the latest sales reported at €640-645/mt (PLN 2,800-2,830/mt) delivered, up by €5/mt compared to last week’s level. Stronger demand from Ukraine for Polish material is fueling expectations of further increases, although it is still too early to identify a uniform change across the market. Meanwhile, the leading European steel producer has stated that it will seek increases of €30/mt for November sales.
In central Europe, particularly Germany, rebar prices have also been reported at €650/mt delivered, up by €10/mt compared to SteelOrbis’ latest indications. Logistics are having the greatest impact in this market, as water levels on the Rhine remain significantly below reference levels.
In the export segment, in addition to Italian offers, Spanish rebar offers have been reported at €645-650/mt FOB, stable overall compared to the previous levels. Moreover, sources have reported that the shipping situation in the Black Sea is becoming more complex because of the higher insurance and freight costs linked to the ongoing conflict.
In the import segment, Turkey continues to show signs of softening. Official Turkish rebar offers for shipment in November stand at €585-595/mt CFR, down on US dollar basis but stable in euro terms compared to last week. Some Turkish mills are reportedly willing to consider €575-580/mt CFR for large tonnages, although no deals have been confirmed at these levels. Turkish wire rod offers have meanwhile declined by $5/mt week on week, with the upper end of the range also falling by €5/mt compared to the previous levels, to €595-600/mt CFR for the same shipment period. Offers from Egypt, instead, have been reported at €580-585/mt CFR for rebar and €595-600/mt CFR for wire rod, respectively lower by €5/mt on the higher end of the range and higher on the lower end of the range by the same amount. Both variations are on weekly basis.
Overall, European producers are seeking to pass on at least part of the higher energy costs to finished steel prices, while stable scrap prices provide only limited support for their price requests. Sentiment therefore remains cautious: while high energy and transportation costs may strengthen suppliers’ price requests, weak end-user demand continues to limit increases in long steel prices.
€1 = $1.12
https://eurometal.net/european-longs-producers-firmer-on-prices-but-demand-remains-selective/
The average margin on imported iron ore contracted to 1.03 yuan per metric ton from 9.79 yuan per metric ton in the latest period, according to SMM, with the compression driven chiefly by a steep decline in port spot prices. Survey data from the same source put total iron ore stocks across ten ports at 104.65 million metric tons as of October 22, a decrease of 490,000 metric tons from the prior survey, with fines accounting for the bulk of the drawdown while lump, concentrate and pellet inventories increased.
On the demand side, average daily hot metal output reached 2.3584 million metric tons on October 21, an increase of 6,400 metric tons from the previous reading. Steel mills nonetheless continued to operate at a loss, purchasing only as needed and pressing suppliers for lower prices. The reduction in port stocks of fines provided some support to spot prices, but overseas supply showed no indication of tightening and mills displayed limited willingness to rebuild inventories. Both futures and spot prices softened during the session.
Looking ahead, iron ore prices are expected to move within a range with a softer tilt over the near term, and the speed at which blast furnaces return from maintenance bears watching. On the margin side, the seaborne premium for imported ore is anticipated to decline modestly after Rio Tinto concluded negotiations with Chinese buyers. Freight rates, however, have returned to an upward path, a development that could weigh further on import margins. The imported iron ore margin is expected to stay under pressure in the near term, trading close to breakeven.
https://www.indexbox.io/blog/imported-iron-ore-margin-narrows-to-103-yuant-as-port-spot-prices-fall/