Fastmarkets today launches two weekly Chinese domestic price assessments for vanadium nitrogen and vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), expanding its current price coverage of the vanadium market.Following a month-long consultation, Fastmarkets has launched two new price assessments, namely vanadium nitrogen, basis 77%V, 16% N, ex-works China and vanadium pentoxide 98% V2O5 min, ex-works China, to complemen...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US ERW OCTG edges higher, seamless could followRising substrate costs helped support US ERW OCTG prices this month, especially at the upper end of the range of offers. Seamless OCTG and linepipe prices, meanwhile, held firm compared with September prices. The fundamentals remain weak, with rig counts going up...Read More
Demand for rebar and billet in Egypt failed to improve in the week to Thursday, October 22, despite the authorities reducing safeguard duties on the products, sources told Fastmarkets.Steel billet and rebar prices in Egypt were unchanged as a result, they added. The duty for imported billet was cut to 13% for the cif market last week, with a $60-per-tonne minimum, compared with ...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 22 that are worth another look....Read More
US hot-rolled coil prices continue their upward march as sources increasingly debate not whether the trend is sustainable into 2021 but for how long into next year current price levels might hold.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $33.66 per hundredweight ($673.20 per ton) on Thursday October 22, up by 0.3% from $33.57 per cwt on October 21 and 2.9% from...Read More
Chrome market participants have been surprised by the South African government's proposal to introduce an export tax on chrome ore to support its chrome sector but sought further detail about what it involves and when it would be carried through.The proposed export tax on South African chrome ore is designed to support domestic ferro-chrome production and its chrome value chain, the South African...Read More
Turkish export rebar and wire rod prices strengthened in the week to Thursday October 22 amid limited material supply and higher scrap costs, sources have told Fastmarkets."Mills sold quite a lot of rebar for export in earlier weeks so, when you ask, the earliest date they give you [for delivery] is January," one source said.A 50,000-tonne rebar cargo scheduled for shipment in January was reported...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 22 that are worth another look....Read More
The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Thursday October 22, making a steady approach toward resistance at the $2,600-per-tonne threshold.Copper futures were the laggard over the day, in spite of Wednesday's upsurge.Zinc's underlying price on the LME closed at $2,578.50 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, climbing from an intrad...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will launch a lithium contract based on the monthly average of Fastmarkets' price assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate, it said during an online briefing on Thursday October 22 as part of the annual LME Week event.The contract will use the assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate, min 56.5% LiOH.H2O, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan & Korea. It is p...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were collectively lower during morning trading on Thursday October 22, with the LME nickel price notching the biggest decline, while a continued impasse over a US coronavirus fiscal stimulus package cooled rallies seen earlier in the week. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $15,730 per tonne on Thursday morning, fa...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US ERW OCTG edges higher, seamless could followRising substrate costs helped support US ERW OCTG prices this month, especially at the upper end of the range of offers. Seamless OCTG and linepipe prices, meanwhile, held firm compared with September prices. The fundamentals remain weak, with rig counts going up...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore remains the most bullish commodity of the year, with prices fuelled by Chinese demand and supply disruptions in Brazil, along with bullish sentiment. But prices are expected to come down because Brazilian exports have begun to recover, and have reached their highest level since the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019. W...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) steel in Northern Europe increased in the week to Wednesday October 21, supported by reduced availability of the material in the spot market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?595-615 ($702-726) per tonne ex-works on October 21, up by ?,?5-15 per tonne from ?,?590-60...Read More
A large cargo of Ukraine-origin steel billet was heard sold into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in the week to Thursday October 22, while other regions were waiting to see how the market would move.A 50,000-tonne batch of Ukrainian billet was reported sold to Saudi Arabia at a price close to $440 per tonne cfr, according to estimates by market participants. This would be equivalent to s...Read More
Multiple battery chemistry offerings will continue to co-exist in the marketplace, according to Ernie Ortiz, president and managing director at Lithium Royalty Corporation."The future will be balanced and diversified across battery chemistry. [Original equipment manufacturers] acknowledge that battery chemistry is not a one-size-fits-all approach," Ortiz said during the Focus Day on electric vehic...Read More
The three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Thursday October 22, making a steady approach toward resistance at the $2,600-per-tonne threshold.Copper futures were the laggard over the day, in spite of Wednesday's upsurge.Zinc's underlying price on the LME closed at $2,578.50 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, climbing from an intrad...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan has proposed expanding its existing copper smelter at Gresik in Indonesia by 30% and adding a precious metals refinery in place of constructing an entirely new smelter nearby. The chief executive officer of the US copper producer said this option was attractive to the government of Indonesia as an alternative to undertaking a major construction project during the Covid-19 pandemic...Read More
The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) will revise its performance standard to align with the London Metal Exchange's responsible sourcing requirements, Marieke van der Mijn, director of impacts and partnerships at ASI said on Thursday October 22. Speaking at the exchange's focus day during LME Week van der Mijn explained: "ASI is working closely with the LME to align the ASI guidance and stan...Read More
US copper producer Freeport-McMoRan said its Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru is operating at around 90% of its 2019 annual average while it works to restore operations following restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The mine, in which Freeport owns a 53.56% stake, saw operating rates average 351,000 tonnes per day of ore during the third quarter, the company said. Consolidated sales i...Read More