Latin American apparent steel consumption is expected to fall by 14.5% in 2020, compared with the previous year, according to the most recent forecast from regional steel association Alacero.Steel consumption is expected to reach 55.68 million tonnes this year, compared with 65.1 million tonnes in 2019, the association said on Tuesday September 22.The forecast is an improvement from an earlier Ala...Read More
A blast furnace at Usiminas' Ipatinga unit in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state caught on fire during maintenance work on Tuesday, only a month after being restarted, but there were no expectations of any effect on deliveries, the steelmaker said on Wednesday September 23.There were complications during routine maintenance at the No1 blast furnace, which resumed operations on August 26 foll...Read More
Domestic spot prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) in Europe increased in the week to Wednesday September 22, on reduced availability, sources told Fastmarkets.European producers have been redirecting volumes from the spot market to long-term agreements with automotive industry, they added. "Demand from automotive producers is strong and the prices on long-term agreements with the industry...Read More
Hollow steel sections prices in Europe were unchanged this week, despite producers still pushing for higher prices, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 23.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?570-585 ($669-686) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week."New prices from some mills are up by ?,?30 per tonne, an...Read More
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has begun an investigation into alleged injurious dumping of steel rebar from Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, it said on Tuesday September 22.The probe falls under the Special Import Measures Act, and follows a complaint filed...Read More
Domestic steel mesh-quality wire rod producers in Europe managed to achieve new price gains over the past week due to limited supply and increased scrap costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 23.Northern EuropeFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?460-480 ($545-568) per tonne on Wednesday, widening up...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday September 23, further increasing downward pressure on prices, sources told Fastmarkets.The country's steelmakers have been absent from the deep-sea scrap market since September 9, when bookings were made at $301 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20).Some suppliers tried to increase their offers to $305-310 per...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices experienced a downward turn on Wednesday September 23 amid a bearish demand outlook for steel products and weaker market sentiment overall, according to trade sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $113.81 per tonne, down $3.49 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $115.41 per tonne, down $2.33 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices across the board continued their uptrend on Wednesday September 23, with the premium hard coking coal fob price taking the lead. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.77 per tonne, up $4.76 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $141.69 per tonne, up $2.85 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $110.18 per tonne, up $1.83 per tonneHard cok...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil export prices moved down on Wednesday September 23, with producers accepting lower export prices amid domestic falls.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,830-3,850 yuan ($565-568) yuan per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader told Fastmarkets that trading activity there weakened on Wednesday, pulling prices lower.The dip in activity was because of the slide i...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's new package of sustainability proposals should aid the discovery process of low-carbon aluminium pricing, chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain said.Speaking at the Fastmarkets International Aluminium Conference on Wednesday September 23, Chamberlain said the exchange wants to provide the market with the tools to source sustainable material and provide transparenc...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were trading down over the morning on Wednesday September 23 after a consistently stronger US dollar hit a six-week high, effectively capping the retracement in some metals yesterday after Monday's US equities nosedive. The US dollar index continued its uptrend, hitting a high of 94.25 during the morning before settling to trade most recently ar...Read More
The global market for graphite and the European silicon market have reacted with caution to news that US electric vehicle maker Tesla plans to pursue the use of silicon rather than graphite in its battery anode material.Tesla plans to use silicon metal, rather than graphite or costlier engineered silicon materials, to make battery anodes, and announced on Tuesday September 22 that it had overcome...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday September 23.Key drivers European scrap supplies, which have been getting tighter this quarter and pushed Fastmarkets-assessed scrap prices up on Wednesday September 16 for the first time in 10 weeks, have moved scrap prices higher again and pulled the ferro-titanium market up with them. Trade sources said scrap prices are likely to...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets...Read More
The Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonne trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets...Read More
Tesla will mine its own lithium, make its own lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and use more silicon and nickel in these cheaper batteries, the world's biggest EV maker said on Tuesday September 22.Tesla will simplify the process of obtaining battery-ready nickel and lithium, develop alternatives to existing aluminium alloys and recycle its own EV batteries, it added.Tesla's own 46...Read More
Desheng Group, one of China's major producers of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), plans to suspend production and conduct equipment maintenance across its operations, including at its ironmaking and steelmaking facilities, market sources told Fastmarkets.The overhaul, which will be mainly carried out at Desheng Group's vanadium and titanium company in Leshan, in the southwestern Chinese province of Sich...Read More
Chinese stainless steel producers have increased their consumption of stainless steel scrap in the last two months in an attempt to reduce their input costs, particularly those for ferro-alloys, with nickel prices soaring since mid-July, sources told Fastmarkets.Chinese stainless steel producers typically use a combination of nickel pig iron (NPI), stainless scrap and ferro-alloys for production.T...Read More