Prices for imports of basic pig iron into China have inched upward over the past fortnight, after transactions for Brazilian cargoes completed on October 15, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 28.Following those deals, however, buying activity started to slow down because sellers were offering cargoes at higher prices due to tight supply, market participants said.Around 120,000 tonnes of...Read More
Buy-side sentiment in key Asian steel scrap markets has been hurt by news that Chinese trading firms were offering Southeast Asian buyers steel billet which was already imported into China, together with recent falls in the scrap price in Turkey, sources said on Thursday October 28.?EUR?Easing bulk freight costs reduce Bangladesh deep-sea bulk scrap prices?EUR?China import demand muted after steel...Read More
A summary of Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB's financial results for the third quarter of 2021, ending September 30In brief LKAB continued to deliver historically high operating profits in July-September 2021 amid strong demand from steelmakers and high iron ore prices. Fastmarkets' iron ore index for 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao averaged at $163.39 per tonne in the third quarter of...Read More
The cfr-basis price for premium hard coking coal softened on news that China allowed stranded Australia-origin coal to clear customs on Thursday October 28, but prices in the seaborne fob market were strong on new trade.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $608.12 per tonne, down by $6.34 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $568.59 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking...Read More
Iron ore prices were largely down on Thursday October 28, after a dip in demand following the introduction of stricter emissions restrictions in China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $112.65 per tonne, down $7.21 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $115.25 per tonne, down $6.90 per tonne58% Fe fines high-gr...Read More
Australian coal cargoes that have completed their customs declarations in China before October 2020 but ended up being stranded as a result of a ban imposed by the Chinese government that month are being allowed into the country.Buyers consisting of power plants and steel mills were informed by local customs authorities on Wednesday October 27 that their cargoes could clear customs once the necess...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices fell further on Thursday October 28, but market participants expect the decline to slow down after the Tangshan steelmaking hub introduced stricter production restrictions.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,290-5,300 yuan ($827-828) per tonne, down by 100-180 yuan per tonneSellers cut prices on Thursday morning to encourage higher sales volumes, but buyers...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to fall on Thursday October 28, but demand picked up following gains in the futures market during the afternoon trading session.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,100-5,150 yuan ($798-806) per tonne, down by 80-100 yuan per tonneThe most-traded January rebar futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped to 4,464 yuan per tonne on Thursday morni...Read More
Chinese stainless steel exporters received more inquiries over the past week, which pushed prices upward, though the domestic market softened due to losses at the end of last week.DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 20,700-21,000 ($3,284-3,316) per tonne, down by 200-300 yuan per tonne from a week earlier Stainless CRC prices dropped to 20,700-20,900 yuan per to...Read More
Norway-based silicon and ferro-silicon producer Elkem, a world leader in advanced silicon-based materials, has announced an expansion plan to support demand growth for speciality materials in the Europe-Middle East-Asia region (EMEA) and the Americas.On Wednesday October 27, the company's board of directors approved a capacity expansion by 20,000 tonnes per year at the plant in Roussillon, near Ly...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in London on Wednesday October 27.Key drivers:?EUR?The prices of both grades antimony in Europe have stabilized recently after a previous rally over the past month-and-a-half. For antimony trioxide metal, the range widened but the mid-point was unchanged.?EUR?Antimony standard grade 2, usually used in...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 transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...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 transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed...Read More
China's cobalt metal prices declined this week in response to weak demand and cautious downstream buyers - diverging from the international trend for higher benchmark prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China was 395,000-410,000 yuan ($61,806-64,153) per tonne on Wednesday October 27, down by 2,000 yuan per tonne from 397,000-410,000 yuan per tonne on October 22...Read More
ArcelorMittal has raised its offer prices for long-term contracts to the automotive industry and other large steel-consuming sectors, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 28.Several market sources told Fastmarkets that its offers for the first quarter, first half and full year of 2022 for hot-rolled coil are ?,?1,080 ($1,253) per tonne ex-works while those for hot-dipped galvanized coil ar...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning following release of lower than consensus quarterly results and guidance by Amazon, Apple and Starbucks. S&P 500 Index dropped 19 points in preopening trade. U.S. equity index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for September Personal Income was a slip of 0.1% versus a gain of 0.2% in Au...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 27 that are worth another look.Long and flat-rolled steel producer Gerdau expects demand to continue to grow in 2022, after a rapid recovery of the local market this year from the lows of 2020 that were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the...Read More
Consolidating its position in the battery materials supply chain amid fierce competition is the biggest challenge facing Greatpower Nickel & Cobalt Materials Co, company president Dongqiang Cao told Fastmarkets in an interview.Previously, attracting investment and improving the ability to provide finance had proved to be a bottleneck in the early stages of Greatpower's development, when it expande...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday October 27.Please click...Read More
The low-carbon ferro-chrome market in Europe leapt over the two weeks to Tuesday October 26 to a multi-year high due to extremely tight availability, with some sellers not offering on the spot market and consumers scrambling to find material.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe was $3.43-3.75 per lb Cr on October 26, up by 38-50 cents (13.97%)...Read More