An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves. Read More
Europe's monthly alloy steel surcharges for September have increased moderately from the levels in August because of higher nickel costs, Fastmarkets heard on Friday September 4.Fastmarkets' stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304, alloy surcharge, domestic, Europe, was calculated at ?,?1,367-1,377 ($1,617-1,629) per tonne for September, up by ?,?10-22 per tonne from the August range.The...Read More
Light vehicle production in Mexico decreased 13.2% year on year in August, according to figures from the country's statistics agency, Inegi.Mexican automakers produced 293,463 vehicles last month, a decrease of 44,435 units from the 337,898 vehicles produced in August 2019, according to the figures released on Friday September 4.Output also declined by 0.5% from 294,946 units in July.Sales...Read More
Taiwanese buyers of ferrous scrap imports who held out for cheaper cargoes in the past week ended up being faced with higher prices."Many buyers felt that prices had peaked previously and were waiting for them to fall. But it later turned out that prices in Turkey increased further," a Taiwanese buyer source told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 3.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for container...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 3 that are worth another look.A month ago, Eric, a steel importer based in eastern China, was pricing hot-rolled coil imports 20-30 yuan ($3-4) per tonne below the market average to secure orders. Now, he...Read More
Three-month prices for base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Thursday September 3, with positive unemployment data and services data from the United States doing little to stop an equities-led decline across the complex.A 4% downturn in LME nickel futures led that decline, and nickel's outright price on the LME was the laggard over Thursday afternoon...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view, including an upgrade to our aluminium price forecasts.Aluminium: Price forecasts raisedWe correctly expected the macro reflationary theme to raise the prices for all base metals but, with it being the base metal with by far the weakest fundamentals, we had expected the price of aluminium to underperform relative...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 3 that are worth another look.A month ago, Eric, a steel importer based in eastern China, was pricing hot-rolled coil imports 20-30 yuan ($3-4) per tonne below the market average to secure orders. Now, he...Read More
Chile produced 462,000 tonnes of copper in July 2020, a 5.1% year-on-year drop from 486,800 tonnes with several operations halted, notably Codelco's, national copper commission Cochilco said on Wednesday September 2.Despite the lower production in July, the year-to-date output for the country was still up year on year after seven months. Chile produced 3.29 million tonnes in January-July 2020, up...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices have risen for a tenth week amid a strengthening nickel market and good downstream demand.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday September 2's official trading session at $15,671 per tonne, up by $594 per tonne (3.9%) from $15,077 per tonne a week earlier.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for nickel pig iron, high-gra...Read More
After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has amended the frequency of its cobalt hydroxide index, min 30% Co, cif China to weekly. The cobalt hydroxide index, min 30% Co, cif China was published on the last working day of the month until the end of July, and has been published fortnightly since August 7. Fastmarkets has seen a sustained increase in spot activity for fixed-price, prompt cobalt hydr...Read More
Turkish steel mills have continued their deep-sea scrap purchases for September-October shipments at higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 3.A steel mill in Northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $300 per tonne, 13,000 tonnes of shredded at $305 per tonne and 4,000 tonnes of bonus at $310 per tonne cfr late on Wednesday.Anot...Read More
China's latest amendment to its solid waste law took effect on Tuesday September 1 and its stricter enforcement of solid waste import rules could push up downstream aluminium alloy prices, market participants told Fastmarkets. The new law, aiming to have zero waste imports, not only set legal requirements for solid waste importers but also claims carriers will hold joint liability for smuggling so...Read More
Markets were mixed this morning, Thursday September 3, with the base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange generally firmer, albeit in fairly light volumes.Markets are still underpinned by the prospect of more stimulus from the United States, once Congress can agree on a figure, but some of the metals are starting to look a bit tiredChina's Caixin services purchasing managers' index (PMI) at...Read More
Orocobre has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Prime Planet Energy Solutions (PPES) for the long-term supply of battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide, the Australia-based lithium miner said on Friday August 28.The MoU entails the supply of as much as 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), starting from 2021, for use in PPES' battery production supply chain. PPES...Read More
Chinese battery materials producer GEM has signed an eight-year nickel and cobalt supply contract with Indonesia's Halamahera Persada Lygend (HPAL), starting from 2021.This procurement scheme, seen by Fastmarkets, specifies eight-year totals for battery-grade nickel and cobalt raw materials, with nickel content totalling no less than 74,400 tonnes and no more than 178,560 tonne...Read More
After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has amended the frequency of its cobalt hydroxide index, min 30% Co, cif China to weekly. The cobalt hydroxide index, min 30% Co, cif China was published on the last working day of the month until the end of July, and has been published fortnightly since August 7. Fastmarkets has seen a sustained increase in spot activity for fixed-price, prompt cobalt hydr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 3 that are worth another look.A month ago, Eric, a steel importer based in eastern China, was pricing hot-rolled coil imports 20-30 yuan ($3-4) per tonne below the market average to secure orders. Now, he...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil continued to rise day on day in Northern Europe on Thursday September 3, gradually approaching the levels seen before Covid-19 lockdown measures were imposed, market sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?459.50 ($545.21) per tonne on Thursday, up by ?,?3.15 per tonne day...Read More
Most Turkish flat steel prices increased in August 2020 and market sources expect further price increases to come amid global price rises, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday September 3.Turkish flat steel producers are fully booked until late-October, with trading sources reporting that the market was moderate for most of August because of the seasonal summer slowdown in Turkey and its neighboring coun...Read More