Belarus Steel Works (BMZ) was operating at full capacity and all stages of production were progressing normally, the company said on Tuesday August 11, after the start of a protest at the mill the day before.BMZ general director Dmitry Korchik said that the company had been exceeding planned production at all process stages since the beginning of this month.The company shipped 57,492 tonnes of pro...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom was up over the week to Friday August 14 due to firmer demand from major shredders that supply consumers in the steel sector combined with persistently tight availability, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK was assessed at...Read More
Pig iron exporters from the south of Brazil were bullish over the week ended Friday August 14, but no higher-priced sales were made over the period, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' latest price assessment of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $340 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week.Offers went up to $350 per tonne fob, but...Read More
The import pig iron market in the United States remained quiet over the week ended Friday August 14, with the steel market depressed and buyers not ready to pay as much for pig iron as buyers in China.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $340-345 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week.One buyer in the US estimated that the spot market price in...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin slab increased in the week ended on Friday August 14, although few volumes were traded during the period.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil reached $415-425 per tonne on Friday, up by $10-15 from $405-410 per tonne a week earlier.There have been sparse deals for Brazilian slab at increasingly higher prices, within...Read More
China's crude steel, hot metal and finished steel output hit a record high in July, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday August 14.July outputCrude steel: 93.36 million tonnes, up by 9.1% from a year earlier, up by 1.9% from JuneHot metal: 78.18 million tonnes, up 8.8% year on year, up by 2% month on month Finished steel: 116.89 million tonnes,...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States during the week ending Friday August 14.ChinaThe UG2 chrome ore market recorded a pick-up in activity over the past week, with buyers procuring at around the current index level, while some sales were reported above this level later in the week ...Read More
Liberty Steel Group, part of the GFG Alliance, is to buy French steel rail business Hayange and the Ascoval steelworks. Liberty Steel Group has committed to providing an initial ?,?65 million ($76.83 million) in new financing for Hayange and Ascoval to enact its industrial plan. Further details of development plans for the sites will be announced in due course, Liberty Steel said on Friday August...Read More
Liberty Steel Group, part of the GFG Alliance, is to buy French steel rail business Hayange and the Ascoval steelworks. Liberty Steel Group has committed to providing an initial ?,?65 million ($76.83 million) in new financing for Hayange and Ascoval to enact its industrial plan. Further details of development plans for the sites will be announced in due course, Liberty Steel said on Friday August...Read More
China's crude steel, hot metal and finished steel output hit a record high in July, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday August 14.July outputCrude steel: 93.36 million tonnes, up by 9.1% from a year earlier, up by 1.9% from JuneHot metal: 78.18 million tonnes, up 8.8% year on year, up by 2% month on month Finished steel: 116.89 million tonnes,...Read More
Aluminium primary foundry alloy premiums in Germany and Eastern Europe ticked up on Friday August 14, breaking a downtrend that started in 2018.Europe Premiums for aluminium primary foundry alloy in Europe moved up Friday for the first time in two years ahead of 2021 negotiations for annual supply in the region.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium primary foundry alloy silicon 7 ingot premium,...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin slab increased in the week ended on Friday August 14, although few volumes were traded during the period.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil reached $415-425 per tonne on Friday, up by $10-15 from $405-410 per tonne a week earlier.There have been sparse deals for Brazilian slab at increasingly higher prices, within...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets andthe reasons for any price moves.Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and the latest price moves.Read More
London Metal Exchange aluminium futures closed at their lowest level in two weeks, but copper, lead, nickel and tin finished the day strongly, rebounding after losses in previous days.The LME's three-month aluminium 5pm closing price was $1,746 per tonne on Friday August 14, down by $7.50 per tonne from Thursday's close and marking its lowest closing level since July 31.Prices were under downward...Read More
Seaborne prices were flat on Friday August 14 amid a silent market, while the ex-China markets showed signs of recovery and Chinese steel mills were stuck with the country's import restrictions on seaborne coking coal, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $104.84 per tonne, down $0.15 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $115.09 per tonne, up $0.22 per t...Read More
Base metals prices opened mostly higher on the London Metal Exchange, with stable indications of economic recovery in China helping support prices on Friday August 14. Industrial output in China grew 4.8% in July, flat from the growth rate in June, prompting support for base metals prices. "Industrial output and activity continue to lead the way - it appears that this is enough to get metals price...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom was up over the week to Friday August 14 due to firmer demand from major shredders that supply consumers in the steel sector combined with persistently tight availability, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK was assessed at...Read More
The South American flat-steel import market continued on an uptrend in the week to Friday August 14, with customers accepting more expensive offers from several different regions.Clients decided to settle deals for October-shipment cargoes at higher prices, because demand was gradually improving and their supply needs had grown. It had become evident that it was now a seller's market, participants...Read More
London Metal Exchange aluminium futures closed at their lowest level in two weeks, but copper, lead, nickel and tin finished the day strongly, rebounding after losses in previous days.The LME's three-month aluminium 5pm closing price was $1,746 per tonne on Friday August 14, down by $7.50 per tonne from Thursday's close and marking its lowest closing level since July 31.Prices were under downward...Read More