The price for grade 18/8 alloy steel scrap increased due to higher nickel costs, while underlying market fundamentals remained stable, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?1,340-1,440 ($1,850-1,988) per tonne on Friday, up by ?10-40 per tonne from ?1,330-1,400 per tonne the...Read More
Large volumes of steel billet position cargoes held by traders have been offered at lower prices to buyers in Southeast Asia in recent days amid China's continued price decline, sources told Fastmarkets.Closures at Chinese rerolling mills amid power rationing and environmental measures, together with spiraling ferrous futures markets, have badly damaged steel billet demand in the country this week...Read More
A sharp drop in domestic billet and rebar prices over the past few days in China resulted in a change of mood in the Commonwealth of Independent States' export billet market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment of steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, ex-whs Eastern China was 5,300-5,350 ($828.46-836.28) yuan per tonne on Friday October 22, down by 330 yuan per tonne day on da...Read More
Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Ltd (JSHL) has commissioned a new strip mill as part of the first phase of the latest brownfield expansion at its Specialty Products Division (SPD), the company said on Wednesday October 20.The new 26,000-tonnes-per-year precision strip mill takes JSHL's capacity to 48,000 tpy from 22,000 tpy previously, the company said.The capacity expansion further strengthens the compa...Read More
Mexico's Altos Hornos de M?(C)xico (Ahmsa) is considering seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for its Minera del Norte thermal coal subsidiary, after a Mexican commission canceled state supply contracts, the company said on Thursday October 21.Minera del Norte - also known as Minosa - is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mexican steelmaker and has the capacity to produce 6.6 million tonnes per...Read More
Russia's Metalloinvest plans to construct the world's biggest hot-briquetted iron (HBI) facility, to help speed up the transition to green steel production, the company said this week.Technology provider Midrex Technologies and engineering company Primetals will supply the new HBI Plant (HBI-4) at Lebedinsky GOK (LGOK), Metalloinvest said. The plant will be built at Gubkin in west Russia, and will...Read More
Rio Tinto will invest $7.5 billion to reduce emissions and meet its carbon targets earlier than planned, the company announced on Wednesday September 20.Following more ambitious climate targets by governments, Rio Tinto is revising its emissions reduction targets. Its new target is to reduce its Scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions of the greenhouse gas (GHG) Protocol by 50% by 2030, more than triple...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its trioxide grade and standard grade antimony prices, in warehouse Rotterdam, which were incorrectly published on Friday October 22 due to a reporter error.The price for MB-SB-0001 Antimony, max 100 ppm Bi, in-whs Rotterdam, has been changed to $12,900-13,500 per tonne, from an incorrectly published price of $13,300-13,500 per tonne.And the price for MB-SB-0002 Antimony...Read More
European trade groups warned about the potentially "catastrophic impact" of a Chinese magnesium supply shortage on metals producers in the region, calling on the European Commission and national governments to take immediate action to mitigate the risks to industry.The groups - European Aluminium, European steel association Eurofer, European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, European metals a...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in India, Europe, China and the United States on Friday October 22.China Higher port prices and the likelihood of fewer shipments arriving in the coming months supported buying sentiment in the seaborne manganese ore market. Portside low- and high-grade manganese ore markets extended their rallies amid firm sentiment among suppliers, but buying appetites...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 22.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
The three-month copper contract is trading near record highs on the London Metal Exchange, cash prices are rising even faster, and inventories are descending toward zero. Try running a hedge book in those conditions.It's been a very real quandary facing the physical trade and industry, which awoke on Tuesday October 19 to find copper's cash to November spread had flared to a backwardation of more...Read More
The collapse of the iron ore market and market turbulence over Chinese property developer Evergrande Group are adding to the economic woes caused by the Delta variant of Covid-19 for much of this year.It is hard to find bright sparks in the months ahead for the ferrous supply chain, which has been buffeted repeatedly in a short span of few months, starting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's comment...Read More
Looming backwardations on London Metal Exchange spreads sparked a sell-off of P1020 aluminium in Europe on Thursday October 21, with participants concerned about carrying metal into 2022.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dup Rotterdam at $250-270 per tonne on Thursday, down from $285-300 per tonne on Wednesday October 20. The decrease marks the assessment's lowest range sin...Read More
The battery raw materials supply chain in China took a breather after a week-long holiday to mark the country's national day in early October, with the lifting - partially or otherwise - of extensive power cuts announced in late September in several production hubs. The supply chain is still vulnerable to power restrictions, however, which are likely to persist in winter. Similar to those for oth...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals prices were mostly lower at the 5pm close on October 22, with investors looking to book profits from peaks reached earlier in the week. Aluminium's three-month price rolled back most of the gains made so far this month, with its closing price on Friday at 5pm, at $2,868 per tonne, being the lowest since October 6, with more than 37,000 lots traded. The metal...Read More
Seaborne prices for low-volatility pulverized coal injection material (PCI) in both the fob and cfr markets in China have increased because of persistently tight supply, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 22.A trade was finally heard in the fob spot market on Friday. And China's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) held a meeting during the morning to work out plans to tackle high coal...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices corrected upward on Friday October 22 after a sharp decrease on Thursday amid continuous bearish outlook for iron ore demand.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.52 per tonne, up $2.59 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $120.89 per tonne, up $2.21 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $92.38 per tonne, up $3.40 per tonne...Read More
European steel companies must scale up their decarbonization technologies within the coming decade or risk exhausting their allocated emissions allowances early, according to a report released on Tuesday September 14.The report, "Steeling for Net Zero," by climate researcher Industry Tracker, found that selected European steel companies have less than 26% of their carbon budget remaining and must...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US prices for hot-rolled coil moved in line with our forecasts in August, averaging $1,910 per ton, within 1% accuracy of our forecast of $1,925 per ton. The market has achieved much-needed stability in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating in the range of $1,900-1,94...Read More