A summary of global mining company Rio Tinto's third-quarter production results.In brief: Aluminium production was 3% lower than in the third quarter of 2020 due to strike action at the Kitimat smelter. On October 2, Rio Tinto reached a new Collective Labor Agreement for its British Columbia operations, which includes the Kitimat smelter and the Kemano hydropower facility. The smelter will steadil...Read More
Inventory changes of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses were mixed during the week to Friday October 15, with zinc gaining the most in percentage terms at 16% and copper declining by 20.1%.Zinc inventories stood at 71,444 tonnes on Friday, an increase of 9,854 tonnes from 61,590 tonnes a week ago, according to the exchange's weekly report.The largest inflows came into warehouses o...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States dropped below $96 per hundredweight ($1,920 per short ton) for the first time since August, with rising inventories putting downward pressure on prices, according to market sources.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $95.47 per cwt ($1,909.40 per ton) on Friday October 15, down by 0.85% from $96.29 per cwt on Thu...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet in the United States mostly held steady after market participants said 2020-21's unprecedented availability crisis is over and inventories are sufficient enough to cease the panic buying. "Mills' spot numbers are still stagnant," one southern distributor said. Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was unchanged at $...Read More
Coated steel coil prices increased sharply in Turkey during the week ended Friday October 15 and some producers stopped accepting new orders, sources told Fastmarkets.Producers stopped accepting orders because prices for hot-rolled coil, the base material for coated coils, continued to increase and producers wanted to reflect cost increases in their end-product prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price ass...Read More
A lack of trading across Europe kept domestic prices for hot-rolled coil fairly stable on Friday October 15, sources told Fastmarkets.Bearish sentiment is prevailing in the market, supported by poor demand from the automotive sector and good domestic supplies. Buyers and sellers have mainly been holding back from making deals, with only limited volumes traded in Europe during the week, sources sai...Read More
Hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil prices increased in Turkey during the week to Friday October 15, following the sharp increase in scrap prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Turkey's scrap import prices jumped during the week on new deals done at higher levels.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) United States origin, cfr Turkey was $486 per tonne on October 14, up from $450.14 p...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in Poland were broadly flat in the week to Friday October 15, while market sources expect producers to increase prices in November due to higher energy costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (drawing quality), domestic, delivered Poland remained at 3,800-3,900 zloty ($964-989) per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous we...Read More
The inter-merchant market for light-iron steel scrap in the United Kingdom was steady for a fourth week on Friday October 15, supported by strong export markets and tight availability of scrap in all areas, trade sources told Fastmarkets.Prices for light iron were further cemented on this week's settlement of monthly delivery prices into domestic steel mills, which were agreed at stable or higher...Read More
Record-high coking coal prices have been pressuring steelmakers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), mainly in Ukraine, because of a dependence on imports, sources told Fastmarkets.Global coking coal prices have been trending upward since October 2020, when the Chinese government imposed a ban on Australian materials.Fastmarkets' index for premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang -...Read More
The export pig iron market from the Commonwealth of Independent States improved in the week to Thursday October 14, with new sales to Italy and a bullish mood among suppliers.Fastmarkets' price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS was $500-520 per tonne on Thursday, up by $10 from $490-510 per tonne the previous week.Several sales of Ukraine-origin pig iron...Read More
Turkish steel mills booked at another five cargoes on Friday to bring the total for the week to 10, market participants told Fastmarkets on October 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 21,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $487 per tonne and 4,000 tonnes of shredded at $507 per tonne cfr. The cargo was scheduled to be shipped on December 15.A steel mill in the...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into Pakistan and India increased further on Friday October 15, with trading reported throughout the week, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $546.22 per tonne on Friday October 15, up from 535.07 per tonne one week prior.Deals were heard at $535 per tonne, $54...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices stayed largely stable in the cfr China market but decreased in the fob market on Friday October 15, amid weak offers and bids.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) increased in both the cfr China and fob Australia market in the week to October 15 due to supply tightness in both markets, market sources said on Friday.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking c...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Friday October 15 amid lower traded volumes at Chinese ports, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.22 per tonne, down $0.69 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $126.50 per tonne, down $1.10 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $94.29 per tonne, down $0.64 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fin...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China cruised higher on Friday October 15, with the futures market extending its gains on production curbs in the country showing no signs of easing.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,760-5,830 yuan ($896-907) per tonne, up by 20-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): weekly assessment: 5,720-5,780 yuan per tonne, down by 20-60 yuan per tonne The most-trade...Read More
Eastern China rebar prices lost upward momentum on Friday October 15 due to sellers' need to reduce inventories.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,770-5,800 yuan ($896-901) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 5,600-5,650 yuan per tonne, down by 200 yuan per tonneSellers expect prices will have little chance to rise in the remaining days of October, so...Read More
LME base metals prices were little changed early on Friday October 15, but the strong gains seen during this LME Week support our long-held view that we are in a supercycle, with other factors, such as power cuts in China, high energy costs and logistics issues, also having an impact.LME metals up by an average of 6.6% this week, with zinc up by 14%Brent crude oil approaching $85 per barrelEU pass...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves in the week to Friday October 15.Jessica Long, Zihao Li and Ruby...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Cristina Belda,...Read More