Renault Group, a leading automotive maker in both the electric vehicle (EV) and non-EV sectors has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Finland's Terrafame for the future supply of nickel sulfate, according to a statement on October 8. Terrafame owns and operates a nickel, zinc, cobalt and copper mine at Sotkamo in eastern Finland and earlier this year brought online a nickel sulfate pl...Read More
Fastmarkets' spot copper concentrates treatment/refining charge remained largely stable in the week to October 8.A few clean parcels were sold to smelters in the low-to-mid $60s during the week - still below the Chinese pricing floor of $70 per tonne targeted for fourth quarter procurement.Overall buying interest has remained low, with Chinese importers away for the most of...Read More
The zinc concentrate market was broadly stable in the fortnight to Friday October 8, with Chinese buyers mostly away for the National Day holidays.Fastmarkets assessed the zinc spot concentrate treatment charge (TC), cif China at $75-88 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from two weeks prior.An offer of Antamina material was reported at low-to-mid $60s per tonne, with suppliers citing the seasonal pro...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices decreased in the week ended Friday October 8 amid continuing weak buying activity and strong competition from other regions.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was down to $760-780 per tonne on Friday, down by $20 from $780-800 per tonne on October 1.Bids for Brazilian material were heard close to $720 per tonne fob in...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices mostly increased after the National Day holiday in China, while China's coking coal-producing hub Shanxi province was hit by heavy rains, causing production halts at mines.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $609.79 per tonne, up $6.51 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $565.06 per tonne, down $0.08 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBC...Read More
Brazil's domestic price for steel reinforcing bar fell in October due to more balanced supply-demand fundamentals and a broader global downtrend.On the other hand, Turkish prices had rebounded in the week to Friday October 8, and market participants saw room for price increases in Brazil.Brazilian mills usually follow international trends, aiming for an average 10% premium in domestic prices over...Read More
Most base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed higher day on day in Friday's session.The three-month nickel price led the base metals complex, closing at $19,221 per tonne, up by more than 5% on Friday compared with Thursday's close at $18,264 per tonne."We view the recent price weakness in LME nickel as a buying opportunity and...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 8.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Turkey and Russia have exhausted their permitted import quota allowances for certain long steel products within just days of renewal, Fastmarkets has observed from European Commission data.The import market for long steel products in the European Union has remained strained because of safeguard measures. The fourth-quarter quota for steel imports into the EU came into effect on October 1 and will...Read More
Turkey and Russia have exhausted their permitted import quota allowances for certain long steel products within just days of renewal, Fastmarkets has observed from European Commission data.The import market for long steel products in the European Union has remained strained because of safeguard measures. The fourth-quarter quota for steel imports into the EU came into effect on October 1 and will...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices mostly increased after the National Day holiday in China, while China's coking coal-producing hub Shanxi province was hit by heavy rains, causing production halts at mines.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $609.79 per tonne, up $6.51 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $565.06 per tonne, down $0.08 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBC...Read More
Iron ore prices went up on Friday October 8 with improved trading liquidity after the Chinese holiday, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.38 per tonne, up $6.36 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $126.95 per tonne, up $7.08 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $95.86 per tonne, up $4.64 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qi...Read More
Prices for imports of steel scrap to South Korea have risen sharply over the past week amid a rise in export prices from Japan and the United States, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday October 8.South Korea buys Japanese scrap at higher pricesLimited scrap import interest in China due to electricity rationingChina local scrap prices hold firm after holidaySouth KoreaSouth Korean import...Read More
Turkish steel mills ended the working week with five deep-sea cargoes due to improving steel demand, market participants said on Friday October 8.Prices increases have triggered demand for billet and long steel products in the week to October 8, leading Turkish mills to book more deep-sea cargoes for November shipments.Three deals were heard on Thursday October 7.A steel mill in the Iskenderun reg...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into Pakistan and India took a sharp upturn in the week to Friday October 8, on a pick-up in demand, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $ 535.07 per tonne on Friday, up from $508.69 per tonne one week previous.Deals were initially heard at $530-535 per tonne be...Read More
The inter-merchant market for light-iron steel scrap in the United Kingdom was stable for a third week on Friday October 8, underpinned by firm fundamentals and relatively low domestic availability, trade sources told Fastmarkets.Major processors are offering steady prices to ensure enough scrap is being delivered into their yards, while market sentiment is also focused on the outcome of negotiati...Read More
The export pig iron market from the Commonwealth of Independent States was quiet during the week to Thursday October 7, mainly due to the inactivity of suppliers.Fastmarkets assessed high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $490-510 per tonne on Thursday, narrowing downward by $5 from $490-515 per tonne the previous week."The market has been quiet but is getting hot because...Read More
Iron ore prices went up on Friday October 8 with improved trading liquidity after the Chinese holiday, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.38 per tonne, up $6.36 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $126.95 per tonne, up $7.08 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $95.86 per tonne, up $4.64 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qi...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices fell by 300 rupees ($4) per tonne week on week, despite the price of other key raw materials such as direct-reduced iron (DRI) continuing to rise.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel billet domestic, ex-works India was down by 300 rupees per tonneat 46,300-46,500 rupees ($619-623) per tonne, compared with last week's 46,600-46,800 rupees per tonne ex...Read More
The congestion at major ports that has affected shipping operations for metals and minerals on the China-to-Europe route is set to worsen in the next three or four months, sources told Fastmarkets during last week's International Colloquium on Refractories conference in Aachen, Germany.Lead times for cargo shipping from China to European ports have increased in recent months because of a series of...Read More