Iron ore trading liquidity was still limited on Thursday October 7, mainly due to China's Golden Week holiday, but improving supplies from Brazil were helping to stabilize prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.02 per tonne, up $0.31 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.87 per tonne, up $0.24 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade pr...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 7 that are worth another look.Steel producer Feralpi Group is to invest ?,?100 million ($115 million) in renewable power at its Italian sites, it announced on Thursday October 7.Vale has resumed activities at its On??a...Read More
Diversified miner BHP and United States copper cable and wire manufacturer Southwire have completed their first carbon-neutral copper transaction involving delivery from BHP's mines in Chile to Southwire's processing activities in the US state of Georgia, the miner said.The pilot involved tracing BHP copper cathode and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through Southwire's rod production op...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States rose for the first time this month, while some buyers said that they were delaying purchases because they expect material will be cheaper in the coming weeks.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $97.94 per hundredweight ($1,958.80 per short ton) on Thursday October 7, up by 0.64% from $97.32 per cwt on Wednesday O...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board on the morning of Thursday October 7, which was in line with the stronger tone in Asia-Pacific equities and the pullback in oil prices.Brent crude oil price pulls back to $81 per barrel from Wednesday's high at $83.48 per barrel.Russia offers to increase natural gas supply to Europe.Base metalsAll of the LME base metals showe...Read More
British Steel has announced a low-carbon steel making roadmap which outlines how it will achieve its net-zero emissions target, the company announced on Thursday September 7. The company has pledged to invest in a range of technologies to deliver net-zero steel by 2050 and significantly reduce its CO2 intensity by 2030 and 2035, in line with UK commitments to the Paris Agreement.Earlier this...Read More
Trading activity in the European hot-rolled coil market remained limited on Thursday October 7, but buyers are expected to resume purchasing activity later this month, sources told Fastmarkets.Although most European buyers have sufficient flat-steel stocks to last until the end of the year, they will need to negotiate deals for first-quarter delivery coil no later than November, market participant...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 7 that are worth another look.Steel producer Feralpi Group is to invest ?,?100 million ($115 million) in renewable power at its Italian sites, it announced on Thursday October 7.Vale has resumed activities at its On??a...Read More
Rising freight costs and increased buying interest from neighboring Asian markets led to an increase in Bangladesh import steel scrap prices in recent days, sources said on Thursday October 7.Bangladesh container import prices jumpSouth Korea purchases deep-sea scrap amid high Japanese pricesTaiwan buyers quiet after early-week buyingBangladeshContainerized imports of scrap were sold to Bangladesh...Read More
Alumina exports from Brazil totaled 586,458 tonnes in September, a 3.32% year-on-year fall from 606,626 tonnes, according to data published by the economy ministry on Wednesday October 5.That decrease was due to lower shipments from the S??o Lu?-s port, in the country's northeastern Maranh??o state. Alumar, an alumina refinery owned by Alcoa, South32, Rio Tinto and Alumina Ltd, is located in Maran...Read More
Most base metals on the London Metal Exchange opened higher on Thursday October 7 amid thin trading on the last day of a week-long holiday in China. "Despite some macro headwinds over China's property debt, the semiconductor shortage, global inflation, shipping delays and high shipping costs, metals remain quite buoyant overall," Will Adams, Fastmarkets' head of base metals and battery research, s...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
Rising freight costs and increased buying interest from neighboring Asian markets led to an increase in Bangladesh import steel scrap prices in recent days, sources said on Thursday October 7.Bangladesh container import prices jumpSouth Korea purchases deep-sea scrap amid high Japanese pricesTaiwan buyers quiet after early-week buyingBangladeshContainerized imports of scrap were sold to Bangladesh...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued booking deep-sea scrap cargoes for November shipment on Thursday October 7, aided by improving demand for billet and finished long steel products, market participants told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $440 per tonne, shredded at $455 and bonus at $460 per tonne cfr. And a steel produc...Read More
The Brazilian automotive association, Anfavea, has cut its forecast for production and sales in 2021, due to a shortage of semiconductors and logistics issues.Vehicle production is now expected to reach between 2.13-2.22 million units this year, an increase of 6-10% from the 2.01 million units produced in 2020, the association said on Wednesday October 6.The new forecast is 10-13% lower than the a...Read More
The premium for fourth-quarter supply of aluminium ingot to main Japanese ports (MJP) rose to its highest level in six years, continuing its upward climb despite a marked slowdown in domestic consumption in Japan.Currently, domestic market fundamentals stand in stark contrast to a tightly supplied global market where premiums are supported by firm demand. Sources, weighing in on why premiums have...Read More
Fastmarkets analyst William Adams and reporter Sofia Okun size up the lithium market ahead of LME Week, which begins Monday October 11.This year has been fast and furious for the lithium market, with prices rising 135-265%, depending on location and type of lithium salt. Spodumene prices are up by 470% since the start of the year. This follows the depressed state that the market was in last year.T...Read More
Slovak ferro-alloys producer OFZ Slovakia has cut more than half of its ferro-alloy production with immediate effect due to energy prices that have surged more than six-fold recently, an industry source told Fastmarkets.The company, which produces ferro-silicon and manganese alloys, has shut four out of its seven operating furnaces, including two ferro-silicon furnaces, a silico-manganese furnace...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 7 that are worth another look.Steel producer Feralpi Group is to invest ?,?100 million ($115 million) in renewable power at its Italian sites, it announced on Thursday October 7.Vale has resumed activities at its On??a...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board on the morning of Friday October 8, while those on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part stronger, as were Asia-Pacific equities.* Today’s focus will be on the US employment report.* Market participants relieved that US Senate agreed to lift debt limit ceiling until December.* Oil prices and US treasury yi...Read More