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
Trafigura Pte is developing a program that will provide its customers with data on the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in its nickel and cobalt supply chains, the physical trading company said.The service will have a particular focus on the company's electric vehicle (EV) customers and will be provided by Circulor, a blockchain-based supply chain traceability and CO2 emissions tracking services pro...Read More
Vale has resumed activities at its On??a Puma nickel unit in Brazil after a legal injunction re-established the facility's operating license, the company said in a filing with securities and exchange commission CVM on Thursday October 7.On??a Puma, located in Brazil's northern Par?? state, had been stopped on Monday October 4 following the suspension of its operating permit by state environme...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
Brazil-based multi-metal producer Nexa Resources has resumed activity at its San Gerardo zinc-lead open-pit mine in central Peru after a week-long stoppage caused by community blockades, the company said on Wednesday October 6.In a filing to the Peruvian securities and exchange commission, SMV, Nexa said operations began to reopen early in the week and by Wednesday had returned to full capacity.Ro...Read More
Fastmarkets analyst James Moore and reporter Yasemin Esmen size up the lead market ahead of LME Week, which begins Monday October 11.Ambitious expansion of secondary lead capacity and strong tolling activity at Chinese smelters have driven a rapid increase of lead inventories in China. And SHFE warehouse stocks have surged to record levels, going above 200,000 tonnes this year.High shipping costs...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
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
Transactions for hot-rolled coil in Europe remained limited on Wednesday October 6, with buyers and sellers preferring to avoid transactions until the price trend becomes clearer, sources told Fastmarkets.Most European buyers have sufficient flat steel stocks to last until the end of the year. Buyers will have to return to the market in November at the latest because they will need to plan for the...Read More
German independent metals distribution company Kl??ckner & Co is to team up with Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel to become one of the first distributors of near-zero carbon emissions "green steel."Announcing the partnership on Thursday October 7, Kl??ckner & Co said that it would be supplied annual quantities of up to 250,000 tonnes of green steel from 2025 onwards, which would represent a su...Read More
Southern Europe's domestic prices for steel wire rod slid further, pressured by weak demand, although the downward trend is expected to stop due to increased production costs, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday October 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, delivered southern Europe was at ?,?750-780 ($867-902) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?10-20 per to...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
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
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
Seaborne coking coal prices in the fob market on Thursday October 7 were largely flat amid limited trading activity in the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $603.28 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $565.14 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $404.05 per tonne, down by $0.48 per tonne ...Read More
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
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
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
Fastmarkets analysts Andrew Cole and Andy Farida and reporter Thorsten Schier size up the nickel market ahead of LME Week, which begins Monday October 11.Nickel prices have been capped by the $20,000-per-tonne level this year, failing to sustain a meaningful break higher despite attempts in February and again repeatedly during July-September. The London Metal Exchange three-month price peaked at $...Read More
Fastmarkets analyst James Moore and reporter Ana de Liz size up the zinc market ahead of LME Week, which begins Monday October 11.LME zinc prices have underperformed relative to the rest of the base metals complex in 2021. This is partly the result of zinc outperforming in 2020, but it also reflects the expectation of significant mine capacity additions that were set to keep the refined market ove...Read More