Numerous challenges are ahead for the graphite industry while it develops to meet the needs of the rapidly growing electric vehicle (EV) sector. While debate persists around cathode chemistries, with LFP cathodes gaining ground in China in recent months at the expense of NCM cathodes, these various lithium-ion battery chemistries are all utilizing graphite anodes. In the coming years, exponential...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 6 that are worth another look.Significantly rising energy prices have forced European steelmakers to look for ways to compensate for surging production costs, but mills lack a unified approach to the problem; some are introducing energy surcharges while others...Read More
Significantly rising energy prices have forced European steelmakers to look for ways to compensate for surging production costs, but mills lack a unified approach to the problem; some are introducing energy surcharges while others prefer to focus on raising the price of steel, sources told Fastmarkets on the sidelines of the Made in Steel 2021 trade fair in Milan, Italy.In October, prices for gas...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday October 6. Please click...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals closed mostly down on Wednesday October 6, with most of the market closely watching macroeconomic developments in China and the United States.Still, analysts noted that while risks from macroeconomic events put downward pressure on base metals prices, a lack of supply across commodities continues to keep metals relatively range-bound."Our base metals in contrast r...Read More
Iron ore prices were largely stable on Wednesday October 6 amid low liquidity in both the physical and futures markets during the Chinese Golden Week holidays, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $116.71 per tonne, up $0.13 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.63 per tonne, up $0.29 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $90.31 per to...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
Premiums in Europe rose and premiums in the United States remained steady while global market participants prepare to negotiate long-term supply contracts.Northern European zinc premiums are at their highest since 2015, with market participants watching supply cutsUS spot zinc premiums are steady, while more uncertainty surrounds long-term contractsEuropean premiums nudge up, long term contracts b...Read More
Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States fell on Tuesday October 5, while the cash nickel price on the London Metal Exchange dropped to $8.07 per lb."As expected, continued weakness in LME nickel has resulted in lower 304 stainless scrap prices," one dealer said.Dealers and processors continued to be concerned about the ongoing lack of supply, due to manufacturers having difficulty return...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals closed mostly down on Wednesday October 6, with most of the market closely watching macroeconomic developments in China and the United States.Still, analysts noted that while risks from macroeconomic events put downward pressure on base metals prices, a lack of supply across commodities continues to keep metals relatively range-bound."Our base metals in contrast r...Read More
The publication of Fastmarkets' Shanghai copper cathode premiums was delayed on October 5 because of a reporter error.Fastmarkets' pricing database has since been updated. The data for October 6 is unaffected.The below prices have now been updated:MB-CU-0405 - Copper grade A cathode premium, in-whs Shanghai, $/tonneMB-CU-0383 - Copper grade A cathode ER premium, bonded in-whs Shanghai, $/tonneMB-C...Read More
The tin market has yet to solve the supply-demand imbalance evident throughout this year, but artisanal mining has become an even more crucial part of the market, panelists at the AMT Virtual Tin Market Forum noted on October 6.Thethree-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange has traded on average above$30,000 per tonne since June, rising by around 70% since January of thisyear. The stee...Read More
Domestic steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States were sideways this week, with the combination of demand and backlogs expected to sustain what many market participants believe is a price peak.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US was $49.25 per hundredweight ($985 per short ton) on Wednesday October 6, unchanged since August 11 but up by 65.55% from $29.7...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States dipped for the fourth consecutive business day, consolidating around the $97.30-per-hundredweight ($1,946-per-short-ton) level, with several buyers insisting the pricing rally may have hit its peak.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $97.32 per cwt ($1,946.40 per ton) on Wednesday October 6, down by 7 cents (0.07...Read More
Turkey's steel and industrial gas producer Habas is planning to start hybrid vehicle production at a former Honda plant, according to a report seen by Fastmarkets.Honda terminated vehicle production in its plant in Kocaeli, Turkey, in September 2021. Habas is in touch with almost 30 engineering companies to start hybrid...Read More
Philippine steelmakers have come back to the import market for steel billet while key buyers in China are celebrating National Day holidays, sources said on Wednesday October 6.Russian 5sp 125mm electric-arc furnace (EAF) billet was sold at $690-693 per tonne cfr Philippines this week, several key market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday.A European trader said that the 125mm EAF billet ca...Read More
Steel rebar prices increased in the domestic market in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow in the week ending Monday October 4, with local producers taking advantage of the low stocks of both traders and end-users to raise offers, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia was 55,500-59,000 roubles (...Read More
Significantly rising energy prices have forced European steelmakers to look for ways to compensate for surging production costs, but mills lack a unified approach to the problem; some are introducing energy surcharges while others prefer to focus on raising the price of steel, sources told Fastmarkets on the sidelines of the Made in Steel 2021 trade fair in Milan, Italy.In October, prices for gas...Read More
Metal market participants have been forced to take creative approaches to ensure they can continue trading amid an intensely challenging freight environment, sources told Fastmarkets.A global logistics crisis has dragged on through the summer and into the autumn of 2021, highlighted by a continued shortage of vessels and containers, together with port congestion across the globe. Quarantines relat...Read More
Thyssenkrupp Steel has launched a form of steel with a reduction in CO2 intensity of 70%, it said.Using hot-briquetted iron (HBI), the carbon emission intensity per tonne of lower-CO2 flat steel products - which it calls "bluemint" - is 70% lower at 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per tonne than the 1.5 tonnes that would be produced otherwise, the steelmaker said on Wednesday October 6.Thyssenkrupp's "bluemint...Read More