China is stepping up measures to ensure there is enough electricity supply for heavy industries amid ongoing power restrictions in various parts of the country.The National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) will look into allowing more thermal coal imports and higher domestic production of the raw material to increase electricity generation rates, a spokesman for the commission said at a pres...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 30 that are worth another look.Temporary steel export duties in Russia, which have been in effect since August 1, have not impacted export volumes significantly so far, sources have told Fastmarkets.Australia-based mining company South32 have announced...Read More
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investors should be reducing exposure to plug-in hybrid- and fuel cell-weighted automotive supply chains and focusing instead on battery electric vehicles (BEV), according to a report by Jefferies. Ford's recent announcement of record-setting investment in electric vehicles (EVs) gives a clear signal to the market: BEVs are the future, with hybrids a...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected the pricing rationales for MB-CO-0004 cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $ per lb, and MB-CO-0005 cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $ per lb, which were published incorrectly on Thursday September 30 due to reporter and editor errors.The rationale for the cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $ per lb has been corrected to state that the assessed range move...Read More
Nickel's three-month price was at its lowest since late June on the afternoon of September 30; all other London Metal Exchange prices were down across the board by 2-4%."Commodities are being pressured by a surge in the dollar, coupled with supply chain pressures that are having a growing impact on demand, particularly out of China where power has become the latest bottleneck," ED&F Man's head of...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 30 that are worth another look.Temporary steel export duties in Russia, which have been in effect since August 1, have not impacted export volumes significantly so far, sources have told Fastmarkets.Australia-based mining company South32 have announced...Read More
Further deals for steel billet booked by Chinese buyers earlier this week came to light on Thursday September 30, the day before the country began its National Holiday, sources told Fastmarkets.Power shortage issues, together with concerns over the debts incurred by property giant Evergrande, reduced billet market sentiment in China at the beginning of this week, but some deals were booked to the...Read More
Base metals prices were down on the morning of Friday October 1, extending the weakness that started to accelerate on Thursday, when the LME base metals closed down by an average of 2.3%, with tin dropping by 6.2%. The weakness was broad based with equities retreating, too.* Asia-Pacific equities weaker this morning.* Gold and the yen rallied on Thursday, and US treasury yields are weaker this mor...Read More
Mills in Bangladesh have dipped into the containerized import scrap market for a handful of bookings at largely stable prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 30.Bangladesh books small tonnage in containersChina import market activity thin ahead of holidayPrices in Taiwan weaken after restocking endsBangladeshSteelmakers in Bangladesh booked a handful of deals for containers of heav...Read More
Local rebar prices in Egypt remained stable in the week to Thursday September 30, supported by ample demand from government projects, sources told Fastmarkets."Demand is good for the second consecutive month, driven by state projects in infrastructure and housing sectors," a local steelmaker told Fastmarkets.For example, domestic rebar consumption in August was 720,000 tonnes in Egypt, up by 76.7%...Read More
* Rare earth mine output quota for 2021 at 168,000 T vs 140,000 T in 2020 * Full-year smelting and separation quota at 162,000 T vs 135,000 T in2020 * Tight heavy rare earth supply to persist while Myanmar border shut-analyst (Adds analyst comment) By Tom Daly Sept 30 (Reuters) - China hiked its annual rare earth output quotas onThursday by 20% year-on-year to their highest levels on record, as it...Read More
China's spot domestic ferro-chrome market jumped in the week ending Tuesday September 28 due to a supply shortage amid production disruptions.Fastmarkets assessed ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China at 11,100-11,500 yuan per tonne on Tuesday, up 1,100-1,200 yuan from 10,000-10,300 yuan per tonne on September 21. Last week, the assessment was rolled over from the previous week due t...Read More
Chinese copper smelters are looking to buy concentrates for the fourth quarter of this year, citing better availability of spot materials. China's Copper Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) set the fourth-quarter base price for treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $70 per tonne/ 7 cents per lb on Wednesday September 29, sources told Fastmarkets. The price floor...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves in the week to Wednesday September 29.Janie Davies in London;...Read More
The US nickel briquette price hit a new all-time high; premiums in Asia and Europe remain unchanged. China premiums stable ahead of Chinese National Holidays US briquette hits new all-time high amid extreme shortage European premiums remain flat Shanghai premiums stable ahead of holidays The premiums on nickel cathodes imported into China remained stable in the week to Tuesday September 28,...Read More
Prices in the Indian import steel scrap market have dropped in recent days amid continued weak demand in the country, while power shortages are constraining Chinese scrap demand, market sources told Fastmarkets.Weak demand in India continues to pressure pricesChina's restrictions on power usage depress buying interests furtherTaiwan secures containerized scrap cargoes at $465 per tonne cfrIndiaPri...Read More
Turkish steel mills stepped away from the deep-sea scrap import market after booking a number of cargoes earlier in the week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 29.Steelmakers booked at least three deep-sea cargoes earlier this week. A steel mill paid $426 per tonne cfr for Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), while another steel mill paid $434 per tonne for the same material from Venezuela...Read More
Base metals prices were mixed on the morning of Wednesday September 29 while they consolidated against a backdrop of numerous headwinds. Uncertainty has picked up regarding how high US treasury yields and the dollar will go and what will the fallout be if China's Evergrande starts defaulting on foreign-owned debt. China's power rationing set to hit metal production and manufacturing, and in turn s...Read More
China's power-cut policy has caused disruption in the battery raw materials supply chain and has brought uncertainty to the price of materials like nickel and cobalt, sources told Fastmarkets.The country started introducing power-consumption limits in some provinces in July 2021 due to power shortages following its carbon-reduction policy, and the curbs have been extended into more provinces and h...Read More
China's power-cut policy has caused disruption in the battery raw materials supply chain and has brought uncertainty to the price of materials like nickel and cobalt, sources told Fastmarkets.The country started introducing power-consumption limits in some provinces in July 2021 due to power shortages following its carbon-reduction policy, and the curbs have been extended into more provinces and h...Read More