Nexa Resources has halted mining operations at the San Gerardo open-pit zinc-lead mine at its Atacocha project in Peru, after protesters began "illegally blocking public roads" in the Pasco region of the country, the company said this week. The company said that, despite the blockade in and around the mine by the local Joraoniyoc community, there had not been a material impact on production a...Read More
The Brazilian steel industry intends to contribute to a reduction in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in order to lower the country's carbon footprint, the steelmakers' association, Instituto A??o Brasil, said on Wednesday September 29.The methods to cut emission will include developing a strong local carbon credit market and moving forward with higher scrap and charcoal usage, as well as improving...Read More
The export billet price from the Commonwealth of Independent States strengthened on Wednesday September 29 with a fresh Black Sea cargo reported sold to China.A 40,000-tonne lot of Ukraine-origin billet was sold to China at $705 per tonne cfr on Wednesday, a source on the seller side told Fastmarkets. Market participants estimate that the price nets back to $600-605 per tonne fob Black Sea, consid...Read More
Spain-based ferro-alloys producer Ferroglobe has temporarily shut another furnace in the country due to expensive energy prices, according to reports and trade sources on Tuesday September 28.The company, which recently shut a silicon furnace at its Sab??n plant in Spain, has also idled a silico-manganese furnace at its Boo plant in Santander, on the northern coast of the country. Officials a...Read More
Limited supplies of cobalt hydroxide on the spot market and rising feedstock prices have revived interest in cobalt briquettes among refineries looking to secure near-term supplies of raw materials.In the week to Friday September 24, several tens of tonnes cobalt briquettes were purchased in the spot market by cobalt salts refineries, after barely any had changed hands in previous weeks, trader so...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected the pricing assessment for steel slab, export, fob ports Iran, which was published incorrectly on Wednesday September 29 due to a reporter error.The assessment range for steel slab, export, fob ports Iran was entered incorrectly as $672-782 per tonne, and has been corrected to $672-682 per tonne.Fastmarkets' price database has been updated to reflect the change.For m...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
Nickel was almost at a four-month low, while all prices on the London Metal Exchange declined on Wednesday September 29, pushed down by the continued uncertainty over demand given high energy prices and a US Dollar Index that was at its highest since November 2020.The US Dollar Index reached 94.28 on Wednesday, a near-one-year high and a 1.9% increase from 92.50 at the start of September. The...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
Export prices for Chinese heavy steel plate softened in the week to Tuesday September 28 amid an inactive market ahead of China's National Day break over October 1-7. Offer prices will probably increase after the holiday due to electricity consumption limits being imposed in various parts of the country, a source said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for November/December shipments of steel he...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
German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp has introduced carbon surcharges for steel products following anticipated changes in pricing methods in the European industry, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 29.Thyssenkrupp's carbon surcharge for hot-rolled coil is ?,?22.78 ($26.62) per tonne, two German traders said. The company has also notified its customers that the current cost of e...Read More
Base metals prices were mostly slightly up on the LME but weaker on the SHFE this morning, Thursday September 30, but overall the markets seem to be consolidating while they await big-picture developments.* China’s power rationing weighs on the official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI)* The Thursday economic agenda is busy* US dollar rallying stronglyBase metalsAfter price weakne...Read More
Nickel was almost at a four-month low, while all prices on the London Metal Exchange declined on Wednesday September 29, pushed down by the continued uncertainty over demand given high energy prices and a US Dollar Index that was at its highest since November 2020.The US Dollar Index reached 94.28 on Wednesday, a near-one-year high and a 1.9% increase from 92.50 at the start of September. The...Read More
ArcelorMittal Belgium will build a 2.5 million-tonne-per-year direct reduced iron (DRI) plant and two electric furnaces (EAFs) at its Ghent site that will drive down its carbon emissions, it said.The steelmaker has signed a letter of intent with the governments of Belgium and Flanders, supporting the ?,?1.1 billion ($1.16 billion) project, it said on Tuesday September 28.This will reduce CO2 emiss...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
Fastmarkets has corrected the pricing assessment for steel slab, export, fob ports Iran, which was published incorrectly on Wednesday September 29 due to a reporter error.The assessment range for steel slab, export, fob ports Iran was entered incorrectly as $672-782 per tonne, and has been corrected to $672-682 per tonne.Fastmarkets' price database has been updated to reflect the change.For m...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 28 that are worth another look.The Brazilian steel and aluminium sectors are preparing for a period of short electricity supply in the coming months due to a persistent drought in a...Read More
Chinese demand for steel billet imports has fallen away in recent days, amid mounting concerns over China's property market and the potential for power shortages across the country, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 28.Some market participants fear that the debt crisis engulfing major property developer Evergrande could have a wider knock-on effect on the Chinese construction sector, w...Read More
Further reductions in Chinese steel mill operations due to ongoing power shortages are likely to hamper demand for imported semi-finished steel and steel scrap in the country, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Draconian restrictions on power supplies in China have led to a raft of electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers and re-rollers in key provinces such as Jiangsu, Yunnan and Zhejiang to either...Read More