Copper smelters and fabricators in some Chinese provinces are facing limits on power usage. The impact on production has been limited so far, but the threat may grow once winter arrives.China started introducing power-consumption limits in some provinces in July this year due to power shortages. The curbs have been extended recently into a larger area of the country, including Jiangsu, Shandong an...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Northern Europe and Italy were broadly stable on Monday September 27, with buyers holding back from trading after prices fell the week before, sources told Fastmarkets.Spot buyers have refrained from making deals due to high stocks. They expect domestic prices to decrease further and supply to remain sufficient.Automotive manufacturers, which typically...Read More
Export rebar and wire rod prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States continued to slide at the end of September amid a lack of trading and competition with Turkish suppliers, sources told Fastmarkets.Rebar offers, which were coming mainly from Ukraine, were varying within the range of $690-710 per tonne fob Black Sea in the week to Monday September 27, against $710-720 per tonne fob a week...Read More
Brazil's Usiminas is halting its No2 blast furnace at Ipatinga for another 90-150 days after an incident on Friday, the flat steel producer said on Monday September 27.The 660,000-tonnes-per-year furnace was only restarted in June after nearly 14 months out of action during the Covid-19 pandemic.Usiminas did not provide any further details of the incident, but confirmed that, depending on the natu...Read More
Export slab prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region continued to fall toward the end of September. Mills had to make significant concessions to conclude deals in major export outlets due to the continuous weakening of finished flat-steel prices there.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel domestic plate 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was ?,?880-900 ($1,031-1,055) per ton...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil fell across the EU in the week to Friday September 24 due to lower demand from both the spot market and the automotive industry.In an attempt to bring domestic supply and prices under control, European steelmakers have started offering HRC to Turkey.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?1,053.75 ($...Read More
European long steel makers who produce via electric-arc furnaces (EAF) have expressed growing concerns over rising energy costs, which could worsen ahead of higher demand in the winter, sources told Fastmarkets.One EAF mill source in Southern Europe said that on average, energy accounts for 15% of steel production costs."The latest energy price rises will add about ?,?40-50 ($46.8-58.6) per tonne...Read More
European producers have been more active with export offers of hot-rolled coil to Turkey in the second half of September in an attempt to keep domestic supply volumes under control, sources told Fastmarkets.Offers for commodity-grade November-shipment HRC from Northern European producers have been heard at $950-970 per tonne cfr Turkish ports. This is substantially lower than domestic prices in Eu...Read More
Turkish steel producers made no new deep-sea bookings on Monday September 27 due to weak finished steel demand, but a cargo deal from late last week came to light.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo at $433 per tonne cfr for heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) late on Friday September 24. The cargo breakdown was not clear at the time of publication.This cargo deal compares wit...Read More
Seaborne coking coal cfr prices decreased on Monday September 27 due to market participants' expectations of lower demand in the coming months.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $594.56 per tonne, down $6.26 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $529.82 per tonne, down $45.41 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $406.07 per tonne, up $0.08 per tonneHard coking co...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices increased on Monday September 27 because pre-holiday restocking activities at China's ports boosted market sentiment after price declines in the past two weeks.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.31 per tonne, up $7.98 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.10 per tonne, up $7.32 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $...Read More
Rebar import prices in Singapore fell in the past week amid a surge in Covid-19 infections and volatile iron ore prices.Rebar offers from Turkey were made at $730-735 per tonne cfr Singapore during the week. Other Middle Eastern mills offered cargoes at $750-760 per tonne cfr Singapore."Rebar producers are not willing to sell below $730 per tonne cfr Singapore too much because the price spread [be...Read More
China imported 40,540 tonnes of ferrous scrap in August, a 53.13% decrease from July, according to the latest Chinese customs data.Of the total, 28,722 tonnes - or 70.85% - originated in Japan.South Korea remained China's second-largest scrap supplier in August, accounting for 5,637 tonnes (13.90%) of imports.The United Kingdom (3,260 tonnes; 8.04%) and Hong Kong (694 tonnes; 1.71%) were other sig...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets fell further in the week ended Friday September 24 amid thin trading caused by weak demand attributed to a public holiday in China last week.Fastmarkets iron ore indicesPellet premium over 65% Fe fines, cfr China: $37.20 per tonne, up $3.50 per tonne66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $125.70 per tonne, down $9.84 per tonne65% Fe blast furnace pell...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices rebounded on Monday September 27, with futures charting a recovery amid news that tight electricity supply in China as well as local governments' rush to meet energy consumption targets were affecting steel production rates.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,700-5,750 yuan ($882-890) per tonne, up by 20-30 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the S...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices levelled out on Monday September 27 following futures gains and increased restocking demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,780-5,820 yuan ($894-900) per tonne, unchanged.A number of provinces are restricting the electricity supply to steel mills to reduce energy consumption and emissions, so market participants expect that steel output will keep dropping and pric...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in China on Friday September 24.Key drivers There are fears that spot availability will be even tighter during the dry season - which runs from the end of October/start of November through to May - when silicon producers...Read More
Silicon prices hit their highest-ever prices worldwide in the week to Friday September 24 on reduced supply, especially out of China - the biggest global supplier - where a power shortage is limiting production of all metals.Chinese silicon prices shot up by 65.2% in the week to Friday, following a 47% increase the week before. In the United States, silicon metal gained 12.3% in the week to Thursd...Read More