The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have been expecting us to be reporting sharply-lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.This is not the case, at least in Europe and the Unite...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums mostly rose on Friday September 24, setting new record highs or being supported at such levels, as more expensive offers for 2022 negotiations advanced.EuropeFastmarkets assessed the aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region) at $1,350-1,400 per tonne on Friday, up from $1,320-1,370 per tonne a week prior and from $1,220-1,270 per tonne a mon...Read More
LME zinc's three-month price was just $2 away from setting a new year-to-date high, while aluminium's three-month price was the only one to close lower in the afternoon session on Friday September 24. The intraday high for zinc's futures contract was of $3,138 per tonne, just a couple of dollars short of its previous 2021 high of $3,140 per tonne from September 17. The metal was spurred on by news...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday September 24. Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and Sybil...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday September 24. Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and Sybil...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in Europe, China and the United States on Friday September 24.China The ferro-silicon price in China became very bullish following the news that Fugu, a ferro-silicon production hub in Shaanxi province, issued instructions for broad cuts in the production of ferroalloys, magnesium and semi-coke starting from September 19, to meet the dual control targets...Read More
The processing charge on spot copper concentrates increased in the week to Friday September 24, reflecting the return of smelters to market activity after the traditionally slow summer months.Clean tonnages were sold to Chinese smelters in the low-to-mid $60s per tonne, with interest being shown for material to be available in the first quarter of next year.A new round...Read More
September has been a very eventful month so far for the Chinese silico-manganese and ferro-silicon markets. In the first three weeks, the futures prices for both products kept rising to new heights against market expectations.Market participants have grown antsy in the absence of any indication of a slowdown in this upward momentum. They believe the unprecedented price rally has gone far beyond ma...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Cristina Belda,...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday September 24. Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and Sybil...Read More
Limited availability of light-iron scrap in the UK has cemented the market in its current range in the week to Friday September 24, with major processors holding their offer prices to ensure a steady stream of supply into their yards, trade sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C loose old light domestic, delivered inter-merchant UK, was ?170-190 ($233-260) per tonneo...Read More
Prices moved up in several major Asian import scrap markets in the week to Friday September 24, reflecting moves to replenish stocks at mills in Taiwan and Vietnam as well as fresh domestic scrap price increases in Japan.Turkey stays largely quiet following last week's bookingsUS exporters struggle to source shredded materialVietnam returns for Japan-origin scrap amid demand uptickChina import scr...Read More
Turkish steel mills returned to the deep-sea scrap market on Friday September 24, ending a week-long absence and booking at least one new cargo, market sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic-sea origin cargo, comprising 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $434 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at $449 per tonne. ...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday September 24. Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and Sybil...Read More
Ford Motor Co is working in partnership with Redwood Materials to create a closed loop for recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles (EVs) and a domestic supply chain for critical battery materials.Nevada, United States-based Redwood, founded by former Tesla chief technology officer Jeffrey Brian Straubel, said the US automotive manufacturer has invested $50 million in Redwood to help...Read More
China's Chengxin Lithium International, a subsidiary of the Chengxin Lithium Group, is planning to enter into a joint venture lithium project in Indonesia with Singapore's Stellar Investment.It plans to invest $350 million in the joint venture whose proposed name is PT ChengTok Lithium Indonesia, it said on Friday September 24.Chengxin Lithium International will hold a 65% stake in the joint ventu...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil dropped in Northern Europe and Italy on Friday September 24 on limited trading, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers have mostly been taking a "wait-and-see" strategy in anticipation of further price falls. In addition, market participants said most buyers already have sufficient stocks to last until the end of the year.Lower demand for steel from the automotive indu...Read More
Indian steel mills kept their prices for domestic cold-rolled coil and galvanized coil steady in the week to Friday September 24, even with traders selling such downstream flat steel products at significant discounts in the local markets, Fastmarkets has learnt.The price of steel hot-dipped galvanized coil, domestic, ex-whse India, was assessed at 80,500-81,500 rupees ($1,091-1,104) per tonne on F...Read More
Most flat steel prices decreased in Turkey during the week to Friday September 24, with demand weak because buyers wanted to see prices hit a market bottom, sources told Fastmarkets.In addition to the falling prices, low demand from the automotive sector because of the semiconductor chip shortage also affected buying in Turkey. Several carmakers in the country were undergoing temporary shutdowns d...Read More
Demand for steel, especially for flat products, in China could be hit by power supply constraints caused by the drive to reduce energy consumption and sustained coal shortages.Concerns among steel market participants have increased after reports by a major local information provider suggesting that some pipe mills in Hebei province's Tangshan and Tianjin have been required to suspend operations fo...Read More