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
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
Nyrstar, one of Europe's main zinc producers, will cut production at one of its European smelters due to rising energy costs at a time when premiums in the region are at six-year highs."Nyrstar's fully electrified zinc smelter in Budel-Dorplein, the Netherlands, is curtailing production during peak times of day when power prices exceed the break-even cost of production. This is in response to the...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
Base metals mostly registered declines in inventories at Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses during the week to Friday September 24, with nickel and copper falling the most, by 18.7% and 17.9% respectively; zinc stocks were up by 15.9%.Traders reported a more active nickel spot market; the uptrend in SHFE prices eased right prior to the Chinese public holidays. This provided buying opp...Read More
South American flat-rolled steel import prices ended the week to Friday September 24 on an unclear trend amid more aggressive bidding from customers and slightly higher offers from traders due to soaring freight rates.Chinese material remained a rarity on the continent, with firm offers being scarce due to lower allocation from mills. Uncertainties regarding a potential export tax introduction in...Read More
Prices for slab exports from Brazil decreased sharply in the week ended Friday September 24 after a quiet few weeks, with buyers resisting offers and prices for material from other regions dropping.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $780-800 per tonne on Friday, down by $80-90 from $870-880 per tonne the previous week. Producers had been insisting on $8...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
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
Coated steel coil producers in Turkey gave more discounts to buyers during the week to Friday September 24 to encourage sales amid weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Lower prices for hot-rolled coil in the country this week also contributed to the drop in coated coil values.Fastmarkets' assessed steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, exw Turkey at $890-920 per tonne on Friday, a $10 decrease week on...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
Export prices for steel rebar and wire rod from Turkey were unchanged over the week to Thursday September 24, despite the limited demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was stable week on week at $660-670 per tonne on Thursday.Rebar offers to foreign customers were heard mainly within the range of $665-675 per tonne fob. But aft...Read More
The import pig iron market in the United States was stable in the week to Friday September 24 because of a lack of trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price of pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $530-540 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous assessment last week.Offers from suppliers based...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the south of Brazil has softened because demand has been reported only in China in the week to Friday September 24.Fastmarkets' price assessment of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was $480 per tonne on Friday compared with $480-500 per tonne a week earlier.A cargo of pig iron...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
Prices for shredded steel scrap imports into Pakistan softened during the week to Friday September 24, with Indian scrap also inching lower, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $520.32 per tonne on Friday, down from $526.91 per tonne one week previous, and from $530.42 per tonne one fortnight ago.A dea...Read More
South Korean mills are continuing to scale back their steel scrap imports amid a slide in local steel demand and production stoppages at some electric-arc furnace (EAF) mills, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 24.South Korean steelmakers take back-seat while Vietnam ramps-up buyingHigher bids for scrap in China, with restocking efforts stepping upOffers for imported material to China re...Read More
Coking coal prices in the seaborne cfr market were strong on Friday September 24, with views split among market participants over the direction of prices during the upcoming winter season.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $600.82 per tonne, up $1.51 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $575.23 per tonne, up $25.23 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $405.99 pe...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices increased on Friday September 24 amid more speculative buying activity for low- and mid-grade iron ore fines, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $111.33 per tonne, up by $2.66 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $113.78 per tonne, up by $4.40 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $83.08 per tonne, up by $3.54 pe...Read More