Eight of the nine Category 1 members of the London Metal Exchange have indicated their support for continuing to trade official lunchtime prices in the open-outcry ring.Does this mean that one company does not support ring trading? And could one of the exchange's members be preparing to leave the trading floor?The exchange revealed on Monday August 9 that it had majority support for the ring, in a...Read More
The impact of China's new "Two High" energy and emissions policy is likely to continue in the iron ore market into the first quarter of 2022, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Sentiment for the coming six months has turned increasingly bearish since the guidelines, coupled with winter production restrictions, were announced in September. New guidance on 'Two-High' projectsThe "Two-High" poli...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely up on Thursday September 23; the market continued to cautiously anticipate the outcome for Chinese real estate giant Evergrande while the debt deadline edges closer. "Equity markets have made a steady start so far on Thursday," James Moore, analyst at Fastmarkets said, "even after the United States Federal Reserve signaled that it will s...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices edged down on Thursday September 23, with concerns over demand growing due to China's steel production curbs, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $108.67 per tonne, down $0.03 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $109.38 per tonne, down $1.27 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $79.54 per tonne, up $3.29 per ton...Read More
Coking coal prices in the cfr market retreated slightly on Thursday September 23; steel production cuts and winter production curbs led market participants to doubt the sustainability of strong seaborne cfr prices.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $600.82 per tonne, down $1.51 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $550 per tonne, down $5.05 per tonnePremium hard coking...Read More
European steel companies must scale up their decarbonization technologies within the coming decade or risk exhausting their allocated emissions allowances early, according to a report released on Tuesday September 14.The report, "Steeling for Net Zero," by climate researcher Industry Tracker, found that selected European steel companies have less than 26% of their carbon budget remaining and must...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US prices for hot-rolled coil moved in line with our forecasts in August, averaging $1,910 per ton, within 1% accuracy of our forecast of $1,925 per ton. The market has achieved much-needed stability in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating in the range of $1,900-1,94...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Bulk and noble alloys both moved largely in line with our price forecasts globally over the past month, though several markets surprised to the upside, exceeding our forecast gains. Stronger-than-forecast pricing momentum was primarily triggered by supply shortages in numerous...Read More
The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
Turkish alloy steelmaker ??emtas has started production at its new stabilizer line for supplying steel to commercial vehicle producer Man, ??emtas said on Tuesday September 21.Located in Bursa, ??emtas has a crude-steel production...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were stable to slightly lower on Thursday, while trading activity remained subdued because of bearish buyer expectations amid falling automotive demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 23. Buyers across Europe continued to maintain a wait-and-see stance and held back from trading, sources said. The recent slowdown in the automotive...Read More
Discounts for some copper scrap grades in the United States fell due to continuing strong demand and a well-balanced market. "Demand is pretty good, and is getting better," a copper scrap seller said. "Supply will get tighter by end of the year.""It is a very good market - supply might get tighter," a brass ingot maker said.But scrap flows may change due to the Malaysian government setti...Read More
Market-based measures to help efforts to decarbonize would probably work well in the United States, according to the vice president of the European Commission.Frans Timmermans said that he had discussed the concept of the US introducing a carbon-pricing mechanism of some kind with members of the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus in Washington DC on Thursday September 23."I said to the Senators, some...Read More
Peruvian miner Buenaventura's Uchucchacua zinc, lead and silver mine in the center of the country has been put under blockade by members of the local community, halting all mining and logistics activity at the site.Access to the mine has been blocked by members of the Oy??n province community since September 13, with only essential operations still being carried out, Buenaventura said on Wednesday...Read More
Major zinc and lead smelters across China received orders from provincial governments on Wednesday September 22 to lower their power consumption, sources told Fastmarkets. One major zinc smelter source in Guangxi was informed by the government to cut their electricity by 20%.'We are not told when power consumption could resume [to] normal at all. Some peers were even instructed to halve electricit...Read More
Base metal prices were slightly higher on the morning of Thursday September 23, but stayed close to their closing prices from Wednesday, with worries about Evergrande easing."Investors grew more confident a disorderly default [had been] avoided after a real estate unit of the group managed to negotiate a debt resolution yesterday [Wednesday]," LME Desk analyst at Marex, Anna Stablum, said on...Read More
Base metals prices were mixed on both the LME and SHFE on Thursday September 23, with the broader markets welcoming the news that Chinese property giant Evergrande has avoided imploding, for now, and not spooked by the US Federal Reserve's more hawkish outlook.Chairman Jerome Powell says the United States Federal Reserve could "easily move ahead" with its decision about when to taperEvergrande sha...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States were above $97 per hundredweight for the eighth time in the past nine business days, with market participants speculating that tight market conditions will continue during the fourth quarter when mills shutdown for maintenance.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $97.48 per cwt ($1,949.60 per ton) on Thursday Sept...Read More
Crude steel output in Germany increased by 3.40% year on year in August, the German steel federation, WV Stahl, said on Thursday September 23.German crude steel production totaled more than 2.93 million tonnes in August 2021, up from 2.83 million tonnes in August last year."The upward trend in crude steel production in Germany continued in August, but the pace [of growth has slowed]," WV Stah...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the publishing time of the weekly India HMS assessment on Friday, from 4:30pm London time to 4:00pm London time, to align better with the publishing time of the India and Pakistan ferrous scrap indices.The shredded indices for India and Pakistan are both published at 4pm London time on a Friday, and the India HMS assessment will be brought in line with this, to offer...Read More