Tin premiums in Europe and the United States remain high due to the cost of shipping tin from Asia to the two regions and a rising spread backwardation on the London Metal Exchange, although premiums have dropped from their historic highs.Shipping costs remain high, with one container from Singapore to Antwerp said to cost $10,500, with the price doubling for the journey to the US. Taiwan pre...Read More
In China, ferro-chrome output was slow with continuing electricity outages in Inner Mongolia as well as energy-related production curbs in the southern regions.Production disruptions have resulted in many smelters' failure to fulfill their long-term contracts, a couple of whom began to look for material in the spot market, sources told Fastmarkets. "Electricity limitations in September proved to b...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday September 22.Please click...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 22 that are worth another look.A group including Anglo American, BHP, Rio Tinto and Trafigura has called on governments to work together with the private sector to deliver the policies and investments needed...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe softened in the week to Wednesday September 22, with feedstock costs continuing to fall ahead of the renewal of European import quotas, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium) domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,350-1,400 ($1,583-1,642) per tonne on Wednesday September 22, down from ?,?1,400-1,430 per...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 22 that are worth another look.A group including Anglo American, BHP, Rio Tinto and Trafigura has called on governments to work together with the private sector to deliver the policies and investments needed...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil continued to decline across Europe on Wednesday September 22, mainly due to weak demand from the automotive sector and spot buyers holding sufficient stocks, sources told Fastmarkets.The reduced consumption by car manufacturers was a result of the global shortage of semiconductor chips for onboard electronics, with some volumes of flat steel being redirected to...Read More
Export prices for steel billet from Iran continued to strengthen in the week to Wednesday September 22, supported by demand in the Asian market.One of the country's major exporters of semi-finished steel products, Khouzestan Steel, sold a cargo of billet on Wednesday, scheduled for shipment in November, at $635 per tonne fob southern ports of Iran.Several market sources reported another billet sal...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 22 that are worth another look.A group including Anglo American, BHP, Rio Tinto and Trafigura has called on governments to work together with the private sector to deliver the policies and investments needed...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board on Tuesday September 21 with uncertainty related to Chinese construction company Evergrande continuing to cast a shadow over the market."This week's sell-off was triggered by a sharp negative turn in global risk sentiment, with the world keeping a close eye on the collapse of Chinese property developer Evergrande and trader...Read More
En+ Group is eyeing a partnership with the manufacturer of an electric vehicle to produce aluminium with low-carbon greenhouse gas emissions, its executive chairman told Fastmarkets.Speaking in an interview on Tuesday September 21, Lord Gregory Barker said that partnerships of this kind would "absolutely" become more common as the group scaled up its inert anode technology, which generates direct...Read More
The world's largest cobalt supplier is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which leaves a growing market dependent on a region that poses challenges, among them the risk of human rights abuses.Cobalt is a key ingredient in batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), and its use is expected to grow exponentially as the world shifts to a greener economy. As a result, in recent years, market s...Read More
Standard-grade cobalt metal was trading at a premium over alloy-grade for the first time since March on Monday September 20 amid spot demand in Europe for tightening briquette and broken cathode supply.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam was $24.60-25.00 per lb on Monday, up from $24.45-25.00 per lb on the previous Friday.This marks the first time t...Read More
The world's largest cobalt supplier is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which leaves a growing market dependent on a region that poses challenges, among them the risk of human rights abuses.Cobalt is a key ingredient in batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), and its use is expected to grow exponentially as the world shifts to a greener economy. As a result, in recent years, market s...Read More
Base metals prices have generally been under pressure in recent days while broad-based risk-off has weighed on the market, but the metals were looking more mixed on the morning of Tuesday September 21, suggesting consolidation after Monday's average loss of 1.6% across the London Metal Exchange base metals. The risk-off sentiment seems to be tied in with concerns about whether Chinese property gia...Read More
Teck Resources has trimmed its 2021 production guidance figures for refined zinc and concentrate and said that its copper concentrate shipment timing had been affected by wildfires and logistics disruptions in its home region of British Columbia, Canada.The company now expects its Trail operations to produce 285,000-290,000 tonnes of refined zinc in 2021, down from 290,000-300,000 tonnes previousl...Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday September 21 and their latest price moves.China The imported charge chrome market rose strongly on supply tightness in China, due to falling domestic production following electricity restrictions. The UG2 chrome ore market stayed stable, with cost support holding prices in balance against falling consu...Read More
Manganese semi-carbonate prices have risen in the past week on renewed liquidity, although inventories continued to weigh heavily on the market, limiting any potential gains.Fastmarkets' latest calculation of the manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, was $4.56 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday September 17, up by 8 cents per dmtu (1.79%) from $4.48 per dmtu the previous week.Fresh liq...Read More
The Malaysia Smelting Corporation, one of the largest tin producers in the world, is currently operating its main smelter with 80% of its staff present, one company representative confirmed to Fastmarkets on September 21. MSC declared force majeure in early June after the third wave of Covid-19 cases began to rapidly affect the country. The spokesperson for the company noted that the force ma...Read More
Mexican ferrous scrap prices posted widespread declines in the week ended on Friday September 17 despite steady demand in the country.Almost all scrap buyers reduced their prices during the week, with most reductions ranging from 300-500 pesos ($15-25) per tonne, market participants said.The movement was believed to be a lagged response to lower ferrous scrap prices in the United States due t...Read More