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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 21 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal is preparing to invest $100 million from its innovation fund into a company founded by Bill Gates, best known as the founder of Microsoft, to develop decarbonization technologies, it announced on Monday September...Read More
If any member was going to leave the London Metal Exchange ring trading floor, the exchange was probably hoping it wouldn't be Triland Metals Ltd.The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi, is one of the exchange's longest serving Category 1 members, having joined in 1972 after being founded in the prior year. Having a unit of Japan's largest trading company as a ri...Read More
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 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
The collapse of the iron ore market and market turbulence over Chinese property developer Evergrande Group are adding to the economic woes caused by the Delta variant of Covid-19 for much of this year.It is hard to find bright sparks in the months ahead for the ferrous supply chain, which has been buffeted repeatedly in a short span of few months, starting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's comment...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
Seaborne coking coal prices in the fob market on Tuesday September 21 continued to climb from the previous day amid firm demand, market sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $565.77 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $491.97 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $399.29 per tonne, up by $13.18 per tonne ...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were largely flat on Tuesday September 21 with limited trading activity in the physical market taking place amid a Chinese holiday. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.03 per tonne, up $0.05 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.96 per tonne, down $0.11 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $64.87 per tonne, up $0.14 p...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...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 is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? US sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum persisting into June. Actual US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $1,553 per ton in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,540 per ton. Prices remain supported by strong underlying sup...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 from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Bulk ferro-alloy prices have shown impressive gains again this month, with ferro-silicon, silicon metal and manganese alloy prices all making significant increases. Noble alloy markets also enjoyed upward momentum, with both vanadium and molybdenum prices rising sharply.Recovering demand from steelmakers globally, together w...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR? Impressive advances in ore and alloy prices persisted in March, with most markets posting significant price gains. Strengthening demand from steelmakers along with supply shortages and depleted inventories in numerous markets, as well as freight and transportation...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...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
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Fastmarkets analysts were invited to present our outlook for the coking coal market at Coaltrans Asia, held online on November 23-25. One of the key topics at the event was the trade tensions between China and Australia, which overtook Mongolia to become the largest coking coal exporter to China this year...Read More