China is putting more cities in the northern region under its air pollution controls to reduce emissions during the upcoming winter.Cities in northern Hebei, northern Shanxi, eastern and southern Shandong and southern Henan will join the fight against smog, bringing the total number of cities affected to approximately 64, according to a draft policy plan released by the Ministry of Ecology and Env...Read More
Rising freight rates continued to push the import prices for flat-rolled steel products upward in South America in the week ended Friday September 17, despite offers from China remaining scarce and demand slowing down, especially in Brazil.Some market participants reported that freight rates were $20-30 per tonne higher, depending on the port of origin and the product. For coiled material, for exa...Read More
Prices for steel billet exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States remained firm over past the week, supported by demand from China.Having sold a significant part of their October allocations and even part of their November allocations to China in the week to September 3, CIS mills were mainly in wait-and-see mode and not hurrying to sell their remaining volumes.Rare indications of offers...Read More
The price range for light iron scrap in the UK widened upward during the week to Friday September 17, with major processors seeking to attract enough feedstock into their yards to keep their scrap-processing machines working cost-effectively, trade sources have said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?170-190 ($235...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Cristina Belda,...Read More
Brazil-based metals producer Nexa Resources will shift its chain of command next year, with Ignacio Rosado to take the role of chief executive officer, it said on Thursday September 17.Rosado, former CEO at Peruvian miner Volcan, will join the company on November 1 and start the transition to substitute Tito Martins as Nexa's top executive on January 1, 2022.According to the company, Rosado has mo...Read More
Base metals price movements on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on Friday September 17 following a week marked by volatility, with copper, nickel and lead down, the last-named having been under selling pressure for most of the past five days.Nickel's three-month price reached $20,245 per tonne on Friday, while its volumes were at their highest since the start of the week, with more than 11,400...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped further on Friday September 17 after more cities in northern China said that they would implement production restrictions in winter, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $101.95 per tonne, down by $5.26 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $103.95 per tonne, down by $4.21 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade pr...Read More
The premium hard coking coal fob price rose on Friday September 17 due to tight supply in the Australian spot market, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $565.77 per tonne, up $5.01 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $491.97 per tonne, up $5.04 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $379.34 per tonne, up $20.01 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $3...Read More
Indian hot rolled coil export prices slumped by $65 per tonne at the top end of the range on Friday September 17, on lower-priced bookings to Vietnam, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil (commodity) export, fob main port India was $840-845 per tonne on Friday, down by $5-65 per...Read More
Brazil's pig iron export market was firm over the week to Friday September 17, with long lead times after active selling to the United States and China through the first half of September, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $480-500 per tonne on Friday, narrowing upward from $475-500 per tonne a week earlier.The latest...Read More
Brazilian aluminium smelter Albras expects to double its output of primary foundry alloy (PFA) in 2021 over the volume in 2020, and to reach 10,000 tonnes by the end of the year, the company said on Wednesday September 15.Albras launched PFA products in 2019, and has invested in technology and workforce skill qualification to increase output in each year since then.One of the newest examples, it s...Read More
Base metals price movements on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on Friday September 17 following a week marked by volatility, with copper, nickel and lead down, the last-named having been under selling pressure for most of the past five days.Nickel's three-month price reached $20,245 per tonne on Friday, while its volumes were at their highest since the start of the week, with more than 11,400...Read More
Senior executives from 17 companies and industry association European Aluminium have called on the European Commission (EC) to move forward with anti-dumping duties on aluminium flat-rolled products (FRP) imports from China. In a letter sent on Wednesday September 15, the signatories said that planned definitive anti-dumping duties on Chinese FRP are balanced, fair and critical to the survival of...Read More
China's nickel pig iron (NPI) prices held steady in the week to Friday September 17 amid nationwide production cuts while those for nickel ore surged amid increased freight and tight supply.Fastmarkets price assessment for nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China was 1,430-1,450 yuan ($222-225) per nickel unit on Friday, unchanged from a week earlier.Prices have been unchang...Read More
Brazil-based metals producer Nexa Resources will shift its chain of command next year, with Ignacio Rosado to take the role of chief executive officer, it said on Thursday September 17.Rosado, former CEO at Peruvian miner Volcan, will join the company on November 1 and start the transition to substitute Tito Martins as Nexa's top executive on January 1, 2022.According to the company, Rosado has mo...Read More
Most futures contracts on the London Metal Exchange were slightly higher in the morning of Friday September 17, with the exception of nickel, following a Thursday session in which most metals declined. "After a volatile day [on Thursday], which saw prices lose ground, the metals were a somewhat dull affair [to start with] this morning. There was some end-of-week short covering early on, which was...Read More
Base metals prices on the LME and SHFE were mixed on the morning of Friday September 17, with most remaining listless despite being buffeted by a firmer US dollar, generally weaker economic data and disruption to both production and supply.Broader markets were quiet but firmer heading into the weekend and China's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday takes place on Monday and TuesdayBase metalsThree-month b...Read More
South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution (LGES) has agreed to buy a 4.8% stake in China's Greatpower Nickel & Cobalt Materials Co for 35 billion Won ($29.72 million), the Chinese battery materials producer said on Friday September 17. In addition, two parties have signed a supply contract for six years, which entails Greatpower supplying a total of 20,000 tonnes of nickel sulfate to th...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States rose above $98 per hundredweight ($1,960 per short ton) to a new record, with buyers projecting that an upcoming spate of mill shutdowns for maintenance will further tighten steel supplies.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $98.11 per cwt ($1,962.20 per ton) on Friday September 17, up by 0.57% from $97.55 per cw...Read More