The European manganese alloys markets, currently trading around 13-year price highs, were likely to rise further - at least in the short term - due to firm fundamentals of tight availability and strong demand, Fastmarkets heard on Monday September 6.Other factors such as an acute shortage of shipping containers and record high freight rates were also making replacement costs very expensive, while...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday September 6 that are worth another look.Continued low demand for aluminium in Japan, unchanged since August, has weighed on fourth-quarter negotiations for the main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium, which started around August 24. Multiple sources reported on Monday September 6 that the first producer to extend the offer of $2...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
Export rebar and wire rod prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region continued to decrease in the week to Monday September 6, pressured by competition with Turkish mills, sources told Fastmarkets.Offers of Turkey-origin rebar for foreign customers have slid $10-20 per tonne over the past two weeks, to $670-675 per tonne fob Black Sea.Wire rod was available at $770-790 per tonn...Read More
London Metal Exchange ring dealing members have a decision to make - whether to remain one or not.The LME has just announced it will reopen the open outcry trading floor, which was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, on September 6.Its plan, however, comes with a twist; some ring dealers say, a knife.The official prices - which the global trade and industry use as the global reference for physical...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
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
Continued low demand for aluminium in Japan, unchanged since August, has weighed on fourth-quarter negotiations for the main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium, which started around August 24.Multiple sources reported on Monday September 6 that the first producer to extend the offer of $230 per tonne has put back its quarterly negotiation deadline by one week to September 10, but it will not l...Read More
The gap between seaborne and portside manganese ore prices, which had lasted throughout most of this year, came to a closing point in the week ending Friday September 3 after seaborne prices weakened once again, whereas port markets remained resilient.Traditionally in the manganese market, seaborne prices are lower than portside prices to incentivize buying interest. But the situation reversed thi...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in August 2021.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for January, February, March, April,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Monday September 6, due to Chinese authorities taking a stricter stance against steelmakers on steel production curbs and the start of sintering restrictions, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $132.38 per tonne, down $12.33 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $133.02 per tonne, down $12.28 per tonne58% Fe fines high-gra...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
The latest data for the global manganese ore market for theweek ended Monday September 6, 2021.Read More
Brazilian exports of alumina increased by 7.25% year on year in August, due to volumes from Alunorte more than offsetting the drop reported by Alumar, according to data published by the economy ministry on Monday September 6.Alumina exports totaled 607,160 tonnes during August, up from 566,101 tonnes a year before. On the other hand, volumes were down by 18.37% in comparison with 743,794 tonnes in...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in August 2021.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for January, February, March, April,...Read More
Continued low demand for aluminium in Japan, unchanged since August, has weighed on fourth-quarter negotiations for the main Japanese ports (MJP) aluminium premium, which started around August 24.Multiple sources reported on Monday September 6 that the first producer to extend the offer of $230 per tonne has put back its quarterly negotiation deadline by one week to September 10, but it will not l...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in August 2021.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for January, February, March, April,...Read More
Surging primary aluminium premiums are heightening the risks for consumers and suppliers, producers and market analysts said at Fastmarkets' virtual International Aluminium Conference last week.Representatives from Vedanta, Rusal and McKinsey joined a discussion panel on Thursday September 2 to debate market drivers, high premiums and sustainability, among other topics. Billet premiums have r...Read More
Domestic prices for cobalt metal in China have strengthened since mid-August despite weak downstream demand due to tightening supply and high production costsFastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China was at 360,000-383,000 yuan ($55,775-59,338) per tonne last Friday September 3, up by 3,000-5,000 yuan per tonne from 355,000-380,000 yuan per tonne on September 1. Prices...Read More