A cyber attack on Norwegian aluminium group Norsk Hydro caused temporary halts on its rolling and extrusion operations, chief financial officer Eivind Kallevik said on Tuesday March 19.Output reductions, however, are minimal for now. The producer is working to comply with customers' orders during the day and deliveries have not yet been affected, he noted.Every unit was isolated from the company's...Read More
Major Norwegian aluminium producer Hydro has switched to manual operations at some of its facilities due to a cyber attack, the company said on Tuesday March 19. "Hydro became victim of an extensive cyber attack in the early hours of Tuesday, impacting operations in several of the company's business areas," Hydro said. "IT systems in most business areas are impacted and Hydro is switching to manua...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange consolidated higher during morning trading on Tuesday March 19, with price action largely unaffected by a rewarranting of just under 100,000 tonnes in Malaysia, accounting for around 10% of total LME stocks. Volumes traded for aluminium on the exchange continue to lead the complex, with just over 7,500 lots changing hands as of 9:50am Lond...Read More
Brazilian flat steel sales increased by 19.3% year on year in February, according to local flat steel association Inda.Sales amounted to 309,800 tonnes last month, compared with 259,800 in the same period a year earlier, Inda said on Tuesday March 19.Flat steel shipments also increased by 16.8% from January's revised figure of 265,300 tonnes.The increase was a result of better performance from the...Read More
Brazilian flat steel producers have announced price increases to distributors for late March and early April, as a result of higher international prices and changes to the currency exchange rate for the country's Real, according to local flat steel association Inda."Domestically produced flat steel is currently around 7-8% cheaper than imported material," Inda president Carlos Loureiro said on Tue...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) rose for the sixth consecutive week on Tuesday March 19. Mills increased their offers again on steady domestic demand in China amid the ongoing winter production cuts, and costlier hot-rolled coil feedstock also helped to push up the prices, sources said. Fastmarkets' daily fob China HRC Index stood at...Read More
Chinese hot-rolled coil sellers kept prices steady on Tuesday March 19 on robust domestic demand ahead of a decrease of the country's value-added tax.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,850-3,870 yuan ($573-576) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,810-3,830 yuan per tonne, unchangedPrices were largely stable in both eastern and northern China, with buyers s...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transaction: hot-rolled coilHot-rolled coilEast China, domestic, commercial-grade...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged up further on Tuesday March 19 on steady end-user demand amid favorable weather. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,870-3,900 yuan ($576-581) per tonne, narrowed upward by 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,850-3,890 yuan per tonne, narrowed upward by 10 yuan per tonneWarmer weather in both Shanghai and Beijing led contractors to raise their procure...Read More
A court in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state has authorized miner Vale to resume operations at its Laranjeiras tailings dam, connected to the Brucutu iron ore mine, which has capacity for 30 million tonnes per year.The court in Belo Horizonte, which is the Minas Gerais state capital, also ordered the state's environmental agency, Semad, to comply with the decision that allows activities at...Read More
Iron ore prices corrected down on Tuesday March 19, with futures and spot market activity at Chinese ports both declining after Monday's gains.Tuesday also saw Fastmarkets' MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index used for the first time as part of a basket of measures to price Pilbara Blend fines.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $87.23 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $1.03 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara B...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. ...Read More
Prices for seaborne coking coal sold to China are showing signs of softening amid weak end-user demand, with uncertainties related to import restrictions at some ports complicating the market further."Buyers in southern China are discouraged from buying due to obstacles attributed to port authorities. It is a long and tedious process for end users to get their coal imports cleared by customs, and...Read More
Brazil's Vale has obtained a court order allowing it to restart port activities at its Gua?-ba Island Terminal, it said late on Monday March 18.The iron ore miner had suspended port activities at the terminal earlier this month on orders of the Mangaratiba city government."Following the court decision, Mangaratiba City Hall authorities lifted the interdiction. Vale reaffirms that it has all valid...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Tuesday March 19 *Copper -$160.10 (-1,077.97 yuan) Aluminium -$319.13 (-2,148.77yuan) Zinc-$142.06 (-956.54 yuan) Nickel -$217.59 (-1,465.08 yuan) *Fastmarkets calculates the physical arbitrage for import into China daily by using SHFE front-month...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part firmer this morning, Tuesday March 19.The exceptions were lead and tin that were little changed, while the rest were up by an average of 0.5%. Copper prices were up by 0.4% at $6,462 per tonne, compared with $6,433 per tonne at Monday's close.Volume was average, with 6,236 lots traded on LME Select as at 6.51am...Read More
Nickel prices climbed 1.17% on the Shanghai Futures Exchange during morning trading on Tuesday March 19 amid a weaker US dollar and a rise in iron ore prices after a court ordered Brazilian mining company Vale to halt to production at its Timbopeba mine in Brazil. The most-traded May nickel contract on the SHFE stood at 101,230 yuan, up 1,170 yuan per tonne from Monday's close, tracking an increas...Read More
High-grade manganese ore producers returned to the market with higher offer prices in the week ended Friday March 15, while low grade prices held steady; In Europe, alloy prices rose on the news of load shedding in South Africa and the resultant pressure on production. 44% manganese ore price rose after producers raise offers.37% prices stable in balanced market.Indian silico-manganese prices ris...Read More
The expectation for higher tender prices for ferro-chrome in April supported the prices for ore in China and for alloy in Japan and South Korea, Fastmarkets heard on Monday March 18. UG2 and Turkish lumpy ore prices riseDomestic alloy price climbs in ChinaAlloy prices in Europe, Japan, South Korea increaseImported alloy prices stable in US, China. Prices for chrome ore imported into China and in C...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part firmer this morning, Wednesday March 20.The exceptions were copper and tin prices that were both down by 0.1%, with copper at $6,454 per tonne, compared with $6,459 per tonne at Tuesday’s close. The rest were up by between 0.2% for aluminium and 0.6% for both zinc and lead. Volume was average, with 6,563 lots t...Read More