Mexican light vehicle production decreased by 21.44% year on year in August, according to figures released by national statistics agency Inegi on Monday September 6. Vehicle output reached 237,040 units last month, compared with 301,739 in August 2020.The country's automotive output has been limited, with...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US78.97 cents prior to the Bank of Canada's update on Canada's monetary policy at 10:00 AM EDT. Consensus expects no change in Canada's overnight lending rate to major Canadian Banks.PayPal added $4.13 to $297.39 after announcing purchase of a Ja...Read More
Mexican ferrous steel scrap prices inched down in the week ended Friday September 3, and market participants believe new price reductions are unavoidable.Some scrap buyers were implementing price cuts of 250 pesos ($12) per tonne last week for obsolete grades for some sellers, while others did not see any changes.But most sellers also believed that further price decreases were a certainty, includi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 7 that are worth another look....Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday September 7 and their latest price moves.China UG2 chrome ore offer prices dropped following a softening in the alloy market and reports of electricity production restrictions on consumers. The imported charge chrome market fell following early weakness in the domestic spot market and likely production...Read More
The European Union is considering imposing tariff-rate quotas on steel and aluminium exports to the United States in a bid to reach an agreement with the US on its plans to exempt the EU from its Section 232 measures, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7.The US and EU are widely expected to reach an agreement by November 1 on an exemption from Section 232 for European steel an...Read More
China imported 97.49 million tonnes of iron ore in August, down by 3% from 100.36 million tonnes one year earlier but 10% higher month on month after a four-month decline, Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday September 7.Last month's imports are 8.99 million tonnes higher compared with July's 88.5 million tonnes.August's import levels also mark the third high point...Read More
Australian mining company Nickel Mines has acquired 100% of the interest in the Siduarsi nickel-cobalt project in the Papua province of Indonesia, it said in a press release published on Thursday September 2.The Siduarsi site covers 16,470 hectares, with the highest individual grades of 2.07% nickel and 0.36% cobalt recorded across a 1-meter vertical channel sample.The project's potential was prom...Read More
The possibility of tighter production cuts in China in early 2022 has led to a drop in raw materials prices across the ferrous chain in China, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7.Stricter production policies in China put pressure on scrap demandJapan-origin offers to China remain unchangedTaiwan buys containerized scrap at $450 per tonneChinaThe Chinese government's stricter stanc...Read More
Zinc was the main exception to an otherwise falling London Metal Exchange complex on September 7, which was a day of very quiet trading conditions - just over 10,000 lots of copper were traded by 5pm. The three-month price of zinc was at $3,044 per tonne on Tuesday at the close, a 1.2% increase from Monday's price at the same time of $3,007.50 per tonne.It set an intraday high of $3,059 per tonne...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to trend upward on Tuesday September 7 but trading activity fell in response to the increases.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,320-5,370 yuan ($824-831) per tonne, up by 40-60 yuan per tonneRebar futures traded above Monday's settlement price of 5,427 yuan per tonne throughout the day on Tuesday.Sellers - already expecting lower steel production rates to...Read More
Zinc was the main exception to an otherwise falling London Metal Exchange complex on September 7, which was a day of very quiet trading conditions - just over 10,000 lots of copper were traded by 5pm. The three-month price of zinc was at $3,044 per tonne on Tuesday at the close, a 1.2% increase from Monday's price at the same time of $3,007.50 per tonne.It set an intraday high of $3,059 per tonne...Read More
Market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7 that bauxite production in Guinea has been unaffected so far, despite a coup in the West African country.The coup began on Sunday September 5 when soldiers detained President Alpha Cond?(C), and then announced on state television that the government had been dissolved. Despite the political uncertainties, the operations of mining projects...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rebounded on Tuesday September 7, although buying activity remained sluggish for mainstream iron ore fines, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $137.97 per tonne, up by $5.59 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $138.10 per tonne, up by $5.08 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $110.69 per tonne, up by $5.99 per...Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States retreated to just below the $97-per-hundredweight mark after establishing a record high on the previous business day.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.99 per hundredweight ($1,939.80 per short ton) on Tuesday September 7, a decrease of 0.35% from the all-time high of $97.33 per cwt set on Friday Septemb...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 7 that are worth another look....Read More
Zinc was the main exception to an otherwise falling London Metal Exchange complex on September 7, which was a day of very quiet trading conditions - just over 10,000 lots of copper were traded by 5pm. The three-month price of zinc was at $3,044 per tonne on Tuesday at the close, a 1.2% increase from Monday's price at the same time of $3,007.50 per tonne.It set an intraday high of $3,059 per tonne...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 7 that are worth another look....Read More
The downturn in prices for flat steel imports to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia has made buyers refrain from bookings because of their uncertainty about the market during the week ending Tuesday September 7, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers wanted to see prices hit a market bottom before placing more orders.Saudi ArabiaChina was offering hot-rolled coil at $1,020-1,040 per tonne cfr Saud...Read More
Turkish steel mills have resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings at fairly stable prices after a short break, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 7.Three steel producers booked four deep-sea cargoes from various locations.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $445 per tonne and 27,000 tonnes of shredded at $460 per...Read More