Copper-starved LME warehouses could receive a long-awaited influx of metal from an unexpected source, Fastmarkets has learned.Smelters in China, the world's largest copper consuming country, are said to have been exporting tens of thousands of tonnes of cathodes into Shanghai's bonded warehouses over the past two weeks before shipping further afield.Three individual plants have exported at least 7...Read More
The Indian government's plans of hitting 300 million tonnes of steel capacity by 2030 sounds overambitious in the current scenario given that output only managed to reach the 101 million tonne mark in 2017 - indicating three-fold (Read More
After suffering for some seven years through to 2015, the world's steelmakers have had cause for cheer over the past couple of years. After some heavy losses and write-downs, they finally appear to have emerged from the wreckage of the global financial crisis. An economic upswing has taken root in most regions of the world, Chinese steel output and export growth has slowed noticeably, and steel pr...Read More
For a number of years problems at Ilva, the largest steelworks in Europe, have been casting shadow over the performance of the whole Italian steel industry. Will an acquisition of Ilva by a consortium led by ArcelorMittal, now in its final stage, be a game changer for the market?Following multiple reports of environmental and health problems caused by the Taranto plant, in 2013 Ilva was placed und...Read More
China ended steel production in all of the country's illegal induction furnaces by the end of June last year, it ha claimed.Most operators in China are primarily small private mills that use low-quality scrap to produce substandard rebar. This is mixed with grade III (HRB400) rebar and sold at a discount to construction contractors.For a long period, the government had neither a record of nor cont...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Friday March 1, with a continued trend of record-low inventories failing to spur persistent price rallies amid broad strength in the US dollar index. Both copper and nickel futures remain well supported, while volumes were moderate over the afternoon, with copper leading the complex at 19,890 lots changing hands...Read More
Indian flat steel producers were likely to increase their prices for March sales of hot-rolled coil (HRC) in line with rising international prices for the commodity, Fastmarkets heard on Friday March 1.Officials from at least two Indian mills confirmed that domestic HRC prices will be raised for March sales, estimating the increase to be in the range of 1,000-1,500 rupees ($14-21) per tonne."We wi...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
Miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are starting to look at blockchain as a way to provide supply chain traceability in compliance with customer and regulatory requirements, according to the chief operating officer of Cobalt Blockchain (COBC).Lance Hooper said the Canadian resource company, which has an exploration and development business including assets in the DRC, is extending its...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has released its pricing procedures and methodologies for the scheduled release of its cash-settled futures contracts on March 11, highlighting methods in which the bourse will determine daily settlement prices. In its note to members on Friday March 1, the LME lists select specifications for each of the contracts inclusive of currency, lot size and trading time, while it...Read More
Copper-starved LME warehouses could receive a long-awaited influx of metal from an unexpected source, Fastmarkets has learned.Smelters in China, the world's largest copper consuming country, are said to have been exporting tens of thousands of tonnes of cathodes into Shanghai's bonded warehouses over the past two weeks before shipping further afield.Three individual plants have exported at least 7...Read More
Copper premiums basis cif Shanghai could fall further even after a recent collapse, Shanghai market participants told Fastmarkets. Copper cathode premiums are being pressured lower due to a steep backwardation in the London Metal Exchange cash/three-month forward spread of more than $40 per tonne as well as sluggish end-user demand in China. Fastmarkets assessed the grade A copper cathode pre...Read More
Premium offers for aluminium supplies to Japan in the second quarter came in this week well above first-quarter levels, at $109-112 per tonne cif MJP, surprising buyers who are still hoping for a benchmark settlement below the $100 mark, Fastmarkets learned on Friday March 1. A major aluminium producer has offered the light metal for delivery in the April-June period at a premium of $112 per tonne...Read More
Spot copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TCs/RCs) firmed in the latter half of February after Chinese smelters returned to the market for March and April cargoes. Fastmarkets calculated the copper concentrates TC/RC index at $74.3 per tonne/ 7.43 cents per lb as of February 28, up marginally from $74.20 per tonne/ 7.42 cents per lb for the first two weeks of February. TCs...Read More
Brazilian domestic flat-rolled steel and reinforcing bar prices fell during the week ended Friday March 1, with discounts from past months consolidating in the market due to low demand.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for Brazilian domestic hot-rolled coil was 2,425-2,470 Reais ($649-661) per tonne ex-works on March 1, down from 2,470-2,650 Reais per tonne ex-works a month earlier.The as...Read More
Prices for domestic beams in the United States have risen after recent mill hikes were passed through to the marketplace, while import beam prices dipped on confirmed lower-priced purchases from Luxembourg, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.Fastmarkets AMM assessed the price for domestic W8x8-in beams at $43.25 per hundredweight ($865 per short ton) fob mill on Thursday February 28, up 3.6%...Read More