European prices for ferro-silicon were likely to set more record highs in the near term, with the market already at levels not seen since Fastmarkets started to assess the market in the late 1990s.A combination of firm fundamentals, an acute container shortage, record high freight rates, and production and transportation issues were all set to boost the metals markets at least through December and...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally weaker on the morning of Wednesday September 1, in the face of further evidence of a slowdown in manufacturing activity.* Chicago’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 66.8 in August from 73.4 in July* China’s Caixin manufacturing PMI also showed contraction with a fall to 49.2...Read More
With Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In discussion with Fastmarkets' Carrie Bone, he outlined the changes and challenges anticipated for decarbonizing the steel industry."Why green? Because when we started on...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly firmer on the morning of Tuesday August 31, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were more mixed.This comes despite the release of some weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing numbers. The US dollar index was, however, weaker. China's manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 50.1 in August from 50.4 in July. China'...Read More
Mexican steel scrap prices continued to decrease in the week ended on Friday August 27, as most steelmakers applied price cuts because of competition from imported material.Scrap consumers have been pushing through a series of weekly price cuts due to pressure from lower international prices.Fastmarkets' assessment of the steel scrap No1 busheling, consumer buying price, delivered mill Monterrey&n...Read More
A summary of Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium's financial results for the six months ending June 30, 2021, released by the company on Tuesday August 31.In briefGanfeng Lithium's revenue for the first half of 2021 totalled 4.06 billion yuan ($627.45 million), up by 70.27% year...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices increased across the board in both the cfr and fob markets on Tuesday August 31 amid ongoing tight supply, sources said. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $421.85 per tonne, up by $7.30 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $392.81 per tonne, up by $2.60 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $255.70 per tonne, up by ...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 16 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the August ADP Non-farm Employment report at 8:15 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase to 500,000 from 330,000 in July. Actual was an increase of 374,000.WTI crude oil added $0.16 to $68.66 per barrel after OPEC increased its foreca...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 31 that are worth another lookWith Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged down slightly on Tuesday August 31, but less so than futures due to strong end-user demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,220-5,260 yuan ($807-813) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonne.The most-traded January rebar futures contract briefly dropped to today's low of 5,287 yuan per tonne before recovering...Read More
China's biggest metals conglomerate, Minmetals, has hired Julio Cesar Rojas Ramirez to develop its copper concentrates blending business and the utilitization of its copper smelting capacity, Fastmarkets has heard.Prior to joining Minmetals, Rojas was director for primary raw materials with Aurubis, Europe's biggest copper smelter.His previous roles include head of global sales at Nyrstar and seni...Read More
Spot prices for steel rebar imports into Singapore continued their downward trend in the week to Monday August 30 amid growing pressure on traders to slash offers due to unsold seaborne cargoes fast approaching the island state.A trader had cut his offers for Indian rebar to $725-730 per tonne cfr Singapore on a theoretical weight basis. Market sources said buyers remained silent due to the presen...Read More
The latest data for the global manganese ore market for the week ended August 30, 2021.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 30 that are worth another look.Spot prices for steel rebar imports into Singapore continued their downward trend in the week to August 30 amid growing pressure on traders to slash offers due to unsold seaborne cargoes fast approaching the island state.Read More
The Mexican economy secretariat has extended the period of an existing countervailing duty on imports of longitudinal welded carbon steel pipes from the Unites States, and has started an anti-dumping investigation on flat-steel imports from Vietnam.Mexico has extended the duty on welded steel tubes from US for five years starting on May 28, 2020, according to a decision published in the country's...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices decreased on Monday August 30 due to China's potentially stricter steel production cuts by the end of November, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $156.66 per tonne, down by $0.89 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $157.19 per tonne, down $0.65 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $125.81 per tonne, down $0.69...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices increased on Monday August 30, largely due to tight supply, sources said. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $414.55 per tonne, up by $6.04 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $390.21 per tonne, up by $4.54 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $251.25 per tonne,up $2.35 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $210.73...Read More
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in China's domestic market rose sharply on Monday August 30; news of production curbs raised futures prices to their highest in more than a week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,720-5,750 yuan ($884-888) per tonne, up by 70-120 yuan per tonne.The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit an intraday high of 5,654 yuan per tonne in early afte...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 30 that are worth another look.Spot prices for steel rebar imports into Singapore continued their downward trend in the week to August 30 amid growing pressure on traders to slash offers due to unsold seaborne cargoes fast approaching the island state.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 30 that are worth another look.Spot prices for steel rebar imports into Singapore continued their downward trend in the week to August 30 amid growing pressure on traders to slash offers due to unsold seaborne cargoes fast approaching the island state.Read More