Most base metals registered declines in inventories at Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses during the week to Friday August 27, with nickel falling the most in percentage terms at 16.6%.Recording four consecutive weeks of losses, nickel stocks dropped by 16.6% to 4,455 tonnes from 5,344 tonnes last week. The largest outflow was from warehouses operated by Zhongchu Dachang based in Shan...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday August 27.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States vaulted above $97 per hundredweight for the first time, with mill shutdowns and robust demand seen prolonging the already extended rally, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $97.06 per hundredweight ($1,941.20 per ton) on Friday August 27, up by 0.24% day on day and week on week from $96....Read More
Steel beam prices rose in the United States' domestic and import markets on Thursday August 26 following a second round of monthly mill price increases. Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel beams 8- x 8-in, fob mill US rose to $65.50 per hundredweight ($1,310 per short ton) on August 26, up by 3.97% from $63 per cwt on July 29 and by 9.17% from $60 per per cwt in May and June.Fastma...Read More
Treatment charges for lead concentrate rose in August on a strongly negative import arbitrage and a steep backwardation on the London Metal Exchange, market participants told Fastmarkets.In addition, more mined material has become available to the Chinese market, which has been tightly supplied for the past three months.Fastmarkets' lead spot concentrate TC, low silver, cif China and the lead spot...Read More
The price of alloy steel scrap in the UK domestic market increased in the week to Friday August 27 because of higher nickel costs and an ongoing tightness of supply, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?1,300-1,400 ($1,785-1,922] per tonne on Friday, up by ?50-100 per tonne week on week.The price...Read More
Strict real estate regulations issued by China's central and local governments have slowed down growth in the country's housing market in the first seven months of 2021.Participants expect these policies to continue to have a strong effect on the market for the remainder the year, which would slow down growth for rebar demand.Three red linesThe People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Housing &...Read More
Major steel production exports out of China in July decreased from June due to the removal of an export rebate on May 1.For instance, the hot-rolled coil export was 817,276 tonnes in July, down by 20% from 1.03 million tonnes in June, according to customs data.Market participants expect exports to keep the month-on-month...Read More
Strict real estate regulations issued by China's central and local governments have slowed down growth in the country's housing market in the first seven months of 2021.Participants expect these policies to continue to have a strong effect on the market for the remainder the year, which would slow down growth for rebar demand.Three red linesThe People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Housing &...Read More
The price of flat-rolled stainless steel in Europe increased in the week ended Friday August 27 on a continuing shortness of supply, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was ?,?3,950-4,000 ($4,645-4,704) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?50 per tonne week on week.Base pric...Read More
The Commonwealth of Independent States' pig iron export market was weak during the week to Thursday August 26 due to a lack of demand.Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $510-520 per tonne on Thursday, down by $15-20 from $525-540 per tonne the previous week."That was another muted week in the market," one trader said. "[The] gen...Read More
Lithium prices in China continued to rise in the week to Thursday August 26, spurring gains across the globe despite limited spot activity overall.Prices for both battery-grade and technical-grade lithium carbonate continue upswing, with the gap between the two narrowing.Seaborne lithium prices in Asia tick up amid tight availability; Chinese suppliers making aggressive offers.Battery-grade lithiu...Read More
Turkish mills were largely inactive in the import scrap market over the week ended Friday August 27, while prices in key Asian markets were affected by the low levels of interest among mills for imported cargoes.Turkey books just one deep sea cargo during weekUS prepares for fall in domestic pricesVietnamese import prices constrained by rise in Covid-19 casesChinese scrap buyers hold back from imp...Read More
Japanese lower-grade scrap prices are facing renewed pressure, and Shindachi busheling prices have continued to be propped up in recent weeks by reduced generation at automaker Toyota, sources told Fastmarkets.Key Japanese mills reduce some scrap bid pricesGaps between bids and offers narrow downward with lower cost scrap emerging in the Chinese marketTaiwan imported containerized scrap prices edg...Read More
Commodities merchant IXM, wholly owned by China Molybdenum Co Ltd (CMOC), is close to announcing its acquisition of warehousing and logistics firm Access World from Glencore, people familiar with the matter told Fastmarkets.The situation is still fluid - there are other bidders for the business - but a deal is expected to be announced imminently, the people said. Glencore, which declined to commen...Read More
Commodities merchant IXM, wholly owned by China Molybdenum Co Ltd (CMOC), is close to announcing its acquisition of warehousing and logistics firm Access World from Glencore, people familiar with the matter told Fastmarkets.The situation is still fluid - there are other bidders for the business - but a deal is expected to be announced imminently, the people said.Glencore, which declined to comment...Read More
Brazil's Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) expects to finish a feasibility study for its Rondon bauxite mine by year-end 2022, but will need a strategic partner for the operation's start-up, the aluminium company said on Thursday August 26."We expect this process to develop for around 18 more months, or until the end of next year," chief financial officer Luciano Alves said in a press confer...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday August 26 that are worth another look.Fastmarkets has plotted the locations of the continuing and proposed projects for the decarbonization of the European steel sector.The striking workers union at...Read More
The Turkish steel mills have gone quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets once again after booking a single cargo earlier in the week, market sources said on Thursday August 26.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Belgium-origin cargo on Wednesday, comprising 22,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) and 12,500 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $450 per tonne cfr. The HMS 1&2 (80:20) price of th...Read More
A summary of Chinese battery materials producer GEM's financial and production results for the six months ended June 30, 2021, as released by the company on Thursday August 26.In brief GEM's annual capacity of ternary precursor materials totaled 130,000 tonnes at the end of June, unchanged from the end of last year. The company has shifted production focus to nickel-rich ternary precursor material...Read More