The light iron scrap market in the United Kingdom was stable over the week to Friday August 20 while scrap processors held their offer prices to ensure a steady flow of material into their yards, sources told Fastmarkets.UK export prices were also relatively stable despite quieter trade due to the seasonal slowdown, cementing support for domestic British prices. The export market accounts for more...Read More
The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap in Europe moved higher this week because of tight supply, despite nickel costs dropping off sharply through the week, Fastmarkets heard on Friday August 20.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids import, cif main European port was ?,?1,600-1,670 ($1,869-1,951) per tonne on Friday, up...Read More
Seven UK-based organizations have joined forces to set up a consortium to develop solid-state battery technology for automotive applications, the members said on Friday August 20.Specialty chemicals company Johnson Matthey and Britishvolt, a UK-based investor in lithium-ion battery cells which began a long-term strategic partnership with Glencore this week, have joined the consortium.The other mem...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in Europe, China and the United States on Friday August 20.ChinaGeneral sentiment on the ferro-silicon price in China was stable while Ningxia, a small autonomous region in north-central China, continues to tighten controls on ferro-silicon production and suppliers' offers were broadly steady. Export prices have not changed much over the past w...Read More
Short-covering activity helped some base metals prices on the LME end the week on a higher note at the end of trading on Friday August 20, but it was not enough to offset the losses seen after Thursday's sell-off.Copper's three-month price was $9,037 per tonne at 5pm on Friday, up 1.6% on Thursday's $8,894 per tonne, with the 200 daily moving average (DMA) acting as key support at $8,843 per...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday August 20.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
A reduction in South Korean bid prices for steel scrap on Friday August 20 has further lowered sentiment in the Japan steel scrap export market, sources have told Fastmarkets.Some Japanese suppliers accept lower bid prices from South KoreaChinese mills reduce local scrap buy prices againExpensive Japan-origin offers persist in cfr China market.South KoreaA major steelmaker in South Korea announced...Read More
Ferrous scrap buyers in Vietnam resisted higher offers for bulk cargoes from the United States in the week to Friday August 20 amid poor downstream demand, sources told Fastmarkets.This is due to a worsening Covid-19 situation in Vietnam, especially in its business hub Ho Chi Minh City. The country will further extend its lockdown to September 15 amid surging Covid-19 infections. The city was the...Read More
Global aluminium prices and premiums have been on a near-vertical uptrend, touching record highs along the way, with consumers of aluminium in various sectors finding ways to absorb and pass on the increasing costs.Managing high raw material costs has become a key theme in quarterly earnings reports and in conference calls for manufacturing companies throughout the summer months of 2021. Despite h...Read More
Global aluminium prices and premiums have been on a near-vertical uptrend, touching record highs along the way, with consumers of aluminium in various sectors finding ways to absorb and pass on the increasing costs.Managing high raw material costs has become a key theme in quarterly earnings reports and in conference calls for manufacturing companies throughout the summer months of 2021. Despite h...Read More
Nickel and copper were up by 1% and above in the LME morning session on Friday August 20, with most base metals bouncing back from Thursday when all prices declined. A higher US Dollar Index - which touched a new year-to-date peak of 93.65 on Friday morning - and renewed concerns about demand due to the ongoing spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant were key factors behind Thursday's price falls.&nb...Read More
The Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonne trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday August 20.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
A summary of results for the lithium division of Chilean producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) for the second quarter of 2021, taken from its quarterly update published on Wednesday August 18.Key figuresLithium and derivatives in Q2Sales volumes: 24,200 tonnes, up by 92% year on yearRevenue: $163 million, up by 90% year on yearLithium and derivatives in H1Sales volumes: 48,100 tonnes, up by 127...Read More
South American flat-rolled steel import prices edged lower in the week to Friday August 20 amid aggressive bidding from customers for material from origins other than China and much more competitive alternatives emerging from the Commonwealth of Independent States.Chinese offers to the continent remained scarce due to uncertainties involving a potential export tax expected to be introduced in the...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States hovered around the $97-per-hundredweight ($1,940-per-short-ton) threshold for a second day, with buyers projecting that upcoming mill maintenance will reduce supply.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.83 per hundredweight ($1,936.60 per ton) on Friday August 20, down by 0.12% from $96.95 per cwt on Thursday A...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Jessica Long, Ruby Liu and Carrie...Read More
Tin was the most affected metal on Thursday's sell-off on the London Metal Exchange, while all metals fell further with risk-off sentiment spreading across commodities and exchanges while Covid-19 continues to dent demand expectations. Tin's three-month price fell 6.4% at the 5pm close to $33,118 per tonne, despite falling by as much as 11% during early trading to $31,500 per tonne on Thursday for...Read More
The premium on copper cathodes imported into China shot up on Thursday August 19 to its highest level since May 2020, buoyed by the opening of an arbitrage window between London and Shanghai.Fastmarkets assessed the benchmark copper grade A cathode premium, cif Shanghai, at $75-100 per tonne on Thursday, up by $10-20 per tonne from $65-80 per tonne on Wednesday, and the highest since late May last...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday August 19 that are worth another look.Brazil's Vale and Luxembourg-based steel producer Ternium signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to seek low-carbon steelmaking solutions in an attempt to cut emissions, the Brazilian mining company said on...Read More