Toyota is to suspend automotive production for between two days and just over a month at 27 of its 28 production lines in Japan in August and September.The suspensions were due to "parts shortages resulting from the spread of Covid-19 in southeast Asia," the company said on Thursday August 19.The main Toyota Motor Corp production facilities affected include Motomachi, Takaoka, Tsusumi, Tahara...Read More
A combination of low liquidity, supply constraints that were said to be easing, and a rushed exit from long positions took the three-month price of tin on the London Metal Exchange down by 11% on Thursday August 19, despite its recent and seemingly unstoppable rise. Where will it go from here?Prior to the fall on Thursday, tin's benchmark futures price had reached an all-time high of $35,955 per t...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices maintained their upward trend in the cfr China market following a strong domestic coking coal market and prices inched higher in the fob market on Friday August 20 amid necessary restocking demand.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) increased in both the cfr China and fob Australia markets in the week to August 20 due to supply tightness in both markets,...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) index is currently at its highest level since April 2019.Treatment charges of October cargoes were reportedly sold to smelters in the range of $58-62 per tonne this week, roughly equivalent to the 2021...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
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Dalila Ouerghi and...Read More
European ferro-titanium suppliers are set to push up their offer prices for the remaining months of 2021 with steel mills returning to the market after the summer slowdown, industry sources told Fastmarkets.Suppliers have reported deals done above $8 per kg basis ddp for ferro-titanium for delivery in the fourth quarter, as well as deals done approaching $8 per kg for prompt shipment in Europe.The...Read More
Russian steelmaker Metalloinvest and another, unnamed, non-European steel company, are in discussions about acquiring Hungarian flat steel producer Dunaferr, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.The Hungarian steelmaker's owners have been in negotiations with both parties and a decision is imminent, sources said, because Dunaferr is about to go through the liquidation process. Metalloinv...Read More
Commodity trading company Traxys has expanded its metal concentrates business with the appointment of a team that previously handled tin, tungsten, tantalum and niobium concentrates trading for commodity trading Noble Group.Theteam will be headed by Ioannis Kallinikos, previously head of industrial minerals and metals at Noble Group for more than six years. From 2010 to 2014, he was general manage...Read More
Russian steelmaker Metalloinvest and another, unnamed, non-European steel company, are in discussions about acquiring Hungarian flat steel producer Dunaferr, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.The Hungarian steelmaker's owners have been in negotiations with both parties and a decision is imminent, sources said, because Dunaferr is about to go through the liquidation process. Metalloinv...Read More
Commodity trading company Traxys has expanded its metal concentrates business with the appointment of a team that previously handled tin, tungsten, tantalum and niobium concentrates trading for commodity trading Noble Group.Theteam will be headed by Ioannis Kallinikos, previously head of industrial minerals and metals at Noble Group for more than six years. From 2010 to 2014, he was general manage...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China extended their losses, falling to their lowest in about six weeks on Thursday August 19; futures prices continued their decline on demand concerns and waning cost supports.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,600-5,620 yuan ($863-866) per tonne, down by 90 yuan per tonne.The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange weakened for a second stra...Read More
The provincial government of Liaoning in northeastern China has approved a merger between Anshan Iron & Steel (Angang) and Benxi Iron & Steel (Bengang), according to a notice released by the latter's listed arm, Bengang Plate, on Thursday August 19.The owner of Bengang - Liaoning's State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission - will transfer a 51% controlling stake in the steelmaker...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China extended their losses, falling to their lowest in about six weeks on Thursday August 19; futures prices continued their decline on demand concerns and waning cost supports.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,600-5,620 yuan ($863-866) per tonne, down by 90 yuan per tonne.The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange weakened for a second stra...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 provincial government of Liaoning in northeastern China has approved a merger between Anshan Iron & Steel (Angang) and Benxi Iron & Steel (Bengang), according to a notice released by the latter's listed arm, Bengang Plate, on Thursday August 19.The owner of Bengang - Liaoning's State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission - will transfer a 51% controlling stake in the steelmaker...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
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
German industrial group Thyssenkrupp has resumed steelmaking operations at its largest mill in Duisburg after scheduled maintenance, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday August 19.The company put blast-oxygen furnace No2 at the Duisburg steelworks, with capacity for 5.4 million tonnes per year of pig iron, back into operation on August 17, according to a press release seen by Fastmarkets.The meltshop...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices inched higher in the cfr China market amid positive market sentiment, while fob Austrialia prices remained largely unchanged, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 19.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $366.41 per tonne, up $0.93 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $323.83 per tonne, up $1.16 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT...Read More