July imports of steel scrap to South Korea increased both on a month-on-month and year-on-year basis following another strong month in June, according to data from the Korea International Trade Association.Steel scrap imports were 462,729 tonnes in July, up 11.9% month on month from June's 413,567 tonnes and up by 49% year on year from 310,620 tonnes in July 2020.But a comparatively sluggish start...Read More
Trading activity was close to zero in the European hot-rolled coil markets on Wednesday August 18, with buyers having mixed outlooks for September, when demand was expected to recover, sources have told Fastmarkets.Most of the region's buyers and producers have been holding back from trading so far during August, following traditional patterns of activity.Northern European buyers were already slow...Read More
Stainless steel prices continue to register new highs around the end of the first half of 2021 and steelmakers continue to enjoy outsized margins.They have responded in recent months by increasing their output, which has now pushed above pre-pandemic levels and will eventually restore balance to the market.For now, though, supply gaps are still being filled and buyers find themselves competing aga...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe were fairly stable in the week ended Wednesday August 18 due to seasonally low market activity during the August holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was expected to recover in September, following the traditional cycle.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?940-950 ($1,104-1,116) per to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 18 that are worth another look.The chief executive officer of steel group Techint, Paolo Rocca, was acquitted of all charges in the "notebooks case," an investigation in Argentina into alleged payments made by the company to government officials in 2008.Read More
Low-carbon wire rod prices in the United States rose by $30 per short ton in August to a record high set in 2008, while imports slipped from a record high. Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US was $56-59 per hundredweight ($1,120-1,180 per short ton) on Tuesday August 17, up by 2.68% from $55-57 per cwt on July 20, and up by 6.48% fro...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe were fairly stable in the week ended Wednesday August 18 due to seasonally low market activity during the August holiday period, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was expected to recover in September, following the traditional cycle.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?940-950 ($1,104-1,116) per to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 17 that are worth another look.New Brazilian service center Centro de Cortes de Pr?(C)-Pintados (CPP), which focuses on pre-painted steel products, started operational activity in the southern state of Santa Catarina on August 11, the company told...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Tuesday August 17, with crude steel production cuts in China leading to thin trading and depressing market sentiment.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $160.75 per tonne, down $2.77 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $161.65 per tonne, down $2.38 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $129.54 per t...Read More
A spike in the US Dollar Index in the afternoon of Tuesday August 17 brought down the prices for all base metals except tin and lead by the 5pm close of trading on the London Metal Exchange, with copper and nickel down respectively by 2% and 1.6%.The dollar index hit an intraday high of 93.14 on Tuesday, the highest since Thursday last week, when it reached 93.19."We've had two days of macro uncer...Read More
The downward trend in China's domestic rebar market was snapped on Tuesday August 17 amid stronger demand from the construction sector. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,190-5,220 yuan ($801-805) per tonne, unchangedEnd-user demand in eastern China has increased gradually over the past two days on good weather and an improving Covid-19 situation. The number of infections in...Read More
A third trade union representing workers at Codelco's Andina copper mine has gone on strike after rejecting the company's latest labor offer, the Chilean state-owned miner said.A third trade union representing workers at Codelco's Andina copper mine have gone on strike after rejecting the company's latest labor offer, the Chilean state-owned miner said. Suplant joined Industrial Integration Labor...Read More
Operations have been temporarily halted in Alashankou Port in Bortala Mongol autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, following reports of three new COVID-19 cases in the region on August 15.Commodities that have already arrived there, including copper cathodes, copper concentrates, refined zinc and zinc concentrates, are being held, and deliveries will be delayed...Read More
A summary of China-headquartered Huayou Cobalt's results for the six months ended June 30, 2021, as released by the company on Monday August 16.January-June 2021 results(year-on-year change)Revenue 14.29 billion yuan ($2.21 billion), up by 57.91%Net profit 1.42 billion yuan,...Read More
Turkish steel producers are continuing with deep-sea scrap purchases for September shipment, but at a slow pace, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 17.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a Venezuelan cargo consisting of 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $449 per tonne cfr late on Monday August 16.The cargo was scheduled to be shipped in the second half...Read More
A spike in the US Dollar Index in the afternoon of Tuesday August 17 brought down the prices for all base metals except tin and lead by the 5pm close of trading on the London Metal Exchange, with copper and nickel down respectively by 2% and 1.6%.The dollar index hit an intraday high of 93.14 on Tuesday, the highest since Thursday last week, when it reached 93.19."We've had two days of macro uncer...Read More
A summary of China-headquartered Huayou Cobalt's results for the six months ended June 30, 2021, as released by the company on Monday August 16.January-June 2021 results(year-on-year change)Revenue 14.29 billion yuan ($2.21 billion), up by 57.91%Net profit 1.42 billion yuan,...Read More
South Korean lithium-ion battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution (LGES) has entered into an offtake agreement with Australian Mines Ltd for battery-grade nickel and cobalt materials produced by the latter.Under the agreement, the Korean company will have access to 71,000 tonnes of nickel and 7,000 tonnes of cobalt in the form of mixed hydroxide precipitate for six years starting from the end of 20...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Tuesday August 17, with crude steel production cuts in China leading to thin trading and depressing market sentiment.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $160.75 per tonne, down $2.77 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $161.65 per tonne, down $2.38 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $129.54 per t...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb 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 standard...Read More