Copper concentrate treatment and refining Charges (TC/RCs) continued their surge in early August, with traders and smelters setting down strong bids at clear levels after weeks of inactivity.The Fastmarkets TC/RC index, which tracks the mid-point of the market, came in at $54.6 per tonne / 5.46 cents per pound on August 13, up from $51.8 / 5.18 cents last Friday to reach its highest point in fifte...Read More
Demand for imported steel scrap has increased in Bangladesh over the week to Friday August 13 following a removal of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions across the country, market sources told Fastmarkets.While the strict lockdown was officially ended on August 10, sources said that some Bangladeshi induction furnace (IF) mills had restarted steel production on August 8. The country's electric-arc furn...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were trading mostly higher at the close on Friday August 13, with copper, aluminium and lead all making gains.The three-month aluminium price closed at $2,600 per tonne, up from $2,582.50 per tonne. This was the first time it has closed above $2,600 per tonne since August 2.The price hit an intraday trading high of $2,622.50 per tonne, also the highe...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) 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 hydroxide p...Read More
The export price for pig iron from the south of Brazil was firm during the week to Friday August 13 because suppliers have full order books after agreeing sales to the United States.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $540-545 per tonne on Friday, widening upward from $540-542 per...Read More
The union at Escondida and BHP, the Chilean copper mine's majority shareholder and operator, have agreed to extend wage negotiations until Friday August 13, so a deal can be signed and a strike averted.The new labor contract has been accepted by the No1 Workers Union and ratified by its members and just needs to be signed, the miner said on Thursday.Members of the union, which represents workers a...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday August 13 that are worth another look.Extended waiting times and bottlenecks at major Chinese ports have resulted in lower demand for imports of steel billet and higher freight costs for such shipments this week, sources told Fastmarkets...Read More
Base metal stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were largely down in the week to Friday August 13, with tin falling most in percentage terms due to a supply tightness in the country.Tin inventories totaled 2,193 tonnes in the week to August 13, down by 651 tonnes (29.7%) from the previous week. The 830 Huangpu Logistics warehouse in Guangdong reported the largest outflow, with v...Read More
Chinese automobile production and sales figures continued to fall in July 2021, on both a monthly and an annual basis, although figures for vehicle exports and new energy vehicles hit record highs, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) has said.Carmakers in China produced 1.86 million units in July, down by 4.1% month on month and by 15.5% year-on-year. Sales came to 1.86 millio...Read More
The price of shredded steel scrap into Pakistan and India diverged on Friday August 13 with Pakistan reporting restocking behaviour while demand in India remained low, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $532.37 per tonne on Friday, up from $530.64 per tonne one week earlier.Deal prices increased durin...Read More
Demand for cargoes of steel billet has been low in key Southeast Asian markets over the past week with prices rangebound, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 13."The Southeast Asian markets are dead, there are no bids from Thailand, which has now become a billet exporter, and there is a very strict lockdown in the Philippines," a South Asian billet trader said."Philippine demand is in really...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices have continued to fall in the week to August 13 due to high freight rates, Covid-19 outbreaks in importing countries and poor downstream steel demand.Turkish scrap prices fell amid weak downstream demandUnited States scrap exports were poor due to high freight costsWeak demand for imports in Vietnam due to Covid-19China abstains from purchasing due to large bid-offer sp...Read More
Indian domestic secondary steel billet prices edged up in the second half of the week on consistent buying by finished product producers, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday August 13. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel billet domestic, ex-works India, was up by 200 rupees ($3) per tonneat 43,200-43,400 rupees ($582-585) per tonne on Friday compared with last week's 43,000-43,200 r...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices have continued to fall in the week to August 13 due to high freight rates, Covid-19 outbreaks in importing countries and poor downstream steel demand.Turkish scrap prices fell amid weak downstream demandUnited States scrap exports were poor due to high freight costsWeak demand for imports in Vietnam due to Covid-19China abstains from purchasing due to large bid-offer sp...Read More
Australia-listed lithium miners Orocobre and Galaxy have gained the shareholders' and court approvals that were necessary for their proposed merger, the companies announced on Friday August 13.On August 6, Galaxy's shareholders voted in favor of the deal, and on August 13 the Supreme Court of Western Australia made orders approving the proposed merger, the companies said.According to the merger sc...Read More
After three consecutive increases, prices for carbon steel plate in the United States held flat in the week to Friday August 13, but market participants expect mills to raise prices soon.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US remained at an all-time high of $83 per hundredweight ($1,660 per short ton) on Friday, unchanged from August 6 but 219.23% hi...Read More
The domestic price for steel rebar in Brazil - which had not moved in three months - fell on Friday August 13 amid mill discounts, confirming lingering signs of a downturn.In Brazil, rebar supply recovered in 2021, and scrap prices started being cut. The global scenario lent headwinds to the Brazilian rebar price, with a downturn seen particularly in Turkey.Brazil-based steelmakers often follow in...Read More
Lower-priced Russian-origin steel scrap offers to China were heard on Friday August 13, but prices were still not low enough to entice Chinese buyers to enter the market.Russian-origin scrap at lower prices still unattractive to Chinese buyersChinese domestic scrap prices continue descentSouth Korea import scrap market quiet during Japan holidayChina importOffers for 2,000 tonnes of Russian-origin...Read More
The domestic market for steel wire rod in Poland remained quiet in the week to Friday August 13, with trading activity subdued and prices broadly flat, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday.Even though trading was seasonally softer over the past week, steel wire rod prices in Poland were seen as largely unchanged, Fastmarkets heard."Trading is weaker compared to July, but there is no relief for price...Read More
The light iron scrap market in the United Kingdom dropped by ?5 ($7) per tonne at the top end of its price range over the week to Friday August 13 due to the seasonal summer slowdown and weaker monthly domestic delivery settlements, sources told Fastmarkets.A drop in prices at UK dockside markets, a major influence on domestic prices, has also weighed on the light iron market, sources said.Fastma...Read More