Spurred on by supply tightness and steady demand, the aluminium three-month price on the London Metal Exchange rose to a new 2021 high of $2,642 per tonne on July 30, while tin and nickel's three-month price, also supported by strained fundamentals, rose over 10% in July.Aluminium's price was up 5.3% on Friday from a closing price of $2,507.50 per tonne on July 1 and at its highest since April 201...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrates index jumped this week with both smelters and traders locking higher numbers for spot cargoes.Fastmarkets' assessment of the copper concentrates treatment charge/ refining charge index cif Asia Pacific has risen to its highest level since late April 2020, at $53.2 per tonne on July 30.Smelters bought spot cargoes in the mid-to-high...Read More
Sudbury, a Vale SA mine in Canada where workers have been striking since June 1, has had "a very large impact" on the Brazilian miner's operations, the company's chief executive officer told analysts on July 29."Even if we quickly resolve the strike, we will still have many weeks until we normalize," CEO Eduardo De Salles Bartolomeo said, without directly answering a question on how long the strik...Read More
The global manganese ore and alloy price and their recent price movesIndiaThe market was stable after declining for three weeks, with demand in Europe drying up due to the holiday season and soaring freight costs. Sentiment remained bearish this week with traders reporting prices may fall further once consumers return to the market.EuropeThe European silico-manganese market...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? US sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum persisting into June. Actual US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $1,553 per ton in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,540 per ton. Prices remain supported by strong underlying sup...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
Former schoolteacher and union leader Pedro Castillo said it was not his intention to nationalize Peru's economy and pointed that the country needed a "new way of doing mining in its territory" in his inaugural speech as president on July 28. Castillo was elected Peru's new president after a contested second round of elections held in June. His left-wing party, Peru Libre, won 50.13% of valid vote...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...Read More
A summary of ArcelorMittal's financial results for the April-June quarter of 2021, according to its financial results statement published on Thursday July 29.In brief"On the financial side, the second quarter has seen a continued strong recovery backdrop alongside a sustained lean inventory environment," chief executive officer Aditya Mittal said."This resulted in even healthier spreads in our cor...Read More
China exported 1.03 million tonnes of steel hot-rolled coil in June 2021, adding 168% to the figure of 381,984 tonnes a year earlier, according to data recently published by China's General Administration of Customs.Vietnam remained the principal buyer of Chinese HRC, taking 276,418 tonnes in June.Exports of other major steel products also showed sharp year-on-year increases in June, particularly...Read More
Demand for steel rebar and billet in Egypt was low during the week ended Thursday July 29 due to market participants' expectations of changes in import duties, sources told Fastmarkets.Activity in the market resumed this week after the Eid al-Adha holiday celebration last week, and buyers preferred to hold off on placing orders.Egyptian rebar producers normally announce new prices at the begi...Read More
A multi-country trade case involving silicon metal imported to the United States concluded on Wednesday July 28, when the US International Trade Commission (ITC) decided to apply the recommended 12.27% anti-dumping duty on Malaysian silicon imports."The United States International Trade Commission today determined that a US industry is materially injured by reason of imports of silicon metal from...Read More
London Metal Exchange ring dealing members have a decision to make - whether to remain one or not.The LME has just announced it will reopen the open outcry trading floor, which was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, on September 6.Its plan, however, comes with a twist; some ring dealers say, a knife.The official prices - which the global trade and industry use as the global reference for physical...Read More
Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the ongoing use of fossil fuels and their generation of a vast carbon footprint as "the dumbest experiment in human history."Not everyone will agree with his assessment of the petroleum, gas and coal sectors, which have powered the world's growth for decades. Nonetheless, the twin goals of supply chain security and sustainability are now driving a t...Read More
The prices of billet in Turkey have weakened in the week to July 29 due to falling scrap import values, sources told Fastmarkets.The Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices fell in the week because steel mills resisted for lower prices amid limited steel trade. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey was calculated at $475.96 per tonne on July 28, down by...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 29 that are worth another look.Industrial group Thyssenkrupp has agreed the sale of its mining business to Danish engineering company FLSmidth, the German company said on July 29.Former schoolteacher and union leader Pedro Castillo...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.United States sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum carrying into June. Actual US HRC prices averaged $1,712 per tonne in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,698 per tonne. Strong underlying supply-and-demand conditions both in the US and globally are supporting prices as well as long lead...Read More
Brazil-based miner Vale expects to increase iron ore output in the second half of the year, because of advances in its capacity resumption plan, and expects the premium for high grade iron ore to remain strong.Vale has reiterated its guidance to produce between 315-335 million tonnes of iron ore in 2021.Production is expected to reach at least 89 million tonnes in the third quarter and at least 85...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices inched up in both the cfr and fob markets on Thursday July 29 amid supply tightness and firm buying interest, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $216.04 per tonne, up $0.49 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $317.22 per tonne, up $1.46 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $183.25 per tonne, up $0.84 per tonneHard coking coa...Read More