Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 19 that are worth another look.European steel association Eurofer is demanding stronger carbon emissions measures to guarantee a balanced approach that will enable a decarbonization of the region's steel industry, it said on Thursday July 15.Read More
Several steelmakers in China stopped issuing export offers this week, while others sharply increased their offer prices to overseas buyers, suggesting that the Chinese government's desire to see production cuts is starting to have an impact.Steel mills, including Shandong Iron & Steel and Yingkou Medium Plate Co, have issued no export offers this week, with limited availability forcing them to pri...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
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
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed on the morning of Monday July 19, with nickel and tin the standout performers, driven higher by supply disruptions.United States 10-year treasury yields continue to trend lower, despite inflationary pressures in the countryBase metalsLME three-month base metals prices were mixed this morning, with nickel up by...Read More
A combination of concerns over the spread of the delta variant of Covid-19, a sturdy dollar index and falling US equities triggered a sell-off in London Metal Exchange prices during the afternoon's trade on Monday July 19.Nickel's three-month price showed the biggest drop of the day, down by 3.2% at the close to $18,462 per tonne, from Friday's $19,070 per tonne price at the same time."Nickel pric...Read More
Australia-listed Vulcan Energy has signed a binding offtake agreement to supply South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) with battery grade lithium hydroxide from it's 'zero carbon' facility in Germany, the producer said on Monday July 19.Vulcan will supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide to LGES for an initial five-year term. Commercial deliveries are set to commence in 2025 and there is an option...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
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have been expecting us to be reporting sharply-lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.This is not the case, at least in Europe and the Unite...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged higher on Monday July 19, after power shortages increased participants' expectations of production reductions, sources said.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,240-5,250 yuan ($809-810) per tonne, up by 10-40 yuan per tonnePower supply shortages in some regions have forced steelmakers to scale back operations, which increased participants' expectations of a pro...Read More
The latest data for the global manganese ore market for the week ended July 19, 2021.Read More
Three-month nickel was the only contract to trade higher in the morning session on the London Metal Exchange on Monday July 19, with most other base metals, with the exception of copper, consolidating at elevated levels.Nickel's three-month price rose to $19,155 per tonne in early trading, before easing slightly to $19,095 per tonne at 9am. The metal gained 2% throughout last week, finishing on Fr...Read More
Stocks of aluminium held in Major Japanese Ports (MJP) rose by 8% in June, firming to the highest level in nine months, according to data compiled by the trading house Marubeni.Total stocks were 309,100 tonnes, up from 285,600 tonnes in May 2021, but lower than the 347,300 tonnes of aluminium held in June...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices and margins for stainless steel producers have risen notably over the past few months in both Europe and the United States, but there are now signs that the rally is petering out.A clear reason for the halt to rising prices comes from the near 20% drop in nickel prices seen in late February/early March,...Read More
Nornickel has not been offering spot nickel in the United States since February, which intensifies the supply shortage and rapidly rising premiums in the country since miners at Vale Canada went on strike on June 1, multiple sources told Fastmarkets.Nornickel has declined to comment but said that an update was imminent for its Taimyrsky mine - whose recent disruption, sources said, led to the halt...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Bulk ferro-alloy prices have shown impressive gains again this month, with ferro-silicon, silicon metal and manganese alloy prices all making significant increases. Noble alloy markets also enjoyed upward momentum, with both vanadium and molybdenum prices rising sharply.Recovering demand from steelmakers globally, together w...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Global welded pipe prices surged in May as strong demand and still-insufficient supply lifted flat steel prices.The biggest jumps were seen in China, which was hit by the unexpected announcement of the elimination of export rebates on welded pipes in April. Chinese seaborne prices reached $1,570 per tonne fob for longitudina...Read More
Prices for both new steel and aluminium scrap materials continued to rise across the UK and Europe in the week to Friday July 16, amid further manufacturing disruptions, causing the global scrap supply deficit to worsen.Manufacturing shutdowns and automotive supply chain halts - and increased demand for aluminium products, which are commanding record-high premiums - have created a huge imbalance i...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States inched closer to the $91-per-hundredweight ($1,820-per-short-ton) mark again on Monday July 19, supported by strong demand for hot band amid lean supply.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $90.96 per hundredweight ($1,819.20 per short ton) on July 19, an increase of 0.23% from $90.75 per cwt on Friday July 16 and...Read More
Ports' operations in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal have slightly improved, while cobalt hydroxide market participants wait for a clearer direction, sources told Fastmarkets.Ports and terminal operations in Durban and Richard Bay in KwaZula-Natal, South Africa have slowly begun to normalize while the country has prioritized recovery after recent civil unrest. Most participants held watchful attitude...Read More