Chinese automobile production and sales continued to decline in June - both month on month and year on year - amid a sustained global shortage of semiconductors, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said last week.But the new energy vehicle (NEV) segment continued to strengthen last month, with sales notching a new record high.China's NEV output increased by 14.3% from May to 2...Read More
Stainless steel sheet prices in the United States rose in June due to rising surcharges and increasingly tight supply.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for stainless steel 304 cold-rolled sheet, fob mill US was $171.75 per hundredweight ($3,435 per short ton) on Monday July 12, up 2.08% from $168.25 per cwt on June 10 and up 7.34% from $160 per cwt on May 10.The assessment for stainless s...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 13 that are worth another look.European steel association Eurofer has called for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to be balancing mechanisms without any further reductions in free...Read More
US silver miner Hecla reported an increase in lead production during the second quarter as its Lucky Friday mine continues its first full year of commercial production in many years.The company's lead production of 11,541 tonnes in the second quarter was a 29% gain on the same period in 2020. The Lucky Friday mine resumed full production late...Read More
Iron ore prices largely went up on Tuesday July 13 after China's June imports data was released and with relatively low shipments from Australia.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.48 per tonne, up by $0.63 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $221.46 per tonne, up by $0.86 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $178.66 per tonne, down by $2.73 pe...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in China's domestic market slipped on Tuesday July 13, with futures prices sideways while market participants weighed Beijing's latest easing measure against the ongoing seasonal demand lull.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,780-5,820 yuan ($894-900) per tonne, narrowing downward by 30 yuan per tonneThe most-actively traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchang...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices decreased on Tuesday July 13 amid weak demand caused by unfavorable weather.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,080-5,100 yuan ($784-787) per tonne, down by 70-100 yuan per tonneHigh temperatures in eastern and southern China and heavy rain in northern China disrupted construction activity and sapped demand for rebar.Such adverse weather...Read More
Tin set a new year-to-date high on the London Metal Exchange on the morning of Tuesday June 13, while the rest of the complex edged upwards too, with macroeconomic factors and a new wave of Covid-19 hitting metal-producing countries supporting higher prices.Tin reached $32,285 per tonne during early trading, before trimming back to $32,135 per tonne at 9am, but still higher than Monday's closing p...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
Widespread violence and looting have triggered declarations of force majeure at ports in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal, threatening to stall exports of chrome and manganese.Transnet, the South African national logistics service, declared force majeure on Monday July 12 for operations at the ports of Durban and Richards Bay.The violence "has now reached proportions beyond the control of the local la...Read More
Prices in the British market for steel scrap deliveries to domestic steelmakers have increased for the third straight month, sources said on Tuesday July 13.They cited tight supplies, notably from arisings in car production, and steady exports into deep-sea markets, with unusually strong demand from the United States.Suppliers have agreed on a general increase of ?5 ($7) per tonne for scrap, alth...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices stayed large stable in both the cfr and fob markets on Tuesday July 13 because buying interest was weak in the face of elevated offer prices, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $210.27 per tonne, down by $0.26 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $307.98 per tonne, down by $0.82 per tonneHard coking coal, f...Read More
Iron ore prices largely went up on Tuesday July 13 after China's June imports data was released and with relatively low shipments from Australia.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.48 per tonne, up by $0.63 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $221.46 per tonne, up by $0.86 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $178.66 per tonne, down by $2.73 pe...Read More
ArcelorMittal has announced that its Sestao plant in Spain will become a full-scale zero carbon-emissions steel plant through the use of green hydrogen and renewable electricity as part of a ?,?50 million ($59 million) investment.The elimination of scope 1 and 2 emissions under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol will be done by changing the metallic input via increasing the proportion of recycled scrap,...Read More
European steel association Eurofer has called for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to be balancing mechanisms without any further reductions in free emissions allocations, it said on Tuesday July 13."In line with the March 2021 European Parliament vote, Eurofer calls for the CBAM and EU ETS to be complementary systems, without any further redu...Read More
ArcelorMittal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Spanish government that will see a ?,?1 billion ($1.19 billion) investment in decarbonization technologies at the company's Asturias plant in Gij??n, it has announced.The investments in new direct-reduction iron (DRI) and electric-arc furnace (EAF) installations in Gij??n will reduce carbon emissions from the company's Spanish o...Read More
The manganese flake price has been on the rise since May 2021 due to tight availability in the spot market and strong demand from both the steel industry and the renewable energy automobile industry, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for 99.7% electrolytic manganese flake basis, fob, China rose to $2,800-2,850 per tonne on July 9, up by 3.70% from $2,700-2,750 per tonne o...Read More
Futures prices for nickel, aluminium and tin were higher at the 5pm close on July 13 on the London Metal Exchange, despite a spike in the United States Dollar Index after the release of US consumer price index readings. Aluminium's three-month price was the best performer on the LME on Tuesday, with a 1.8% gain on Monday's price to $2,535.50 per tonne. Over 15,000 lots of aluminium were traded by...Read More
Metal held outside of London Metal Exchange warehouses fell for the third month in a row to just above 1 million tonnes in May, according to data released by the LME, with the amount aluminium and copper falling by more than 10%.Across all metals, stocks fell by 140,246 tonnes through May to 1,037,379 tonnes, the latest LME off-warrant stock report shows, down from 1,177,625 tonnes in April.The bi...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States hovered within $1 of $90 per hundredweight ($1,800 per short ton) for a sixth consecutive business day after market participants reported relative stabilization around that level while spot tons continued to be in short supply. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $89.94 per cwt ($1,798.80 per ton) on Tuesday July...Read More