Global nickel premiums were generally well supported, with premiums rising in Europe and Asia while strong fundamentals and expensive logistics kept US premiums stable, sources told Fastmarkets.Open arbitrage drives Shanghai premium up Strong demand boosts European nickel briquette premium High logistics costs supports US nickel premiums Open arbitrage pushes up Shanghai nickel prem...Read More
Chinese spot trading interest in copper cathode was minimal in the week to July 7 after the state held its first ever public auction of nonferrous metals. Since July 5, China sold 100,000 tonnes of non-ferrous metals at discounts via a public tender only open to fabricators, as part of the state's ambition to rein in the rally in commodity prices and rising procurement pressure.The Chinese governm...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 grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 23.85-24.50 on Wednesday July...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
Iron ore prices were generally flat on Wednesday July 7 in the physical market with limited liquidity, while futures prices were driven up by bullish steel prices, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $222.39 per tonne, up $0.03 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $225.70 per tonne,down $0.32 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $185.69...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 7 that are worth another look.Automotive production in Brazil rose by 69.58% in June over the corresponding month in 2020, on the industry's recovery from stoppages called during the Covid-19 pandemic last year, automakers' association Anfavea said on July 7....Read More
Prices of most base metals rose slightly on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday July 7 but with aluminium bucking the trend, going down by 1.2%.The LME three-month copper contract ended the trading session at $9,455 per tonne at 5pm, up by 1.5% from Tuesday.Investors in the red metal were dip-buying on Wednesday after its price dropped on Tuesday in a knee-jerk reaction to negative macro-econom...Read More
Premiums in the United States and Europe continued to rise in the week ending Tuesday July 6 with news that the Russian government will impose export duties continuing to fuel bullish sentiment.US Midwest at new all-time highRussian export tax pushes Rotterdam up againWait and see approach in AsiaUS Midwest premium sets new high againFastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest U...Read More
Domestic steel wire rod prices in the south of Europe remained largely flat in the week to Wednesday July 7, with buyers reluctant to accept higher prices and postponing purchases, sources told Fastmarkets.Prices are not expected to fall in the short term, sources said, because supplies are still tight and feedstock costs continue to rise.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (me...Read More
Rebar prices in the south of Europe widened upwards in the week to July 7, moved by bullish offers from Spanish producers, while the Italian market was generally flat and digesting previous rises, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?760-830 ($900-983) per tonne on Wednesday, widening from&n...Read More
A lack of apparent upside for secondary scrap in July's domestic trade has taken the wind out of the sails of the US export market, with Turkish and South Korean buyers securing cargoes at $3.00- to $21.50-per-tonne discounts compared with the last-reported sales to these regions.Before official negotiations opened, US mills warned scrap sellers that any price increases in this month's domestic fe...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...Read More
Turkish steel mills returned to the deep-sea scrap import markets with a flurry of bookings from the Baltic Sea and the United States, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 7.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a cargo from the US, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $498 per tonne cfr.And in the Marmara region, a steel mill also booked a US cargo, comprising HMS 1&...Read More
Spot prices for standard and alloy grade cobalt have continued to trend higher since the beginning of this week, driven by aggressive offers and a pickup in end-user demand in Europe and the United States, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday July 7.Available spot units remained in tight hands, with producers' availability low and traders holding back their offers in expectation of further price increas...Read More
China's new trend pf setting out unwritten rules for its commodities industries and communicating them verbally will be a key method to watch out for in the future, market sources told Fastmarkets."Unofficial communications to steel mills are increasingly [coming] via provincial and township authorities [and are], not written out clearly as announcements," an iron ore trader in eastern China told...Read More
Turkish long steel producer Ekinciler Demir ve ??elik San AS is one step closer to being a value-added steel producer with its new billet caster, the company told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 6.The new billet casting line will enable the company to produce higher-quality billet to be used for high- and low-carbon wire rod, seamless pipe, angles, IPN- and HBN-grade sections production. These ar...Read More
The entire batch of 50,000 tonnes of reserved aluminium put up for sale by auction from Chinese state reserves was sold within seconds of bidding being opened at 8am local time on Monday July 5, sources have told Fastmarkets.This was only the first batch to be made available for purchase, and comprised only 10% of the amount expected to be sold.Bidding began at a price of 15,952 yuan ($2,465) per...Read More
Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame will invest ?,?300 million ($355 million) in a greenfield steel rebar and wire rod facility in Romania that will focus on limiting the environmental impact of its steelmaking activities, the company said on Wednesday July 7.Specifically, the project is hoped to have the lowest emissions of any steel plant in the world in terms of greenhouse gases and suspended dust...Read More
Automotive production in Brazil rose by 69.58% in June over the corresponding month in 2020, on the industry's recovery from stoppages called during the Covid-19 pandemic last year, automakers' association Anfavea said on Wednesday July 7.The figure was lower month on month, however, and supply disruptions have led Anfavea to reduce its estimate for the sector's full-year 2021 performance.Vehicle...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