Europe's third-quarter steel import quotas opened on Thursday July 1, but already some suppliers have absorbed a large proportion of the long steel allocation, repeating a similar scenario from the previous quarter.As a result, European independent traders and downstream steel users are once again left with no alternative to domestically produced steel and surging prices, sources told Fastmarkets....Read More
Steel H-beam prices in Europe moved up on Wednesday July 7, with mills continuing to achieve higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,050-1,070 ($1,244-1,267)per tonne on July 7, up from ?,?1,030-1,050 per tonne on June 30.Some mills have now started their August bookings, while others were preparing...Read More
Mexican automotive production increased by 5.52% year on year in June, according to figures released by national automotive association Amia on Wednesday July 7. The country produced 263,955 light vehicles last month, compared with 250,158 units a year earlier. Still, June's output was 23.01% lower than the 342,854 units produced in the same month of 2019. "There is...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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The strong ferro-chrome market in Asia and high consumption rates in Europe continued to support Europe's ferro-chrome markets in the week ending July 6.Indian ferro-chrome producers preferred to ramp up their offer prices into Europe rather than compete for sales, which supported prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 60-64.9% Cr, max 3% Si, cif Europe r...Read More
Prices in the China ferro-chrome market rose further during the week to Tuesday July 6, as a result of higher alloy tender prices being released and indications the market is tightening under electricity restrictions in key producing regions.Stainless steel producer Tsingshan Group raised its tender price for July-delivery high-carbon ferro-chrome by 950 yuan ($146.80) per tonne, or 12.76%, to 8,3...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to launch a fortnightly China pig iron import price assessment to enhance its growing editorial coverage of the Asian market for the steelmaking raw material.The new assessment will be for pig iron with maximum 1.25% manganese content and maximum 0.15% phosphorus content.Market sources expect China to import pig iron in increasing volumes due to its evolving steel industry...Read More
Coking coal prices maintained the stable trend in both the cfr and fob market on Wednesday July 7. There is new demand for October-loaded Australia coking coal in the fob market and the offers for prompt loading cargoes remained strong, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $202.25 per tonne, down $0.27 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $308...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
Xinfa group's alumina refinery in Xiaoyi city, Shanxi province closed an operation line with a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year last week due to a bauxite shortage, several sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 7.The refinery has a total capacity of 3.6 million tonnes and has run at full capacity since May.Xin'an Chemical alumina refinery, a subsidy of Hangzhou Jinjiang group located i...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose slightly on Wednesday July 7, but the gains were much lower than those in the futures market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,960-4,990 yuan ($767-771) per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonneHeavy rain in large parts of China and high temperatures in the south have pushed down end-user demand for rebar, with one trader in Shanghai describing spot demand as "really....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