Iron ore prices increased across the board on Friday June 25, boosted by an increase in downstream steel prices. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.45 per tonne, up $2.99 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.75 per tonne, up $1.67 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $187.16 per tonne, up $3.30 per tonne 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr...Read More
Chinese steelmakers are increasingly adjusting their sinter feed ratios to consist of more low-grade iron ore to go with the high-grade products they are already consuming - instead of mid-grade fines - amid rising costs and weakening margins, market sources said.The switch mirrors that in the third quarter of 2020, when low inventory levels for mid-grade fines at Chinese ports led to price increa...Read More
European buyers of imported steel products are shocked by the extension of existing safeguard measures for another three years at a time when most of the industry's segments are struggling from material shortage and, consequently, high prices. European Union member states voted in the week ended June 18 in favor of a proposed extension of these measures for three years beyond their scheduled...Read More
Russia, the largest global supplier of pig iron, is likely to impose a temporary tax on exports of non-ferrous metals, including pig iron, sold outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).Russia's economy ministry has proposed that the government impose temporary export duties between August 1 and December 31, 2021. The final decision must be before June 30, because Russian law requires a month bet...Read More
The pig iron export market in Brazil remained muted in the week to Friday June 25 due to continuing long lead times, but demand is expected to pick up if Russia implements a pig iron export tax in the coming weeks, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was $620 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week.The market remained ina...Read More
The Russian government has approved temporary export duties on 340 steel and non-ferrous metals sold outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which are set to take effect from August 1 through December 31, according to an official government decree. The duties, which are intended to control inflation of metal prices domestically, are expected to raise approximately 160 million rubles ($2.2...Read More
Customer requirements and financing will shape the decarbonization of the steel industry, panelists said at Fastmarkets' 2021 Steel Success Strategies Industry Briefing earlier this week.The steel industry is not shaping decarbonization - instead, external forces are driving it, McKinsey & Co partner Benedikt Zeumer said on Tuesday June 24."Customer requirements will bolster industry to reduce the...Read More
European Metal Recycling (EMR) will commit to a net zero carbon emissions target across all three emission scopes, the company said on June 24.EMR aims to be carbon neutral by 2040 across scopes 1, 2 and 3 of relevant greenhouse gas emissions, and to provide its customers with traceability of its materials across the supply chain.EMR's goal is to reach net zero for indirect emissions created by th...Read More
The Russian government has approved temporary export duties on 340 steel and non-ferrous metals sold outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which are set to take effect from August 1 through December 31, according to an official government decree. The duties, which are intended to control inflation of metal prices domestically, are expected to raise approximately 160 million rubles ($2.2...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices pushed up on Friday June 25, after futures prices increased following talks of production curbs on steel mills in the Tangshan steelmaking hub in northern China.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,380-5,450 yuan ($833-844) per tonne, up by 80-90 yuan per tonne. Northern China (Tangshan): weekly assessment: 5,280-5,330 yuan ($818-826) per tonne, down by 150-1...Read More
Hot-briquetted iron and ferrous scrap will become increasingly important as key steelmaking raw materials in Japan, according to SMBC Nikko Securities' senior analyst Atsushi Yamaguchi.Speaking at the Asia panel session at Steel Success Strategies 2021 on Wednesday June 23, Yamaguchi said the move will happen because of increasing concerns over carbon emissions in Japan, where major steel producer...Read More
Turkish steel mills have broken their silence in the deep-sea scrap import markets with a fresh US cargo sold at a slightly lower price, market sources said on Thursday June 24.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a United States-origin cargo, comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $499 per tonne, 16,000 tonnes of shredded and 2,000 tonnes of bonus at $519 per tonne cfr....Read More
Prices in the European titanium alloy and scrap market could fall in the near term amid signs of weaker scrap costs and little renewed consumer demand for third quarter deliveries, according to trade sources.While most industry ferro-titanium suppliers reported fairly stable prices this week, they also said trading activity has been quiet, much like the rest of the current quarter. Steelmakers tol...Read More
Much greater investment is needed to expand supply chains to secure critical minerals and expand manufacturing in key materials needed for the energy transition, according to the Acting Undersecretary for Science and Energy at the United States Department of Energy.These investments must ensure sustainable production, refining, and recycling capacity domestically, while ensuring strong environment...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday June 24 that are worth another look.The Brazilian capital goods association, Abimaq, will meet with China-based Baosteel and local trading house Comexport to pave the way for its members to import more steel amid rising prices and tight supply in the domestic market, the association said...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices rose to their highest in four-and-a-half years over the past week after producers made upward adjustments to their list prices.DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 16,900-17,500 ($2,609-2,701) per tonne, up by 300 yuan per tonne Prices were last at these levels in December 2016, according to Fastmarkets' data.High productio...Read More
Ferro-molybdenum prices dropped on Wednesday after a number of market participants took profits following a six-week rally in which prices jumped as much as 78% and hit a series of 10-year highs, sources said.Fastmarkets assessed the price for ferro-molybdenum 65% Mo min, in-whs Rotterdam at $47-48.50 per kg on Wednesday June 23, down by 3.6% from $49-50 per kg on June 16.This represented a steepe...Read More
Prices in the European titanium alloy and scrap market could fall in the near term amid signs of weaker scrap costs and little renewed consumer demand for third quarter deliveries, according to trade sources.While most industry ferro-titanium suppliers reported fairly stable prices this week, they also said trading activity has been quiet, much like the rest of the current quarter. Steelmakers tol...Read More
All base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange, except for copper, finished slightly higher on Thursday June 24, with the recovery continuing after last week's decline while the US Dollar Index consolidated on low ground to lend support to the complex.Nickel led the way on the LME, rising by 1.9% at the close of trading on Thursday to $18,407 per tonne, up from its Wednesday closing price of...Read More
Much greater investment is needed to expand supply chains to secure critical minerals and expand manufacturing in key materials needed for the energy transition, according to the Acting Undersecretary for Science and Energy at the United States Department of Energy.These investments must ensure sustainable production, refining, and recycling capacity domestically, while ensuring strong environment...Read More