While copper and tin prices are showing some hesitancy on the London Metal Exchange, most of the other base metals are looking robust this morning, Friday June 25, and all the base metals in Shanghai are upbeat too.United States President Joe Biden agrees a $1 trillion infrastructure deal......which should be good for metals because it focuses on upgrading roads, bridges and broadband networksBase...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Fleur Ritzema, Cristina Belda...Read More
The standard grade cobalt metal price rally continued through to the final assessment of the week on Friday June 25, pushed higher by a mix of consumer and trader buying. Units are in strong hands and traders are aggressive with offers, often looking to hit above the range for any inquiries of 10 tonnes or more. The number of inquiries is consistent and traders continue to pick up units - helping...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Read More
China plans to carry out a pilot program to develop rooftop distributed solar photovoltaics (PVs) across the country, according to a notice issued recently by the nation's National Energy Administration (NEA).Metal market participants were bullish about the long-term development of solar energy in China. They said that such a policy would benefit solar energy-related markets such as tellurium and...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its germanium dioxide, in-whs China, $/kg, which was published incorrectly on Friday June 25 due to a reporting error.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for germanium dioxide, in-whs China, $/kg (MB-GER-0003) was originally published at $720-1,200 per tonne on June 25, when it should have been $720-825 per tonne.Fastmarkets' pricing database, MInD, has been updated to r...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) 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 hydroxide p...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade 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 alloy grade,...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
The price of austenitic stainless steel scrap in Europe and the United Kingdom moved up this week on higher nickel costs, Fastmarkets heard on Friday June 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids import, cif main European port was ?,?1,440-1,470 ($1,718-1,754) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?20-30 per tonne week on week. The three month London Metal Exchange pric...Read More
Turkish steel mills ended the working week with a single deep-sea cargo amid limited rebar demand, especially in the export markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 25.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a United States-origin cargo comprising 10,000 tonnes of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) at $499 per tonne, 16,000 tonnes of shredded and 2,000 tonnes of bonus at $519 per tonne cfr on...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
Steelmakers in Bangladesh piled into the deep-sea bulk import market during the week to Thursday June 24, picking up several cargoes at slightly lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets.The rush for bulk material comes after certain mills picked up large tonnages of containerized scrap in recent weeks amid high capacity utilization rates in the country at major producers.With containerized scrap pri...Read More
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) export billet market turned quiet at the end of the week to June 25 following news of the Russian government's plan to impose temporary export duties on ferrous and non-ferrous metals sold outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) from August 1, Fastmarkets heard.Billet is one of the products that will be affected if the government imposes the duties.T...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
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
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
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
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
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