Steel wire rod prices in Northern Europe increased as expected in the week to Wednesday June 16, mainly propelled by the continuing tightness of supply, but aggravated by restricted access to imports due to the trade safeguard measures currently in place, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?860-90...Read More
Low offers for seaborne premium hard coking coal caused prices to drop in the cfr market on Wednesday June 16, while hard coking coal fob rose on buying interest.High transaction prices and positive market sentiment are supporting the fob market, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $173.86 per tonne, up $1.59 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $282.04...Read More
Austrian steelmaking group Voestalpine has developed an industrial scale process for carbon-neutral steel production without the use of fossil carbon and secured the intellectual property rights to the process from the European Patent Office, the company said on June 15.The patent is valid in all major European steel manufacturing countries and specifically covers the production of sponge iron - d...Read More
Iron ore prices fell on Wednesday June 16 amid market concerns of weakened demand for steel, which prompted prices to ease as well, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.08 per tonne, down $7.79 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.55 per tonne, down $6.54 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $184.92 per tonne, down $9.68 per to...Read More
European buyers of hot-rolled coil have been holding back from making deals for material, awaiting the European's Commission decision on import safeguard measures and clarity in the global market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 16.Some buyers were still willing to accept current offer prices if they needed to restock specific materials, or if they were able to secure back-to-back deals...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, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 20.10-20.70 on...Read More
Chinese aluminium market sentiment dipped in the morning of Wednesday June 16 after the National Food & Strategic Reserves Administration announced moves to calm the overheated commodity market, yet optimism remains for aluminium's price performance in the second half of 2021. China announced on Wednesday it will release its national base metals reserves in the near term to stabilize commodity pri...Read More
Bill Gates has a theory about green premiums: He wants to eliminate them entirely. The American business magnate and philanthropist calls green premiums the additional cost of choosing a clean technology over one that emits a greater amount of greenhouse gases.In other words, the price that metals and mining companies are starting to charge their customers for producing low-carbon produc...Read More
Sources expect the Chinese government to sell its copper inventory at a slight discount to end consumers to combat the recent price spike in base metals, sources told Fastmarkets.As a country that is usually highly secretive about its buying and selling intentions China made a high-profile announcement to sell its copper, aluminium and zinc reserves in batches to participants in the downstream sec...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
China's domestic rebar prices continued to fall on Wednesday June 16 due to sellers looking to destock.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,980-5,010 yuan ($778-783) per tonne, down by 70 yuan per tonne.Fear of further drops in end-user demand and the decline in futures prices have strengthened sellers' desire to run down...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in London on Wednesday June 16.Key drivers: A pickup in activity was reported in Europe and the United States with almost 100 tonnes transacted across both grades, and sources citing demand from both users and traders. Sources also agreed that Chinese market participants...Read More
Steel rebar prices in the north of Europe continued to rise in the week to Wednesday June 16, gaining support from strong demand, short supplies and rising feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?840-860 ($1,018-1,043) per tonne on June 16, up from ?,?800-820 per tonne on June 9.The...Read More
There will be multiple routes taken to achieving net-zero emissions targets in the steel sector, not just one fix, the chief executive officer and managing director of India-based Tata Steel has said.According to TV Narendran, meeting decarbonization targets will be a challenge, but it is achievable."The transition isn't going to be easy or cheap - there are multiple solutions. I don't think there...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday June 16.Key drivers The ferro-titanium market was steady for the third consecutive week amid signs of consumers returning for feedstock for their third-quarter steel-smelting schedules. Spot business was quiet, with only one deal below 10 tonnes reported.Ferro-titanium suppliers are...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat on Wednesday June 16 with feedstock costs remaining stable, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,320-1,340 ($1,600-1,625) per tonne on June 16, unchanged week on week."Stocks are diminishing rapidly, and new rollings are hard to come by with hot-roll...Read More
Premiums for spot zinc material were stable in the week to June 15, with the US premium for lead holding at an all-time high. Zinc premiums in Europe are at their highest since 2019 due to low availability of spot material, but may drop in summer 2021. US lead premiums continue at their peak of 14.50-16.50 cents on tight supply and logistics issues, with the latter also affecting the European zinc...Read More
European steel H-beam prices rose again on Wednesday June 16, with some mills closing their order books for July bookings, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,000-1,030 ($1,212-1,249) per tonne on June 16, up from ?,?970-1,000 per tonne one week earlier.Various European mills have stepped out of the market...Read More
Chinese automotive production and sales figures both fell on a monthly and annual basis, although figures for new energy vehicles still increased, according to the data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).Carmakers produced 2.04 million units in May, down by 8.70% month on month and 6.80% year on year, while sales came to 2.13 million units, down by 5.50% from April 2021,...Read More
A correction has been issued for this article. The...Read More