Brazilian vehicle production rose by 348% in May 2021, compared with the corresponding period last year, when the Covid-19 pandemic led to several plant closures and resulted in output plummeting, national carmakers' association Anfavea said on Tuesday June 8.The country produced 192,843 units last month, significantly up from 43,080 units in May 2020. The May volume also represented a 1.01% incre...Read More
Imports of used beverage can (UBC) scrap and industrial aluminium scrap into the United States rose 9.49% month on month to 36,990 short tons in April from 33,784 tons in March, according to the most recent data from the US Census Bureau.The United States imported 24,287 tons of UBC scrap in April, up 1.52% from 23,924 tons in March, of which 10,283 tons (or...Read More
The US Commerce Department has ruled that imports of corrosion-resistant (Core) steel products completed in Malaysia using carbon hot-rolled steel and/or cold-rolled steel flat products manufactured in Taiwan circumvented anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Taiwanese substrate.The material will be assigned anti-dumping rates as high as 199.43% and subsidy rates as high as 39.05%, Commerce ru...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's electronic trading system is up to the job of discovering closing prices with any misalignments to be ironed out via a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) methodology, chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain said. LMESelect's technical functionality had been considered in great detail by the exchange board, acknowledging that outright three-month prices work well e...Read More
London Metal Exchange ring dealing members have a decision to make - whether to remain one or not.The LME has just announced it will reopen the open outcry trading floor, which was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, on September 6.Its plan, however, comes with a twist; some ring dealers say, a knife.The official prices - which the global trade and industry use as the global reference for physical...Read More
The government of Belgium's southern Wallonia region has decided to give a loan to Liberty Steel that will allow the company to run its Liege-Dudelange plants until new owners can be found, according to a statement by the vice-president of the government of Wallonia, Willy Borsus."The objective of the region is to be able to examine all avenues that would allow one or more buyers to come forward,...Read More
The United States government has published a sweeping review of US supply chains, proposing measures to increase domestic production of a number of key minerals and products. These measures include a proposed tariff on neodymium magnet imports.In February 2021, recently inaugurated US President Joe Biden indicated that there would be a government review of the resilience of critical minerals suppl...Read More
London Metal Exchange chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain said he hopes the new changes to the exchange's market structure will increase volumes and be long-term changes."Do I think that we'll be able to get more business as a result of the changes we're making? Yes I do," Chamberlain said on Tuesday June 8. "It's always a little bit speculative in this business, people always say I will t...Read More
London Metal Exchange ring dealing members have a decision to make - whether to remain one or not.The LME has just announced it will reopen the open outcry trading floor, which was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, on September 6.Its plan, however, comes with a twist; some ring dealers say, a knife.The official prices - which the global trade and industry use as the global reference for physical...Read More
Brazilian vehicle production rose by 348% in May 2021, compared with the corresponding period last year, when the Covid-19 pandemic led to several plant closures and resulted in output plummeting, national carmakers' association Anfavea said on Tuesday June 8.The country produced 192,843 units last month, significantly up from 43,080 units in May 2020. The May volume also represented a 1.01% incre...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories from Tuesday June 8 that are worth another look.A rise in Covid-19 cases in China's Guangdong province in recent weeks has led to tighter controls and rigorous testing at the huge Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT), causing extended delays...Read More
The current upward momentum in pricing in the steel market should continue in the third quarter with support from short supply and solid demand, buoying an already optimistic market, the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) said on June 4.EuropeRebar prices reached new highs during the second quarter of 2021 on support from long lead times, strong demand and limited impor...Read More
A rise in Covid-19 cases in China's Guangdong province in recent weeks has led to tighter controls and rigorous testing at the huge Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT), causing extended delays in southern China.YICT is one of China's busiest container ports, handling around 13 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) each year, according to The Maritime Executive news website.Althoug...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.Read More
Trafigura's head of metals and minerals, Amin Zahir, is leaving the trading company, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday June 8.The move will mean that Trafigura's metal unit heads - Kostas Bintas, Socrates Economou, Philippe Muller and Gonzalo De Olazaval - will report directly to chief executive officer Jeremy Weir, who himself has a background in metals.Trafigura made record profits last...Read More
The antimony market weakened further in May amid declining cif prices from China, which were mirrored in Europe. But the market has been showing increasing disparity with some producers offering material at higher levels due to low inventories in Rotterdam for prompt delivery.In China, the antimony price has moved steadily lower since peaking at 69,000-70,000 yuan ($10,833-10,990) per tonne in ear...Read More
Prices for steel scrap imported into China were unchanged on Tuesday June 8 amid scarce spot market activity.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China, which takes into account prices at ports in eastern China, was $510-530 per tonne on Tuesday, unchanged from a day earlier.No new bids were heard on Tuesday, with the latest bid coming in on Mond...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 7 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal is seeking approval from European authorities for its acquisition of steelmaking assets in France that belong to Liberty Steel, the European Commission (EC) said on June 7.Fresh deals for the supply of aluminium ingot...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely down at the 5pm close on Monday June 7, with the exception of lead which held strongly amid the ongoing and tightly contested presidential election in Peru. "Lead and zinc are trading in their own tandem due to the close presidential election call in Peru," Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida said. The lead price closed at $2,153 per tonne t...Read More
Physical commodities trading company Trafigura Pte Ltd and agricultural commodities firm Yara International ASA have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development and promotion of ammonia as a clean fuel in shipping, Trafigura said. The companies have also agreed to explore opportunities to work together on certain clean green and blue ammonia fuel infrastructure and...Read More