German carmaker Volkswagen will halt production at two sites in Brazil for 10 days due to the global semiconductor chip shortage, the company told Fastmarkets on Tuesday June 1.Units in S??o Jos?(C) dos Pinhais, a city in the southern state of Paran??, and in Taubat?(C), in the southeastern state of S??o Paulo, will cease activities for a 10-day period starting on June 7, the company said."A signi...Read More
Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the ongoing use of fossil fuels and their generation of a vast carbon footprint as "the dumbest experiment in human history."Not everyone will agree with his assessment of the petroleum, gas and coal sectors, which have powered the world's growth for decades. Nonetheless, the twin goals of supply chain security and sustainability are now driving a t...Read More
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have reaffirmed their commitment to fair trade and criticized the use of subsidies that create excess capacity, including in steel and aluminium.In a joint statement issued at the virtual G7 Trade Track meeting on May 28, the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States called for the start of talks to d...Read More
The municipal government of Tangshan - China's steelmaking hub in the northern region - has suggested that basic oxygen furnaces no longer come under production restrictions due to the low level of pollutants that they emit.In a notice released late on Monday May 31, it also suggested a relaxation of the rates of emissions cuts by steel mills in the city to 20-30% from the more stringent 30-50% cu...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday June 1 that are worth another look.Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the ongoing use of fossil fuels and their generation of a vast carbon footprint as "the dumbest experiment in human history."German carmaker Volkswagen will halt...Read More
The first proposed draft on scrap shipment regulation revisions in Europe will come out in a few weeks, with more restrictions on the free flow of secondary metal raw materials expected, panelists said at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Convention, which started on Monday May 31.The biggest point of uncertainty is whether the European Commission (EC) will stop the export of both unproc...Read More
Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the ongoing use of fossil fuels and their generation of a vast carbon footprint as "the dumbest experiment in human history."Not everyone will agree with his assessment of the petroleum, gas and coal sectors, which have powered the world's growth for decades. Nonetheless, the twin goals of supply chain security and sustainability are now driving a t...Read More
The first deals for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) for the third quarter have been concluded at a premium of $185 per tonne cif MJP, market sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday June 1.Fastmarkets understands that the deals were between producers and traders, although tonnages had yet to be confirmed at the time of publication.The initial deals were more than double the first d...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday June 1 that are worth another look.Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the ongoing use of fossil fuels and their generation of a vast carbon footprint as "the dumbest experiment in human history."German carmaker Volkswagen will halt...Read More
London Metal Exchange prices were mostly unchanged on the first trading day of this month, but maintained the bullish tone they struck at the end of May at the close on Tuesday June 1, given a release of positive economic data."A short-lived pullback seen in the base-metals complex suggests that underlying sentiment remains very bullish, with dip buyers welcoming lower prices with open arms," Fast...Read More
The seaborne premium hard coking coal price in the cfr market jumped on Monday May 31, with a deal heard done at $275 per tonne cfr China, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $153.89 per tonne, up $1.09 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $284.65 per tonne, up $21.19 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $129.95 per tonne, unchangedHard cokin...Read More
Seaborne hard coking coal prices increased on Tuesday June 1 following Monday's jump in the premium hard coking coal cfr price and with support from a lack of spot volumes. And sources said that major mills in east China have proposed a first round of coke price cuts this year by 120 yuan ($19) per tonne.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $153.44 per tonne, down by $0.45 per to...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Bulk ferro-alloy prices have shown impressive gains again this month, with ferro-silicon, silicon metal and manganese alloy prices all making significant increases. Noble alloy markets also enjoyed upward momentum, with both vanadium and molybdenum prices rising sharply.Recovering demand from steelmakers globally, together w...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...Read More
Commonwealth of Independent States-based (CIS) rebar and wire rod exporters had to revise their prices significantly downward over the assessment week following the drop in prices in the Turkish and Chinese markets, sources said.Stronger state control over speculation in the domestic market in China have sent rebar futures and physical prices down since mid-May. After a proposal from local authori...Read More
The price of steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow was broadly stable in the week to June 1, backed by solid demand from end-users as well as tight availability, sources told Fastmarkets.Severstal was offering June-delivery rebar at 75,000 roubles ($1,022) per tonne, sources said, the same as last week.Several sources said that Tula Steel, another major supplier, was offer...Read More
London Metal Exchange prices were mostly unchanged on the first trading day of this month, but maintained the bullish tone they struck at the end of May at the close on Tuesday June 1, given a release of positive economic data."A short-lived pullback seen in the base-metals complex suggests that underlying sentiment remains very bullish, with dip buyers welcoming lower prices with open arms," Fast...Read More
Steel slab prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States region showed some signs of softening in the week to Tuesday June 1, despite the fact that mills have not been active in the market."It is too early. [According to what I have heard,] they will not make any offer before June 10," one trader said.A producer from Russia said that it was not offering any material at the moment, but if it w...Read More
Operations at one of Vale's largest nickel mines - located in Sudbury, Ontario - will be disrupted following a partial impasse in negations with the United Steelworkers (USW) union, the Brazilian miner said on Tuesday June 1."United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6500, representing production and maintenance employees in Sudbury, voted to reject the company's offer of a new five-year collective bargaini...Read More
Austria Metall AG (AMAG), a producer of aluminium cast and flat rolled material has shipped its first aluminium certified under the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) chain of custody standard, the company has said, with the customer being German carmaker Audi.The metal has been sent to the Audi plant in Neckarsulm, Germany, and will be used for the outer body sheet of the tailgate for the A6...Read More