Indian domestic secondary billet prices edged up in the week to Friday May 28, even as finished steel prices began to fall.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel billet domestic, ex-works India was 41,400-41,600 rupees ($565-572) per tonne on Friday, up 300 rupees from last week's 41,100-41,300 rupees per tonne ex-works. "Billet prices have only increased because...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in Poland were largely flat over the past seven days after a massive increase in the previous week, but market sources believed that new price rises were likely because of the shortness of supply, Fastmarkets heard on Friday May 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (drawing quality), domestic, delivered Poland, was 3,650-3,700 zloty ($990-1,004) per tonn...Read More
Domestic prices for rebar in Poland were largely unchanged but still high in the week to Friday May 28, supported by strong demand, limited supply and increased scrap costs, although some sources told Fastmarkets that they believed prices had reached a ceiling.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 3,650-3,700 zloty ($990-1,004) per tonne...Read More
Global steel scrap prices dropped in the week to Friday May 28 on poor sentiment resulting from a weaker Chinese market and a softening of the Turkish market.Turkey reports latest trades at lower pricesUS East Coast sees trades to TurkeyVietnamese market affected by weaker Chinese sentimentChinese prices remain down despite improving futuresTaiwan prices lower on soft buying interestIndian buyers...Read More
Brazilian steel slab export prices fell slightly week on week on Friday May 28 amid a pause in negotiations for shipments to the United States and lower indications for other regions.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil at $970-990 per tonne on Friday, widening downward from $980-990 per tonne on May 21.With July-shipment deals to the US done in the previous w...Read More
Global steel scrap prices dropped in the week to Friday May 28 on poor sentiment resulting from a weaker Chinese market and a softening of the Turkish market.Turkey reports latest trades at lower pricesUS East Coast sees trades to TurkeyVietnamese market affected by weaker Chinese sentimentChinese prices remain down despite improving futuresTaiwan prices lower on soft buying interestIndian buyers...Read More
China's leading stainless steel producers, Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco) and Baosteel Group, have lowered their ferro-chrome tender prices for June delivery by 50 yuan ($7.84) per tonne compared with the previous month.The latest high-carbon ferro-chrome tender prices released by Tisco and Baosteel on Friday May 28 were 7,250 yuan and 7,445 yuan per tonne respectively, slightly down from the 7,300...Read More
Copper's 2.4% price rise at the close of trading on Thursday May 27, supported by the start of a strike at BHP's operations center in Chile, led the rest of the London Metals Exchange base-metals complex higher, making it the first day of strong rises following a week of lower prices.The three-month price of copper was $10,221 per tonne on Thursday at the close, up from Wednesday's $9,979 per tonn...Read More
Rio Tinto is partnering with Swedish research and development firm Comptech AB to bring a new generation of aluminium alloys to the market for use in advanced technologies, such as electric vehicles (EV) and 5G antennas, the UK-listed mining company said.The company said the products are currently undergoing qualification with automakers in Europe, who are stepping up efforts to increase their sha...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 27 that are worth another look.Energy majors Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron received landmark rebukes - in court or from investors - on Wednesday May 26 in attempts to force the companies into...Read More
Trade union members employed at BHP's operations center in Santiago de Chile were set to begin an indefinite strike on Thursday May 27, Fastmarkets has heard.Around 200 employees represented by the union were to stop working at BHP's Center of Integrated Operations, which manages the concentrates and cathode machinery at the company's Escondida and Spence copper mines.The strike was called after u...Read More
Copper's price is trading at all-time highs - and now the countries where it is mined the most want a piece of the action.The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract recently hit an all-time high of $10,747 per tonne - industrial commodities have broadly rallied on the expectation that government investments in green energy schemes and infrastructure projects after the Covid-19 pandemi...Read More
Four key takeaways from the 6th China International LiCoNi Summit in Changsha, China, on May 20-21, 2021.1. Weak nickel market sentiment now but long-term positive Sentiment remained weak among domestic market participants at the conference because they think both the mild hawkish stance evident in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and the statement from China's State Council that...Read More
A combination of strong demand and tight supplies in the global silico-manganese market has revived Chinese exports, which have been largely dormant over the past decade, sources told Fastmarkets this week.As the world's largest silico-manganese producer, China was a significant supplier to buyers in Asia and Europe until the removal of an export rebate in 2005. And a 20% tariff introduced 2007 fu...Read More
Rio Tinto is partnering with Swedish research and development firm Comptech AB to bring a new generation of aluminium alloys to the market for use in advanced technologies, such as electric vehicles (EV) and 5G antennas, the UK-listed mining company said.The company said the products are currently undergoing qualification with automakers in Europe, who are stepping up efforts to increase their sha...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday May 27 that are worth another look.Energy majors Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron received landmark rebukes - in court or from investors - on Wednesday May 26 in attempts to force the companies into...Read More
Canada will seek to work with its allies and partners to develop supply chains that will help them to meet global climate goals, according to the associate deputy minister at the Department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).Shawn Tupper said that this will include building mineral value chains and downstream processing, products and technologies, and leveraging mining practices, to position Cana...Read More
Four key takeaways from the 6th China International LiCoNi Summit in Changsha, China, on May 20-21, 2021.1. Weak nickel market sentiment now but long-term positive Sentiment remained weak among domestic market participants at the conference because they think both the mild hawkish stance evident in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and the statement from China's State Council that...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during the morning of Thursday May 27, as were broader markets - are these pauses, or early signs of a stall?More US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members seem to be getting off the fence about talking about tapering Chinese yuan continues to strengthen, is China using the yuan to reduce inflationary pr...Read More
Import prices for steel scrap in China weakened further on Thursday May 27 amid a continued lack of buying interest, sources told Fastmarkets.The continued price drop came despite the most-traded rebar and hot-rolled coil futures contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange inching up on May 27 after more than a week of consecutive losses.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel scrap...Read More