Domestic prices for European heavy steel plate increased again in the week to Wednesday May 26, supported by good demand, sources told Fastmarkets."Demand is definitely good but still missing the boost that would come from projects, especially in Italy," an Italian producer said.Market sources said that lead times from domestic suppliers have been getting longer. German mills have already started...Read More
Nickel and aluminium were the stand-out metals during the afternoon session on Wednesday May 26 on the London Metal Exchange, with slight rises for the rest of the base metals - except for zinc - after a start of the week that saw lower prices across the complex. Nickel's price was up 1.5% to $17,288 per tonne on Wednesday, its highest in the past week following a bout of weakness triggered on the...Read More
Ford Motor Company is accelerating investments and increasing planned total spending on electrification to more than $30 billion by 2025, chief executive officer Jim Farley said.This will be achieved while deriving efficiencies from Ford's electric vehicle (EV) architecture and modular technologies, Farley said at the company's capital markets day.Ford is anticipating that 40% of its global vehicl...Read More
The Kamoa Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the latest greenfield copper project to come online, having started concentrate production on Tuesday May 25. Jointly owned by Zijin Mining and Ivanhoe Mines, the copper mine began concentrate production ahead of schedule when the first batch of copper ore containing 5-6% copper content was conveyed from the underground mine...Read More
Zinc and lead premiums were mostly stable across the globe on Tuesday May 25, despite tight supply in various regions with activity gaining steam, and a milder loss of the import arbitrage in China.Zinc premium holds in northern Europe; market tightness boosts levels in ItalyUnited States Midwest premiums stable amid conflicting near-term viewsPremiums steady in Shanghai despite lower arbitrage lo...Read More
Spot buying interest for copper in both China and the United States was limited over the week ended Tuesday May 25, with buyers wary of price fluctuations.Chinese buying interest remains lowChina's copper premiums were stable over the seven days after consecutive weeks of declines.Fastmarkets assessed the daily benchmark copper grade-A cathode premium, cif Shanghai, at $20-35 per tonne on Tuesday,...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil continued to increase across Europe in the week to Wednesday May 26 due to the persistent shortage of material, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?1,250-1,300 ($1,530-1,592) per tonne on May 26, compared with ?,?1,250-1,270 per tonne a week earlier.The assessment was based on achiev...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe have continued to rise, supported by tight domestic and overseas supply and strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 26.Although buyers had to accept higher prices to secure their required volumes, they have become more cautious about the sustainability of the upward trend in Europe due to falling prices in China.The drop in Chinese fla...Read More
European steel H-beam prices remained on an upward trend on Wednesday May 26, with producers still committed to continued increases, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?900-920 ($1,102-1,126) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?880-900 per tonne a week earlier.Following several months with consistently well-fille...Read More
The Brazilian branch of Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal has scheduled the restart of primary steel production at its Barra Mansa site for the second half of 2021, the company said on Wednesday May 26.With 19 million Reais ($3.6 million) in investments for a revamp, ArcelorMittal will resume activities with one of the two electric arc furnaces in the plant. The company first cut output at...Read More
Rebar prices in the south of Europe continued to rise in the week to Wednesday May 26 on support from good order books at mills and rising scrap prices, while buyers were struggling to keep pace with surging offers, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?730-750 ($906-918) per tonne on Wednesday, up from...Read More
Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Monday May 31. After that, because of the UK's Spring bank holiday, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Wednesday June 2.Read More
Turkish steel producers resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings when buying a US-origin cargo at a lower price than in other recent deals, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 26.A Turkish steelmaker booked the US cargo, consisting of 44,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) at $515 per tonne cfr.The most recent deep-sea transactions were done at the end of last week.A steel mill in the Iske...Read More
Chinese importers of steel scrap showed low buying interest in foreign cargoes during the week to Wednesday May 26 amid sharp declines in Chinese finished steel prices, with their bids much lower than offers.Bids for steel scrap were heard as low as $500 per tonne cfr northern China, which is equivalent to around $490 per tonne cfr eastern China, with buying interest dropping after finished steel...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices dropped on Wednesday May 26 as a result of heavy rain in some eastern regions of the country negatively affecting demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,820-4,840 yuan ($754-757) per tonne, down by 80 yuan per tonneHeavy rain in the eastern Chinese provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi led to reduced consumption of rebar at construction sites and disrupted tra...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices slid further on Wednesday May 26 in both domestic and export markets amid lower market activity.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,170-5,220 yuan ($809-816) per tonne, down by 220-260 yuan per tonneHRC stockists were active in selling material from their warehouses to get capital flow for month-end payment and to avoid losing more money on further possible price dro...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange rose slightly across the board during morning trading on Wednesday May 26 and appear to be consolidating after recent sharp declines from the highs reached in May while the end of the month nears."[Futures prices on the LME] seem to be doing nothing more than seeking direction amid a flood of various opinions as to where prices should go," Malcom Fre...Read More
Quiet spot trade, apart from in China's nickel briquette market, left nickel premiums flat worldwide in the week to Tuesday May 25, sources told Fastmarkets.Poor arbitrage offsets optimism in China's nickel market over Glencore's briquette listing on SHFE.US premiums hold although higher briquette premiums become more common.European nickel stocks subside but premiums are unmoved.Full-plate premiu...Read More
Base metals prices on the LME and SHFE were mixed - albeit with a slight upward bias - this morning, Wednesday May 26. But the rebounds seem half-hearted, with some erring on the side of caution judging by the lower treasury yields and stronger gold price. While the United States Federal Reserve generally seems to be remaining dovish, the vice chair, Richard Clarida, spoke of a "soft landing"........Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Read More