China's biggest steelmaker, Baowu, has set up a global alliance with some of the world's major steel producers and miners, to develop and promote a low-carbon steel industry.Announcing the establishment of the Global Low Carbon Metallurgical Innovation Alliance (GLCMIA) at its expo center in Shanghai on Thursday November 18, Baowu said the alliance would work together to accelerate and promote the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More
Handan city, a major steelmaking hub in northern China's Hebei province, has issued production curbs on key sectors for the rest of 2021 to fight against air pollution during the smog-prone winter heating season. From Thursday November 18 until the end of the year, steel mills in the city are required to cut their blast furnace (BF) production by up to 100%, depending on the grades assigned to the...Read More
Weaker demand combined with lower offers from all origins, spearheaded by recent Chinese price falls, put further downward pressure on South American flat-rolled steel import prices in the week ended Friday November 19.Despite offers from China continuing to drop - in what was widely considered by market participants to be short-selling from traders - buyers remained hesitant about booking new car...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and the latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila Ouerghi,...Read More
Importers of ferrous scrap were lured back to market in the week ended Friday November 19 by lower prices, which were precipitated by a period of lackluster buying activity.?EUR?Turkish mills' import prices rebounded by the week's end after deals at lower prices?EUR?US sales halted with exporters reluctant to reduce their selling prices?EUR?Vietnamese buyers were actively seeking more material aft...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Jessica Long, Zihao Li and...Read More
Sellers of physical copper are holding out for a higher premium for 2022 contracts in the United States.No major deals were reported by the end of the American Copper Council (ACC) fall meeting in Miami, Florida this past week, although there was talk of a US copper premium in the 10-cents-per-lb range.In the US, Fastmarkets assessed the copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US at 8-9 cents...Read More
Mining and metals companies say they're serious about transitioning to a sustainable economy, but whether they can afford to is another matter.Achieving decarbonization throughout the supply chain is going to require a huge amount of investment in technology to reimagine production processes and redesign existing sites.Last week, the International Aluminium Institute estimated that to decarbonize...Read More
The three-month copper contract is trading near record highs on the London Metal Exchange, cash prices are rising even faster, and inventories are descending toward zero. Try running a hedge book in those conditions.It's been a very real quandary facing the physical trade and industry, which awoke on Tuesday October 19 to find copper's cash to November spread had flared to a backwardation of more...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed, but largely up at the 5pm close on Friday November 19, after a week of choppy trading."We seem to be following a similar pattern to last week," Marex LME desk analyst Alastair Munro said."Macro-inspired weakness during the first part of the week has given way to a bout of short-covering [activity] into the weekend," he added.The three-mon...Read More
The risks that the Chinese government will introduce export duties on steel products will increase if export volumes surge when prices stabilize again after the recent decline, market sources told Fastmarkets over the week to Friday November 19."A sharp rebound in export volumes will draw attention from the central authorities," a Shanghai-based trader said.Fears have emerged that the Chinese gove...Read More
The seaborne low-volatility pulverized coal injection (PCI) cfr price fell further in the week to November 19 amid weak demand; seaborne coking coal prices in both the cfr and fob markets also inched down on Friday.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $422.68 per tonne, down $1.16 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $348.75 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, f...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums were steady across the globe on Friday November 19, remaining close to all-time highs.EuropeEuropean billet premiums are unchanged this week at record highs but liquidity is low, with most buyers covered until the end of the year.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region) at $1,450-1,500 per tonne on November 19, unch...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed, but largely up at the 5pm close on Friday November 19, after a week of choppy trading."We seem to be following a similar pattern to last week," Marex LME desk analyst Alastair Munro said."Macro-inspired weakness during the first part of the week has given way to a bout of short-covering [activity] into the weekend," he added.The three-mon...Read More
Brazilian aluminium maker Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) expects demand for extrusion billet, its most important primary product, to remain steady - at least - during 2022, after significant growth was reported in 2021, head of primary aluminium division Alexandre Vianna said on Friday November 19.A surge in the country's billet consumption came alongside heated construction market, which...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) indices edged down slightly in the week to Friday November 19. Spot activity was thin, with the market still focusing on 2022 contract negotiations; no number for benchmark charges has...Read More
China's nickel pig iron (NPI) prices declined in the week to Friday November 19 amid bearish sentiment in the domestic stainless steel market, though those for nickel ore held steady.Fastmarkets assessed prices for nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China was 1,460-1,490 yuan ($229-233) per tonne on Friday, down by 10-20 yuan per tonne from 1,480-1,500 yuan per tonne a week...Read More
Deliverable stocks of most base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses fell in the week to Friday November 19.Copper stocks fell by 3,119 tonnes week on week to 34,918 tonnes. Although in percentage terms the week-on-week drop was smaller than those of nickel and tin, copper inventories have fallen by 57.6% from 82,342 tonnes...Read More
Yunnan Aluminium Co has suspended operations at its aluminium smelter in Wenshan city, Yunnan province, following an explosion late on Thursday November 18, sources told Fastmarkets.The company has not yet disclosed when it expects to resume production at the facility, which has capacity of about 330,000 tonnes per year, according to sources.Yunnan Aluminium had not responded to Fastmarkets' reque...Read More