Deliverable stocks for most base metals - bar lead - in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouse fell in the week to Friday May 21, with tin recording the highest decrease in percentage terms. Tin stocks totaled 6,024 tonnes this week, down by 943 tonnes (13.5%) from 6,967 tonnes a week before. The largest outflow was from 830 Huangpu warehouse in Guangdong province, where volumes were down...Read More
Import prices for flat-rolled steel had no clear trend in South America during the week ended Friday May 21 amid lower Chinese offers and buyers accepting higher prices from other origins, market participants said.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel plate import, cfr main ports South America, was $1,100-1,140 per tonne on Friday, up by $60-100 from $1,000-1,080 per tonne a week earlier.While some Ch...Read More
The export price for CIS-origin steel billet rose by 1.16% day on day on Friday May 21 after sellers switched to nearer markets such as Africa and Turkey in the absence of Chinese customers. Interest for imported billet in China remained non-existent amid falling semi-finished and finished long steel prices domestically. This diminishing demand had caused the billet price to fall in every pri...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and hot-dipped galvanized coil in the United States again jumped to all-time highs this past week, with market participants continuing to cite the lack of spot supply as the main driver behind the surge. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US rose to $89 per hundredweight ($1,780 per short ton) on Thursday May 20, up by 3.49% f...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States held above $78 per hundredweight for a third consecutive day, with buyers scrambling to acquire steel, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $78.54 per cwt ($1,570.80 per ton) on Friday May 21, down 0.87% from $79.23 per cwt on Thursday May 20 but up 2.52% from $76.61 per cwt on May 14. Thu...Read More
Fastmarkets price for Brazilian steel slab climbed to another all-time record on Friday May 21 on higher deals to the United States and the domestic market, with July-shipment availability reported as wholly filled.Fastmarkets assessed steel slab export, fob main port Brazil, at $980-990 per tonne on Friday, up by $10-30 from $950-980 per tonne one week earlier and by $50-80 from $900-940 per tonn...Read More
Hot-dipped galvanized coil prices in Turkey increased during the week to Friday May 21 while demand was strong, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was strong in the domestic and export markets, with several deals heard during the week, Fastmarkets was told.HDG prices continued their uptrend in Europe, one of the biggest export markets for Turkish HDG, sources said.The price increases were moderate du...Read More
Indian mills increased domestic hot-rolled coil prices by 1,000-1,750 rupees ($14-24) per tonne this past week amid continued gains in international prices for the commodity.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel HRC, domestic ex-warehouse India widened upward by 1,000 rupees to 63,500-68,000 rupees per tonne on Friday May 21 from 63,500-67,000 rupees per tonne the previous week. ....Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang,...Read More
Flat steel prices continued to increase in Turkey during the week to Friday May 21, with mills accepting orders for October production, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was strong in local and export markets and market participants expect further price increases because mills are already booked for over five months.In addition, prices are expected to strengthen amid speculation that China could imp...Read More
World crude steel production increased year on year but declined month on month in April, with the 64 countries that report to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) producing 169.5 million tonnes of crude steel last month.That total is up by 23.27% from 137.5 million tonnes in April 2020 and but down slightly from a revised 170.1 million tonnes produced in March 2021, according t...Read More
Deliverable stocks for most base metals - bar lead - in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouse fell in the week to Friday May 21, with tin recording the highest decrease in percentage terms. Tin stocks totaled 6,024 tonnes this week, down by 943 tonnes (13.5%) from 6,967 tonnes a week before. The largest outflow was from 830 Huangpu warehouse in Guangdong province, where volumes were down...Read More
German chemical conglomerate BASF will acquire a 51% stake in China's Hunan Shanshan Energy (Hunan Shanshan), a Chinese maker of lithium-ion battery materials that serves the battery materials' market, it said on Friday May 21.Ningbo Shanshan New Energy and Ningbo Yongxiang Investment, subsidiaries of China's Ningbo Shanshan, have signed an equity acquisition agreement with BASF to purchase stakes...Read More
Import billet activity into China ground to a halt in recent days amid falling finished steel prices in the country, while buying in the Philippines also trailed off by the end of the week, sources told Fastmarkets.The past seven days have been something of a role-reversal in the steel billet markets, with Philippine buyers being willing to pay above importers in China - the opposite pattern to th...Read More
Chinese nickel products provider Lygend Mining has started its first production of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) in Indonesia successfully, the company said on May 19, 2021.Lygend's MHP production project is the first high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) project to reach production in Indonesia, Fastmarkets understands.Both Lygend Mining and its Indonesian partner Harita Group operate the project,...Read More
Automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Co and South Korean energy conglomerate SK Innovation have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a joint venture to manufacture battery cells and energy storage arrays for electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States, Ford said.The venture, to be called BlueOvalSK, will produce roughly 60 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually starting mid-decade, with the potent...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly stronger this morning, Thursday May 20, on dip buying, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down across the board in reaction to the 3.5% average loss on the LME on Wednesday. China's rhetoric on its determination to wrestle inflationary pressures in commodities triggered weakness in the metals. Base metals LME three-month ba...Read More
Prices for steel rebar and billet in Egypt continued to increase in the week to Thursday May 20, with demand beginning to improve after the government further eased its ban on construction in the country, sources told Fastmarkets.The Egyptian Ministry of Local Development is running a trial program allowing new building permits to be issued in 27 cities until June 30 as a trial, before extending t...Read More
Prices for inter-merchant light iron scrap in the United Kingdom increased to as much as ?180 ($254) per tonne over the week ended Friday May 21, a level last seen in April 2012, on firm fundamentals that have encouraged higher offer prices. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK was ?170-180 ($240-255) per tonne on Friday,...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap into India and Pakistan continued to rise in the week to Friday May 21, despite a souring of market sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets.IndiaFastmarkets calculated its steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $517.88 per tonne on Friday, up from$510.55 per tonne one week earlier.One deal was heard at $515 per tonne this week, compared with a...Read More