Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) index continued to rebound this week with Chinese smelters carrying on purchasing in the mid-to-high $30s and 3 cents, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets copper concentrate TC index, cif Asia Pacfic was at $29.70 per tonne/ 2.97 cents per lb on May 21, its highest level since March 5. Bids came in...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
A summary of China's base metal imports for April 2021. Copper ore and concentrate April total: 1.92 million tonnes, down by 11.5% month on month, down by 4.8% year on year Refined copper April total: 319,135 tonnes, down by 10.1% month on month, up by 10.9% year on year Copper scrap April total: 167,767 tonnes, down by 2.5% month on month, up by...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
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
Japan's third-quarter aluminium quarterly benchmark looks likely to cross another six-year high after offers were heard at $180-190 per tonne earlier this week, primarily supported by the open Chinese arbitrage window.The arbitrage window to ship aluminium to China has been widening since it opened on April 29, with Chinese importers standing to gain a profit of $63.59 per tonne on May 20 for ever...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
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
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
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
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
The export price for pig iron from the south of Brazil increased again in the week to Friday May 21, on continuing strong demand and long lead times, with suppliers said to be sold out until late August.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was $610-620 per tonne on Friday, up from $590-610 per tonne last week.Offers from the south of Brazil came in at...Read More
The price of 18/8 (grade-304) stainless steel scrap in the United Kingdom was substantially lower during the week to Friday May 21 amid volatile nickel costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?1,130-1,180 ($1,598-1,669) per tonne on Friday, down ?50-60 from ?1,180-1,240 per tonne a week...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
Turkish steel producers skipped the last working day of the week with no deep-sea bookings, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday May 21.Mills booked at least four deep-sea cargoes this week despite the holiday periods that have suspended trade in most of Turkey's local market over the past two weeks.The most recent deal was done on Thursday May 20, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun reg...Read More
The export market for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States rose further in the week to Thursday May 20 on new sales and bullish offers from suppliers despite an absence of large sales and even while additional volumes appeared in the market. Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $635-655 per tonne on Thursday, up fr...Read More
Iron ore prices plunged on Friday May 21 amid thin liquidity on both the seaborne front and at the Chinese ports, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $200.72 per tonne, down $11.13 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $203.06 per tonne, down $11.01 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $172.75 per tonne, down $8.06 per tonne65% Fe Brazil...Read More