Aluminium producer Rusal has appointed Roman Andryushin to the position of deputy chief executive officer of sales in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and China, the company said on Thursday April 29.Rusal also said Steve Hodgson will be returning to the company as director of sales and marketing, responsible for commercial operations and aluminium sales in the European, A...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices decreased on Thursday April 29 due to the depressed market sentiment following China's steel export rebate rates cut and less trading activity before the Labor Day holiday in China from May 1-5, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $191.60 per tonne, down $0.92 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $193.43 per tonne, down $0.80 per...Read More
Export prices for scrap from Japan were largely stable over the past week due to the country's upcoming "Golden Week" holiday, sources told Fastmarkets this week.The holiday runs from April 29 to May 5 this year, with market participants not fully in the spot market during the period.Key market participants said many Japanese shippers were keeping offers unchanged ahead of the holiday and not enga...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its weekly price assessment for Aluminium ingot ADC 12, exw dp China, yuan/tonne, which was published incorrectly on Wednesday April 28 due to a reporter error.The assessment should have been 17,900-18,300 yuan per tonne, rather than 17,900-18,200 yuan per tonne, which was the previous week's range.This has now been corrected in Fastmarkets' pricing database, MinD.For mor...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 29 that are worth another look.Major Indian steelmaker JSW Steel is reducing steel production to ensure that sufficient oxygen is sent from its plants to the healthcare sector to help combat the surge in Covid-19 cases in...Read More
A summary of production figures and financial results from Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) in the first quarter of 2021, as stated in its earnings report published on Wednesday April 28.In brief Production from the No2 blast furnace (BF), which was reignited in November last year, normalized throughout the quarter and boosted steel slab output, the company said. Sales to...Read More
ADC 12 aluminium alloy prices in China rose on Wednesday April 28, due to higher production costs and reduced supplies, caused by a month of environmental inspections in Jiangxi province.China's Environmental Protection Inspection Team is conducting checks in Jiangxi until May 7 and many ADC 12 producers there have lowered their output while the checks take place."We heard that producers in Jiangx...Read More
Demand for steel rebar in Egypt should increase soon after the new construction regulations come into effect on May 1, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 29.The Egyptian Ministry of Local Development announced that it will allow new building permits from May 1 onward, sources told Fastmarkets.The permits will be provided until June 30 as part of a trial period and after the trial, the mini...Read More
Prices for imported hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil in the United States climbed to new all-time highs over the past two weeks, with US consumers competing with other buyers to purchase limited material."There is not a lot of supply anywhere," a consumer said. "I'm not interested in the imports that are available because they are too expensive."Fastmarkets' assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, im...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) will increase domestic flat-rolled steel prices by 16-18% in May, following the upward trend in other global markets and in an attempt to offset raw material cost inflation, commercial executive director Luis Martinez announced during the company's first-quarter earnings call on Thursday April 29.CSN's hot-rolled coil prices will rise by 1...Read More
Fastmarkets' daily indices for domestic hot-rolled coil were broadly flat on Thursday April 29 due to lack of actual offers while producers held back volumes for the spot market, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?988.33 ($1,194.67) per tonne on Thursday, up by just ?,?0.83 per tonne from ?,?987.50 per ton...Read More
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessments for the CIS export steel market will not be published on May 3 or 4 because of recent changes to the public holiday schedule in Ukraine. Instead, the prices will be published on May 5.The prices affected will be:MB-STE-0012 Steel cold-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $ per tonneMB-STE-0013 Steel heavy plate, 8-50mm, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, $ per to...Read More
With the exception of lead on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, base metals prices were stronger this morning, Thursday April 29, reassured that Federal Reserve would keep policy loose and because United States President Joe Biden pumped up the outlook for the US by saying the country is "ready for takeoff". Tin leapt higher on the LME on Wednesday, with the SHFE contract catching up today...... Mala...Read More
The current Argentinian administration under President Alberto Fern??ndez is committed to developing the lithium resources that the country owns, although the government's efforts could be dampened by the lingering historic macroeconomic instability of the state, analysts told Fastmarkets.In early April, Argentina's government announced it had set up the "Mesa Nacional del Litio" roundtable in col...Read More
The demand for nickel and cobalt as battery materials for electric vehicles (EV) will keep their long-term bullish fundamentals intact, according to Canadian miner Sherritt International.Over the past six months, numerous carmakers and governments have announced plans for significant investments to expand EV production capacity to meet growing demand, the company said.Sherritt produces nickel plus...Read More
One of China's major tungsten product producers, Jiangxi Tungsten Group, has suspended operations at its only ferro-tungsten plant ahead of the Labor Day holiday on May 1-5, a source at the company told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 28.The facility produces around 3,000-3,500 tonnes of ferro-tungsten per year and accounts for about 80% of China's ferro-tungsten produced from tungsten concentrate....Read More
Thawing permafrost linked to global warming is continuing to affect Teck Resources' Red Dog zinc mine in Alaska, with the company expecting its second-quarter sales of zinc in concentrate to be lower as a result, the company said.The Vancouver, Canada-based company said the thawing is affecting the mine's ability to discharge treated water, which is leading water levels at its tailings facility to...Read More
The markets for high- and low-carbon ferro-chrome in Europe softened in the week ended Tuesday April 27 following weakening in the markets in Asia, particularly China.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe, was $1.87-2.36 per lb Cr on April 27, a fall of 4-26 cents per lb Cr (6.6%) from $2.13-2.40 per lb Cr on March 30.There was a big fall at t...Read More
London Metal Exchange tin's three-month price rose to its highest since August 2011 during trading and was up by 5% at Wednesday's close on April 28 following news from one of the market's main suppliers while nickel made substantial gains on its fourth consecutive day on the rise. LME tin's price reached $28,595 per tonne on Wednesday on news that the world's third largest tin producer, Malaysian...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 28. Please click...Read More