Seaborne iron ore prices moved up slightly but overall market sentiment remains weak, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 16.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.04 per tonne, up $0.99 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.00 per tonne, up $0.74 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $63.07 per tonne, up $1.08 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-orig...Read More
Prices for steel scrap imported into China tumbled on Tuesday November 16 after Chinese mills lowered domestic scrap purchase prices further, market sources said. Continued drop in China's domestic scrap buy prices pressures import appetite.Taiwanese buyers bid lower.ChinaSpot prices for steel scrap imported into China weakened further on Tuesday amid bearish sentiment in the domestic scrap market...Read More
Austrian steelmaking group Voestalpine has been certified as a sustainable production site by the non-profit steel sustainability organization ResponsibleSteel, the steelmaker announced earlier this week.Part of the certification was to meet 200 criteria, including the responsible procurement of raw materials, reducing CO2 emissions and the management of labor and human rights. Certification requi...Read More
Copper and aluminium London Metal Exchange prices closed lower on Tuesday November 16, with a stronger dollar pushing prices down.The aluminium three-month price closed at $2,574 per tonne on Tuesday, down from $2,657 per tonne at Monday's close.Market participants attributed the fall to a strong dollar, which makes buying metals using other currencies expensive and pushes demand...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' ferro-silicon pricing sessions in China, Europe and the United States on the week ended Tuesday November 16.China Ferro-chrome producers in Inner Mongolia and Guangxi are running at high production rates, which could pressure alloy prices and increase chrome ore consumption.Spot ferro-chrome dropped again after suppliers lowered offers to destock. The improved productio...Read More
MineHub Technologies Inc has launched an application to digitalize and streamline the assay exchange process between buyer, seller and laboratories in base metal concentrates transactions, the blockchain technology platform said.The application, known as MineHub Assay Exchange, is the first in a series of network applications for concentrates that the company intends to roll out over the next mont...Read More
Chinese lithium-ion battery cathode materials producer Beijing Easpring Material Technology has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with SK Inc to develop cathode materials production projects in Europe, Asia and the United States, the company said on Monday November 15.Under the agreement, SK will invest in Easpring's Finnish joint venture with an equity ratio of no more than 30% to develop...Read More
Although ferro-alloy prices have sharply climbed, steelmakers are unlikely to reduce their consumption of these raw materials given the small share of steel production costs it accounts for and the likelihood that prices will move down in the near-term, panelists said on Monday November 16 during Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference.During the session titled "Steel Mill Panel Discuss...Read More
Turkish steelmakers were mostly quiet in the deep-sea scrap import markets following a sharp decline in the country's currency value, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 16.Mills booked three deep-sea cargoes for December shipments at the beginning of the week.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a UK cargo at $490 per tonne and a Baltic Sea cargo at $494.50 per tonne cfr...Read More
The latest analysis from recent activity on the CME Group's cobalt metal futures contract, cash-settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam.Key tradesOctober 8: 90 tonnes (15 tonnes each month between January to June 2022, all at $26.75 per lb)October 14: 5 tonnes for December 2021 at $26.85 per lbOctober 15: 65 tonnes (5 tonnes for November 2021 at $...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly trading down at 9am on Tuesday November 16 - with the exception of nickel, which was up by over $70 per tonne.Strength in the United States dollar weakened base metals prices, with the US Dollar Index opening the day at $95.53, the highest opening figure since July 21, 2020. The rally has come off slightly since Monday's highs of $95.60.T...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday November 16 that are worth another look.The Chinese government is in discussions with multiple metal industry bodies on suspending the publication of data related to the country's progress in achieving its ambitions for "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality," sources have told Fastmarkets.The lower...Read More
The export market for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States remained quiet in the week to Monday November 15, with a various trends in different customer markets driving a lack of clarity.In the Asian region, weakening flat steel prices in China's domestic markethad a strong negative effect on other regional markets.The release of rather grim economic and property data by Chi...Read More
Export prices for Chinese steel cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil extended their declines over the week to Tuesday November 16, dropping to their lowest in seven and a half months.Although domestic HRC prices have stemmed their losses, trading liquidity for Chinese CRC and HDG exports failed to pick up, as potential further downsides in prices and fears of an introduction of exp...Read More
Mytilineos, which owns producer Aluminium of Greece, has received the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative's (ASI) Performance Standard.The certification was awarded to Mytilineos's metallurgy business unit for its upstream activities, including bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting and casting. The company's bauxite mining activities at its Delphi Distomon site, its refining, smel...Read More
The downward trend in China's domestic rebar prices was halted by a rise in trading activity on Tuesday November 16, sources told Fastmarkets.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,700-4,730 yuan ($737-742) per tonne, unchangedBuyers raised procurement rates on Tuesday morning in response to futures gains, which halted the decline in spot market prices, sources said.The most-traded January rebar fut...Read More
Export hot-rolled coil prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States fell in the week to Monday November 15 in new deals for Ukraine-origin material to Turkey.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $820-850 per tonne on Monday, down from $830-870 per tonne a week earlier.Ukraine-origin HRC was sold to Turkey at $850-870 per tonne cfr - e...Read More
Lithium market participants have voiced concern about the ability to secure supply of industrial-grade lithium compounds due to an increasingly larger share of the market being taken up by the battery sector.With long-term contract negotiations for next year's supply unfolding, traditional industrial buyers spoke of surging demand from the battery sector globally and said they expect increasing pr...Read More
German steelmakers have settled their monthly steel scrap contracts for November at higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 16.The main drivers behind the price increase were strong demand among the steelmakers and the short supply of scrap, particularly of new grades."Prices increased on average by about ?,?30 [$34] per tonne. As usual, the price rise was slightly different de...Read More
Turkish steelmakers were mostly quiet in the deep-sea scrap import markets following a sharp decline in the country's currency value, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 16.Mills booked three deep-sea cargoes for December shipments at the beginning of the week.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a UK cargo at $490 per tonne and a Baltic Sea cargo at $494.50 per tonne cfr...Read More