Nickel's three-month price showed the biggest rise among base metals on the London Metal Exchange at the close of trading on Friday April 23, with most prices finishing the week on a positive note due to a low US Dollar Index and fund buying acitivty in the complex.The price of nickel was up by 2% to $16,395 per tonne from Thursday's 5pm price of $16,063 per tonne, after trading sideways for most...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is suspending the trading of all prompt dates from December 2021 onwards on its cash-settled alumina futures contract with immediate effect, it said on Friday April 23. The LME alumina contract was launched on March 11, 2019 and settled against Fastmarkets MB's benchmark daily fob Australia alumina index in a basket alongside CRU's alumina index. Equal weighting was...Read More
Deliverable stocks of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses all declined in the week to Friday April 23, due to consumers trucking their cargoes out before the Labour Day holiday in China, sources said.SHFE nickel stocks totaled 8,560 tonnes this week, down by 994 tonnes or 10.4% from 9,554 tonnes last Friday, data shows.The largest outflow of nickel this week left Zhongch...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou and Sybil Pan...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' Friday April 23 pricing sessions in China, Europe, India and the United States.China The seaborne low-grade manganese ore market reversed some of its five-week downtrend with buyers showing renewed interest in material offered in line with or below port prices. Buyers confirmed fresh deals at the higher end of last week's offer spread after the cheapest offers dried up....Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RCs) index rebounded for the second consecutive week on April 23, while smelters' buying activity slowed down, sources said.Few buyers were active in the spot market this week with deals for concentrate shipped in June and July settling in the low $30s, Fastmarkets heard. Read More
The London Metal Exchange is suspending the trading of all prompt dates from December 2021 onwards on its cash-settled alumina futures contract with immediate effect, it said on Friday April 23. The LME alumina contract was launched on March 11, 2019 and settled against Fastmarkets MB's benchmark daily fob Australia alumina index in a basket alongside CRU's alumina index. Equal weighting was...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Michael Greenfield in...Read More
Global steel scrap markets began to revive with growing downstream demand for finished steel in the week to Friday April 23. But regional prices diverged over the period, with Turkish buyers securing scrap at lower levels while Asian importers had to contend with price increases.Mills in Turkey secured cheaper European scrap to feed increased rebar exportsUnited States sales were on hold, with exp...Read More
No deals were heard to have taken place in the Turkish scrap import market on Friday April 23, with activity quiet because of the Children's Day public holiday in Turkey.A third booking from Wednesday came to light on Friday, however, which resulted in Fastmarkets' indices edging down slightly.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo consisting of 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (8...Read More
The range for British domestic prices for grade-5C steel scrap widened in the week ended Friday April 23 on firm demand both at home and in export outlet regions, sources have told Fastmarkets.The demand for light iron scrap came from major scrap processors in the country, a steady rate of exports to key destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent, and short sea sales into Europe, they...Read More
The base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed this morning, Friday April 23, as were the wider markets while US President Joe Biden prepares to announce his plans on tax.Markets awaiting direction from purchasing managers' index (PMI) dataBase metalsLME three-month base metals prices were mixed, but on average were up by 0.4% this morning, with le...Read More
The lithium hydroxide price in China was firm over the week to Thursday April 22 amid tight availability, while the carbonate price softened due to the restart and ramp-up of operations in Qinghai province.Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices remained firm in China, but the equivalent grade lithium carbonate price softened The battery-grade lithium hydroxide price in the seaborne market rose ami...Read More
European buyers of steel coil are encountering difficulties obtaining credit insurance and opening credit lines for purchases because of the rapid price rises and extended lead times in recent months, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Market participants said the situation was limiting the ability of buyers to acquire required volumes, despite strong demand from both distributors and end consumer...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Europe continued to rise on Friday April 23, due to a persistent shortage of locally produced material, limited and costly overseas alternatives and strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?971.25 ($1,168.26) per tonne on April 23, up by ?,?6.25 per tonne fr...Read More
Import prices for steel hot-rolled coil in the key Vietnamese market increased greatly in the week to Friday April 23 amid strong demand from buyers and continual rises in offers from Indian steel mills, market participants have told Fastmarkets.Indian steel mills raised their offers at least once during the week, to $960-980 per tonne cfr Vietnam from an initial $950-955 per tonne cfr Vietnam. Th...Read More
Indian secondary billet prices fell by 1,600 rupees ($21) per tonne during the week to Friday April 23 on subdued demand from finished product makers, market sources said."There is a shortage of industrial oxygen all over the country because oxygen is being prioritized for medical use [for treatment of Covid-19]," an official from an integrated billet mill told Fastmarkets. Read More
A Polish subsidiary of US steelmaker Commercial Metals Company (CMC) is likely to commission a new wire rod mill in the second quarter 2021, several sources told Fastmarkets on April 23.Sources that spoke to Fastmarkets expect CMC's long products facility in Zawiercie, Poland to commission a new 200,000-tonne-per-year capacity wire rod facility during the second quarter of 2021."CMC Zawierice will...Read More
The domestic steel rebar market in Poland was broadly stable over the week to Friday April 23, despite local steelmakers' attempts to increase prices, Fastmarkets heard.All local rebar producers were reported to have sold out of their April-rolling rebar, market participants told Fastmarkets. Celsa Huta Ostrowiec was said to have almost finished May-rolling bookings and tested the market with fres...Read More
Global steel scrap markets began to revive with growing downstream demand for finished steel in the week to Friday April 23. But regional prices diverged over the period, with Turkish buyers securing scrap at lower levels while Asian importers had to contend with price increases.Mills in Turkey secured cheaper European scrap to feed increased rebar exportsUnited States sales were on hold, with exp...Read More