The Shanghai Futures Exchange's plans to list ferro-chrome futures, potentially this year, will bring welcomed hedging opportunities and may weaken the dominance of China's stainless steel mills in the ore and alloy markets, participants told Fastmarkets.While no definite date or specifications of the ferro-chrome futures have been announced, Fastmarkets asked participants what changes these contr...Read More
Usually after a London Metal Exchange discussion paper there is a decent idea of what the outcome is likely to be. But this time around, it seems much harder to tell which path the LME will take. The proposals under debate include the permanent closure of the exchange's open outcry trading floor, known as the ring, which dates back to 1877. They also include the incentivization of electronic trade...Read More
Future mobility vehicles such as flying cars and air taxis may use radically different battery chemistries and production methods to cater to their unique form factor and designs, industry pioneers Volocopter and Wright Electric told Fastmarkets. Touted as the transport of the future, these vehicles are meant to break the monotony and time wasted in rush-hour jams by providing an alternative to la...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price closed at its highest in a month on Wednesday April 7, while the rest of the base metals complex consolidated following a bullish pricing session on Tuesday. Lead's futures price, often the laggard on the LME, was the standout performer on Wednesday with a 1.3% rise to $1,993.50 per tonne at the 5pm close. This is its highest closing price since Mar...Read More
Iron ore prices pushed up on Wednesday April 7, chasing previous increments in steel prices but depressing seaborne activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $173.63 per tonne, up $2.73 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $174.16 per tonne, up $3.16 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $154.65 per tonne, up $1.40 per to...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.In both Europe and the United States, the prices of most flat steel products have pushed to record highs in the weeks to Monday March 22. They remain slightly below their mid-2008 peaks in China, but are at multi-year highs there too.This illustrates in part the heavier consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for steelmakers in...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese seamless linepipe prices have jumped by $120 per tonne over the past month because of rising costs. With iron ore prices remaining elevated, scrap costs on the rise, and activity at steel mills curbed by environmental measures, steel billet has become difficult to source, bolstering the prices for seamless linep...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR? Impressive advances in ore and alloy prices persisted in March, with most markets posting significant price gains. Strengthening demand from steelmakers along with supply shortages and depleted inventories in numerous markets, as well as freight and transportation...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have been expecting us to be reporting sharply-lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.This is not the case, at least in Europe and the Unite...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 7.Please click...Read More
Europe's domestic hot-rolled coil prices continued to rise on Wednesday April 7 due to buyers' growing need to restock and limited sources of material, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?894 ($1,057.80) per tonne on April 7, up by ?,?9 per tonne from ?,?885 per tonne on April 6.The index was up by ?,?58 per tonn...Read More
Prices for lead scrap material within the domestic US market slid slightly this week because of a good supply of scrap combined with lead smelters and auto-battery manufacturers operating at near-maximum capacity, according to sources."[Lead] scrap is still in good supply, and we are able to buy what we need," one consumer said. "Lead demand is still strong, and we expect that to remain the case o...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price closed at its highest in a month on Wednesday April 7, while the rest of the base metals complex consolidated following a bullish pricing session on Tuesday. Lead's futures price, often the laggard on the LME, was the standout performer on Wednesday with a 1.3% rise to $1,993.50 per tonne at the 5pm close. This is its highest closing price since Mar...Read More
The spot zinc premium in Southeast Asia is up on growing buying appetite and freight cost hikes this week, while physical markets in China and Europe remained inactive, sources told Fastmarkets on April 6.Zinc premiums in Southeast Asia up on demand uptickIn Southeast Asian warehouses this week, zinc premiums continued to rise on a general increase in market demand for zinc ingots, sources said.On...Read More
Geneva-based trading house IXM has restructured its trading teams to align with its metals verticals. The realignment brings refined metals and concentrate groups under one manager per group for the first time at IXM, which is regarded as the third biggest trader in metals behind rivals...Read More
Fastmarkets tin premiums were stable around their recent multi-year highs on the fortnight to Tuesday April 6, with no spot trade reported in the US and Europe given the lack of material available to would-be sellers. Peruvian mines increased their tin production in February, totaling 1,949 tonnes and up by 8.82% from 1,791 tonnes in the same month last year. The three-month tin price on the...Read More
Aluminium producer Hydro is exploring the potential for developing and operating hydrogen facilities to meet internal demand and serve the external market, it said on Wednesday April 7.The move is part of Hydro's strategy to 2025 to strengthen its position in low-carbon aluminium and explore new opportunities in recycling and new energy."We have large internal demand for gas used for heating in ou...Read More
A shortage of truck drivers and flat-bed trucks is delaying steel shipments at critical points in the supply chain and further driving up shipping costs and lead times, Fastmarkets has learned.In March, there were 84 loads that need to be shipped for every available truck, up from 22 loads for every truck in March 2020, according to DAT Freight & Analytic."Demand for the entire flat-bed...Read More
European steel H-beam prices moved up on Wednesday April 7, following good demand and high feedstock prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Producers have been trying to achieve price increases of ?,?30 per tonne for several weeks, with one European producer now renewing efforts to push through the increase, citing strong order books and historically high raw materials costs. Fastmarkets' weekly price a...Read More