Fluctuating global prices and erratic downstream secondary aluminium consumption have market participants in Europe wondering how to manage risk through periods of volatility. Fastmarkets' assessment of the aluminium pressure die-casting ingot DIN226/A380, delivered Europe was at ?,?2,010-2,040 ($2,391.04-2,426.72) per tonne Friday March 19, down from ?,?2,040-2,090 per tonne the week before....Read More
Initial deals for second-quarter supply of aluminium to Japan have settled at levels that would mark six-year highs, boosted by demand from other key importer regions. Since the beginning of March, international producers have locked deals with Japanese buyers at $148-149 per tonne cif main Japanese ports (MJP), the highest since the second quarter of 2015, when the settlement was at $380 per...Read More
Aluminium's futures price reached yet another year-to-date high at $2,289.50 per tonne during trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday March 22, with supply concerns for the metal continuing, and with all base metals prices up day-on-day at the close.The price of aluminium closed at $2,272 per tonne, $7 per tonne higher than on Friday, while its intraday high point on Monday was its highest...Read More
The process at the heart of proposals to overhaul the London Metal Exchange's market structure is problematic and suggests the exchange is not putting its users first, the president of the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said. In an interview with Fastmarkets, Mark Loveitt said that it was not clear to the IWCC and its members why the exchange was revisiting plans to change its margin...Read More
The proposals included in the London Metal Exchange's discussion paper would not serve the needs of the physical market and could have a negative impact on copper and copper alloy semis-fabricators, the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said.Mark Loveitt, IWCC president and director, said the association is not opposed to change but believed the proposals would not achieve the LME's stat...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
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
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil substantially increased across Europe over the week to Friday March 19, driven by a material shortage and strong demand.At the end of last week, ArcelorMittal increased its offer prices further, up by ?,?50 per tonne in Northern Europe to ?,?850 ($1,012) per tonne ex-works, and up by about ?,?30-40 per tonne to ?,?820 per tonne ex-works in Italy.Fastmarket...Read More
Aluminium's futures price reached yet another year-to-date high at $2,289.50 per tonne during trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday March 22, with supply concerns for the metal continuing, and with all base metals prices up day-on-day at the close.The price of aluminium closed at $2,272 per tonne, $7 per tonne higher than on Friday, while its intraday high point on Monday was its highest...Read More
The process at the heart of proposals to overhaul the London Metal Exchange's market structure is problematic and suggests the exchange is not putting its users first, the president of the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said. In an interview with Fastmarkets, Mark Loveitt said that it was not clear to the IWCC and its members why the exchange was revisiting plans to change its margin...Read More
The proposals included in the London Metal Exchange's discussion paper would not serve the needs of the physical market and could have a negative impact on copper and copper alloy semis-fabricators, the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said.Mark Loveitt, IWCC president and director, said the association is not opposed to change but believed the proposals would not achieve the LME's stat...Read More
The Defense Logistics Agency will potentially offer at least 400 tonnes of tin to the United States market through to September, starting with 40 tonnes in April, a DLA spokeswoman told Fastmarkets.The DLA has authorization to sell about 4,000 tonnes of tin from the US government stockpile this fiscal year (FY21), which, for the federal government ends, on September 30.Tin is in acutely short supp...Read More
Brazil-headquartered Nexa Resources has suspended operations at its Extremo Norte underground mine in the Vazante unit, due to the identification of ground displacements on the site, the base metals producer said on Friday March 19.The downtime is not expected to significantly affect production in the first quarter, however, Nexa said. Throughput of the second mine in the division, also called Vaz...Read More
Initial deals for second-quarter supply of aluminium to Japan have settled at levels that would mark six-year highs, boosted by demand from other key importer regions. Since the beginning of March, international producers have locked deals with Japanese buyers at $148-149 per tonne cif main Japanese ports (MJP), the highest since the second quarter of 2015, when the settlement was at $380 per...Read More
The European Commission has published proposed provisional anti-dumping duties on certain flat rolled products originating in China. Industry association European Aluminium called the announcement an important step forward in the fight against "China's unfair trade practices." The duty rates may vary from 19.60% to 47.30% and come after an anti-dumping investigation opened on August 14, 2020,...Read More
The hot-rolled coil price in the United States again surged to all-time high on Monday March 22, with steel mills said to have low spot availability and some buyers indicating imports are more feasible.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mil US was calculated at $65.78 per hundredweight ($1,315.60 per short ton) on Monday, up by 1.23% from $64.98 per cwt on March 19 and b...Read More
Special bar quality (SBQ) steel prices in the United States rose in March for both hot-rolled and cold-finished product due to rapid increases in demand and higher raw material costs.Fastmarkets' assessment for hot-rolled special bar quality 1-inch round 1000 series (carbon), fob mill US was at $51 per hundredweight ($1,020 per short ton) on Friday March 19, up by 15.91% from $44 per cwt on F...Read More
Prices for cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon wire rod in the United States moved higher this month after remaining flat in February, while mills that are struggling to meet demand have extended lead times. Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (high carbon), fob mill US was at $50 per hundredweight ($1,000 per short ton) on Friday March 19, up by $2.25 per cwt (4.71%) from&nb...Read More
Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States held steady for a second week in a row, with market participants expecting another round of mill price increases to be announced shortly. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US was again unchanged at $54.50 per hundredweight ($1,090 per short ton) on Friday March 19. The assessment is up by 118...Read More
The mood in the European hot-rolled coil market has become upbeat due to the continuing material shortage combined with good demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 22.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?798.00 ($949.65) per tonne on Monday, down by just ?,?1.38 per tonne from ?,?799.38 er tonne on March 19.The index was, howe...Read More