Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 8 that are worth another look.The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.With...Read More
The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.Finished steel distributors have said they have been struggling to get the necessary volumes of finished steel from either domestic or overseas suppliers, adding that they do not expect the situation...Read More
China's iron ore imports in January and February 2021 increased by 2.8% from 2020, data released on Monday March 8 from the General Administration of Customs of China shows.In the first two months of 2021, China's imports of iron ore totalled 181.51 million tonnes, up by 2.8% year on year from 176.6 million tonnes in 2020, customs data showed.The increase in iron ore imports...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 9 that are worth another look.Canada's coking coal exports to China increased by a fifth in 2020 amid a "verbal ban" imposed by Chinese authorities on cargoes from Australia late last year.Trafigura's warehousing and...Read More
Prime scrap grades in Mexico's main ferrous scrap markets registered gains in the week ended Friday March 5, while the secondary grades were stable, with buyers' and sellers' price pressure increasing again.Scrap sellers were heard raising busheling prices in both markets due to low availability of the material, following recent price cuts heard in late February. Most sellers a...Read More
Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium and wholly owned subsidiary Qinghai Liangcheng Mining will hold 49% of the Minmetals Salt Lake project following conclusion of a 1.47-billion-yuan ($226.07-million) deal to buy Yili Hongda, the company said on Monday March 8.Ganfeng and Qinghai Liangcheng Mining will acquire 100% of the shares in Yili Hongda currently held by Citic Securities, Tibet Hongda...Read More
Trafigura's warehousing and logistics arm, Impala Terminals, has launched a certified carbon-neutral freight service allowing its customers to offset their indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by financing carbon projects worldwide.The service will show its clients the indirect 'Scope 3' GHG emissions (as defined in the globally accepted GHG Protocol) generated by the transportation of their sh...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 9 that are worth another look.Canada's coking coal exports to China increased by a fifth in 2020 amid a "verbal ban" imposed by Chinese authorities on cargoes from Australia late last year.Trafigura's warehousing and...Read More
The futures price of tin on the London Metal Exchange moved up by more than $200 per tonne on Tuesday March 9, while the rest of the base-metals complex closed at lower numbers, with nickel and copper seeing further sales during the latter part of trading with consolidation continuing.Tin's price rose by 0.5% on Tuesday to $24,435 per tonne at the close, from Monday's closing price of $24,325 per...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange fell to $15,910 per tonne during morning trading on Tuesday March 9, while the aluminium price slid by 1%, with consolidation mode still in force across the complex as a number of macroeconomic factors affect sentiment.Nickel's decline comes after a 0.6% rise at Monday's close, when it stood at $16,340 per tonne. The metal bottomed at $15,6...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed this morning, Tuesday March 9, with prices generally consolidating after recent weakness, while there are cross currents in the form of bond yields, stimulus and inflation expectations affecting sentiment. Brent crude oil prices dip back below $70 per barrel after Monday's move above $71 per barrelInf...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.United StatesDomestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the United States averaged $1,316 per tonne in February 2021, and Fastmarkets' research team expects prices to maintain that momentum through March and April.Flat steel product prices in the country continue to be supported by exceedingly tight supply, reflecting prod...Read More
The strength of the economic recovery in China in 2020 defied the expectations of most market observers. According to estimates by Fastmarkets, apparent consumption in the country rose by 9% in 2020 compared with a 12% fall in the rest of the world.Crucially, this increase in supply was a response to a boom in steel demand in the East Asian nation. In the first quarter of 2020, demand (or real con...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese export prices for seamless oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and linepipe barely moved in February 2021, after rallying in January, because the holidays to celebrate the Lunar New Year curbed market activity sharply.With the holiday now ended, we have seen some sharp jumps in round billet prices and we expect there to...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.United StatesDomestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the United States averaged $1,316 per tonne in February 2021, and Fastmarkets' research team expects prices to maintain that momentum through March and April.Flat steel product prices in the country continue to be supported by exceedingly tight supply, reflecting prod...Read More
The futures price of tin on the London Metal Exchange moved up by more than $200 per tonne on Tuesday March 9, while the rest of the base-metals complex closed at lower numbers, with nickel and copper seeing further sales during the latter part of trading with consolidation continuing.Tin's price rose by 0.5% on Tuesday to $24,435 per tonne at the close, from Monday's closing price of $24,325 per...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday March 9.Read More
ElementUS, a joint venture to extract rare earth elements and minerals from bauxite residue, has received a financing inducement from the US state of Louisiana that will take it a step closer to constructing its facility there.The company is owned by DADA Holdings LLC, the principal owner of New Day Aluminum, and Canada-based green technologies firm Enervoxa. It plans to build a 1-million-tonne-pe...Read More
Russian producer Nornickel has again pushed back the restart date for two mines in Siberia that produce nickel and copper, and which are said to account for more than one-third of its Russian ore output."The company is planning to consider the recovery schedule of the two mines once the current initiatives [to stop flooding] are completed, by March 16," Nornickel said in an update required under E...Read More
Chinese nickel full-plate premiums reached an 18-month high amid an open arbitrage window between London and Shanghai in the week to March 9, sources said.Fastmarkets' assessment of the nickel, min 99.8%, full plate premium, cif Shanghai was $150-170 per tonne on Tuesday, up by $40-50 per tonne from $100-130 per tonne on March 5 and at its highest since September 2019.Fastmarkets' assessment of th...Read More