Base metals prices closed lower on the London Metal Exchange on Monday November 15, extending a downward consolidation amid an uncertain macroeconomic picture and a strong United States dollar index.Nickel's three-month price registered the largest fall on Monday, with a drop of $19 per tonne from $19,979 per tonne at the close on Friday. The metal traded as high as $20,030 per tonne - its highest...Read More
Steel rebar and wire rod producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States reduced export offer prices in response to lower bids coming from foreign customers since the beginning of November.Wire rod offers from Ukraine's main long steel supplier - ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih - slid to $860-870 per tonne fob Black Sea from $900-910 per tonne fob earlier in November.Meanwhile, Russian material was a...Read More
Sir Brian Bender, chairman of the London Metal Exchange for almost a decade, has died at age 72.Bender joined the LME in 2010, fresh from a lifelong career in the British civil service, and described himself in an interview with Metal Market Magazine on his retirement in 2019 as a "slightly leftfield candidate" for the role.He presided over a transformative period of change at the exchange, includ...Read More
South Korea's copper smelter LS Nikko is diversifying its raw-materials portfolio by smelting circuit boards in mobile phones collected across the country, the company said on Monday November 15.The initiative is in collaboration with mobile phone distributor SK Networks to collect 50,000 used mobile phones via an artificial intelligence-based recyling platform, which could help manage and process...Read More
Trading in the European hot-rolled coil market remained slow on Monday November 15, with buyers in wait-and-see mode, sources told Fastmarkets.Distributors have been holding back from making deals until the price trend becomes clear.European producers have been offering first-quarter-rolling coil at high prices, insisting that the increase is necessary due to higher energy and emission costs. In a...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 15 that are worth another look.Ferro-alloy supply-side disruptions will likely continue well into 2022 with production cuts in China and capacity in other regions insufficient to meet demand amid persistent logistics constraints, panelists said on Sunday November 14 during...Read More
A summary of Indian steelmaker Tata Steel's results for the July-September quarter (second quarter) of its 2021-22 financial year.In brief?EUR? Crude steel production from the company's Indian operations increased quarter on quarter, as did deliveries?EUR? Consolidated production was down quarter on quarter, but deliveries were up?EUR? Automotive sales increased despite the semiconductor shortage?...Read More
Turkey's domestic auto bundle scrap prices have increased due to a weakening lira, while ship scrap prices have been largely stable, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday November 15.The Turkish lira weakened further against the United States' dollar after the Turkish central bank cut the benchmark interest rate by 2% to 16% late in October.The central bank was expected to cut the interes...Read More
China's domestic magnesium prices rebounded above 30,000 yuan ($4,702) per tonne on Friday November 12 after dropping toward 28,000 yuan per tonne earlier in the week, according to sources.Fastmarkets' assessment of magnesium, 99.9%, exw China was 32,000-33,000 yuan per tonne on Friday, an increase of 1,000 yuan per tonne, or 3.2%, from 31,000-32,000 yuan per tonne a week earlier. Domestic spot t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 15 that are worth another look.Ferro-alloy supply-side disruptions will likely continue well into 2022 with production cuts in China and capacity in other regions insufficient to meet demand amid persistent logistics constraints, panelists said on Sunday November 14 during...Read More
Sir Brian Bender, chairman of the London Metal Exchange for almost a decade, has died at age 72.Bender joined the LME in 2010, fresh from a lifelong career in the British civil service, and described himself in an interview with Metal Market Magazine on his retirement in 2019 as a "slightly leftfield candidate" for the role.He presided over a transformative period of change at the exchange, includ...Read More
The Egyptian Ministry of Industry and Trade has suspended safeguard duties on imported billet and rebar, effective Monday November 15.The measure suspends import duties that had been in effect in the country since October 2019 to help local industry combat the significant rise in energy and shipping costs.There had been expectations that the duties would be removed in June this year, but the...Read More
Prices for billet originating from the Commonwealth of Independent States region rose over the weekend amid higher offers heard in the market.Offers from Russia and Ukraine increased to $650-655 per tonne fob Black Sea, according to a number of market participants, citing reduced availability of material.The decision of the Egyptian government to remove safeguard...Read More
The United States Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) plans to make its second tin offer of fiscal 2022 in a bid opening at 9:30am Eastern time on Tuesday November 16 and closing at noon on November 17.Fastmarkets understands that the volume of tin to be offered will be close to the 60 tonnes the DLA offered on October 12, but in a change in procedure the agency will no longer disclose the offer size i...Read More
China's production of crude steel declined by more than 20% in October from a year earlier, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday November 15. Total crude steel production over the first ten months of the year was also marginally lower than that over the same period of 2020, with a 0.7% drop, the data shows.October outputCrude steel: 71.58 millio...Read More
Global ferro-alloy markets have been supercharged this year by robust demand and supply shortages that began when the world's major producing countries faced extensive electricity limitations. With many alloy prices near record highs, conversation at this year's International Ferro-alloys conference in Prague over November 14-16 will focus on the surge in electricity prices in China and Europe, th...Read More
Demand for direct-charge steelmaking raw materials iron ore pellets and lump has been limited due to steelmakers' focus on cost efficiency amid the ongoing sintering restrictions in China, sources told Fastmarkets.As a result, prices for both iron ore lump and pellets have eased and will likely continue to fall further because of the weakness in demand, they said.The month-to-date average of Fastm...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore were unchanged during the week to Monday November 15 amid thin spot negotiations in the market for January or February shipment material.Offers for rebar cargoes from the Middle East were at $740-745 per tonne cfr Singapore on a theoretical weight basis.Turkish steelmakers were heard to have increased their offers to $740-750 per tonne fob on an actual weight b...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe declined slightly in the week to Friday November 12 amid subdued trading activity in the spot market.HRC buyers across Europe were largely maintaining a wait-and-see attitude during the week.European mills were still able to offer fourth-quarter HRC to the spot market at lower prices due to slowed demand from the automotive industry. Notably, some volu...Read More
Seaborne premium coking coal fob prices dropped sharply on Monday November 15 on a new deal sealed at a lower level, while buying interest for seaborne material from Chinese mills remained low.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $518.60 per tonne, down $3.41 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $454.52 per tonne, down $10.10 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $...Read More