The copper scrap market in the United States primarily remained steady on Wednesday November 10, with market participants saying demand and supply remain in good balance.One seller said that falling demand overseas, namely from China, was currently keeping prices stable but that US demand remained very high. "If I have to pound the phone to sell copper, it's not hard to see it's an oversupply...Read More
Europe's biggest copper producer, Aurubis, has approved the planned construction of a secondary smelter in the US state of Georgia to tap into the availability of recycling materials and lower electricity costs in the country, the company said on Wednesday November 10.When fully operational, the plant could process as much as 90,000 tonnes per year of complex scrap, including circuit boards and co...Read More
The volume of copper held outside London Metal Exchange-listed warehouses plunged by 56% in September, with inventories of most base metals falling during that month, according to the LME's latest off-warrant stock report.The total amount of metal held outside of LME sheds was down for a second consecutive month to 673,599 tonnes. This was a year-to-date low and was down by 17% from 813,916 tonnes...Read More
China's output and sales of automobiles continued their year-on-year decline in October due to the continuing semiconductor chip shortage, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in its monthly report published on Wednesday November 10.Automobile output and sales in the country dropped by 8.8% and 9.4% year on year respectively, both to 2.33 million units in October, CAAM dat...Read More
Johnson Matthey (JM) is pursuing the sale of all or parts of its battery materials division following a detailed review.This reflects the high capital intensity of those operations in the face of competition from more established large-scale, low-cost producers, the UK-based specialty chemical and sustainable technologies company said in a press release on Thursday November 11.Growth in demand for...Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States rose slightly, but remained among the lowest level in months, with market sentiment still primarily bearish.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $92.50 per hundredweight ($1,850 per short ton) on Thursday November 11, up slightly from $92.33 per cwt on Wednesday and down by 1.94% from $94.33 per cwt on Novembe...Read More
Prices for flat steel imported to the United States diverged on Wednesday November 10, with hot-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized prices falling while cold-rolled coil prices increased.This comes when domestic prices in the US have generally begun to level off. Fastmarkets' assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, import, ddp Houston was $1,440-1,510 per short ton ($72.00-75.50 per hundredwe...Read More
The capacity expansion at ArcelorMittal Brasil's Monlevade unit will serve either the domestic or export markets with high-quality special steel products, chief executive officer Jefferson De Paula told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 11.In addition to steel cord, the plant makes special bar quality (SBQ) products, springs and other material, mainly focused on the automotive industry. Strong dema...Read More
Steel billet prices to Egypt declined in the week to Thursday November 11, with demand from the private sector remaining weak, while government-funded projects continued, sources told Fastmarkets.Local rebar prices in Egypt have been unchanged since October 28 at E ?14,900-15,350 ($946-975) per tonne ex-works, including 14% VAT. ...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices remained largely unchanged over the past week amid limited demand, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 11.Turkish steelmakers have been offering rebar for export at $740-745 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis since last week, but market participants said the workable price was closer to $730 per tonne fob. Fastmarkets' weekly...Read More
The United States' imports of steelmaking raw materials fell by 7.36% month on month in September, spurred by a reduction in inflows of pig iron and a drop in ferrous scrap intake from Canada, according to the latest data from the US Census Bureau.Raw material imports totaled 931,030 tonnes in September, compared with 1 million tonnes in August and nearly 1.30 million tonnes in July.Overall ferrou...Read More
Vale has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China-based Baowu Steel Group, the largest steel producer in the world, to develop low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions solutions for steelmaking, the Brazilian mining company said on Thursday November 11.One point included in the agreement was to seek bio-carbon production, a carbon-neutral product based in biomass - and not fossil energy - t...Read More
Prices for imports of basic pig iron into China have weakened over the past fortnight with bearish sentiment dominating the country's ferrous complex, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 11.Chinese finished and semi-finished steel prices have been falling for most of the past two weeks, weighing down demand for pig iron, they said.Fastmarkets' fortnightly assessment of the price for pig...Read More
ArcelorMittal will invest $1 billion to expand its iron ore and long steel capacities in Latin America between the second halves of 2023 and 2024, the steelmaker said.In Brazil, the Luxembourg-headquartered company will invest $500 million in increasing upstream capacity of its long steel unit in Jo??o Monlevade, in the southeastern Minas Gerais state, while an expansion of its Serra Azul iro...Read More
Bangladeshi steelmakers have largely opted to stay away from buying in the scrap import market this week in the hope that prices will continue to fall, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 11.- Bangladesh buyers step back from market - Shredded scrap offers rise to Bangladesh amid strong Pakistan market - Taiwanese consumers continue to bid low Bangladesh There was a lack of import ac...Read More
Seaborne coking coal cfr prices continued to drop on Thursday with new offers at lower prices emerging, while there was a trade in the fob market after a quiet week.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $522.01 per tonne, down $8.14 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $464.62 per tonne, down $10.10 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $400.49 per tonne, down $0.99...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Thursday November 11, tracking the upward movements in Chinese futures and front-month swaps contracts, but most market participants remained cautious because of weak demand for physical iron ore, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.57 per tonne, up $3.67 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.03 per tonn...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China posted a strong rally on Thursday November 11, as expectations of an easing in property financing and mill moves to underpin steel prices temporarily stemmed the sharp downturn in the futures market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,850-4,900 yuan ($758-765) per tonne, up by 190-200 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchan...Read More
London Metal Exchange prices shook off a surge on the United States Dollar Index and were all trading higher on the morning of November 11, with the dip-buying trend continuing in the base metals complex. "While China may have the brakes on, the rest of the world still looks structurally bullish, with infrastructure projects under way, shipping congestion and low stock levels affecting availabilit...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices gained some upward momentum on Thursday November 11 after several steelmakers expressed their unwillingness to deliver January-contracted steel cargoes bound for Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,750-4,800 yuan ($742-750) per tonne, up by 110-130 yuan per tonneWith the price of the most-traded January rebar contract on the exch...Read More