European hot-rolled coil prices were stable to slightly lower on Thursday November 11, on subdued activity, but producers hope to achieve higher prices in the first quarter of 2022, sources told Fastmarkets.Trading activity was slow, with buyers refraining from making purchases and instead assessing the situation. Producers, meanwhile, were looking to achieve higher prices for the first quarter of...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
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
Chinese battery materials producer CNGR Advanced Material Co, co-operating with its Singapore-based partner Rigqueza International, has announced an additional investment of $330 million in its nickel matte project in Indonesia, the company disclosed in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Wednesday November 10.According to the filing, CNGR will use the additional funding in the nickel matte...Read More
The trade agreement between the EU and the US to replace Section 232 tariffs with a quota system has received a positive wecome from Europe's long steel producers, sources told Fastmarkets this week.The European Union and the United States came to an agreement on October 30, although United Steelworkers International president Tom Conway said at the time that the volumes permitted to come in from...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
Production output for mining companies across base metals is likely to remain low despite significant additional capacity because miners face challenges from climate disruptions, ageing mines and Covid-19-related delays, Australian consultancy and research firm Cape Noir said on Thursday November 11."A lot of assets are showing declines in production and rolling delays to maintenance. Assets have...Read More
Production output for mining companies across base metals is likely to remain low despite significant additional capacity because miners face challenges from climate disruptions, ageing mines and Covid-19-related delays, Australian consultancy and research firm Cape Noir said on Thursday November 11."A lot of assets are showing declines in production and rolling delays to maintenance. Assets have...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
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
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
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
A massive backlog of copper cargoes across Africa - ranging from concentrates and intermediates to refined copper - is putting a massive strain on the spot market supply chain and its impact is spilling over into contractual talks for 2022."My blister copper cargo from Africa should have departed in late July. I kept refreshing the schedule status, but there is nothing new. Our Chinese client is v...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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 11 that are worth another look.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 November 11....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
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
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely up at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday November 11, after a strong morning performance and reassuring news that emerged from the Chinese property sector."Chinese stock markets gained, on growing confidence that the authorities would ease the crackdown on the property sector and support developers," Anna Stablum, LME desk analyst at M...Read More
Chinese exporters of ammonium paratungstate (APT) tried to hold their offers firm this past week, despite the overall export market being inactive and domestic prices in China falling, according to sources.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for tungsten APT 88.5% WO3 min, fob main ports China was $313-319 per metric tonne unit (mtu) on Wednesday November 10, widening downward by $2 per mtu from...Read More
Sellers of physical copper are holding out for a higher premium for 2022 contracts in the United States.No major deals were reported by the end of the American Copper Council (ACC) fall meeting in Miami, Florida this past week, although there was talk of a US copper premium in the 10-cents-per-lb range.In the US, Fastmarkets assessed the copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US at 8-9 cents...Read More