The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium and tin prices set new year-to-date highs during trading on Thursday December 17, while the whole complex is continuing to hold high prices on hopes of a positive outcome in negotiations for a United States economic stimulus package to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The aluminium price hit a new 2020 high of $2,096 per tonne at around 2pm on Thursd...Read More
The London Metal Exchange recently announced the next steps in its sustainability drive, but En+ Group believes the plans "do not address the industry's concerns." The energy and metals company said on Wednesday December 16 the LME's plans "represent a lost opportunity to drive industry-wide meaningful change" at a time when the world looks to "build back better" in 2021 from the impact of the glo...Read More
London Metal Exchange tin's three-month price came to $20,000 per tonne during early trading while the rest of base metals made gains on Thursday December 17 morning on bullish market hopes of the passing of a US economic stimulus package to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.The LME three-month tin price came to a new year-to-date high of $20,035 per tonne during early trading on Thursday, its highe...Read More
Jakob Stausholm will become the new chief executive officer of mining major Rio Tinto at the start of next year, the company announced on Thursday December 17.Currently chief financial officer, Stausholm joined Rio Tinto in 2018, having previously held senior positions at shipping company AP Moeller-Maersk and at oil producer Shell. The appointment comes as Rio Tinto faces a series of corpora...Read More
The Shanghai Futures Exchange aluminium price will maintain its upward momentum in the first half of 2021 due to strong demand before trending gradually lower in the second half of the year on increased supply, market participants and analysts told Fastmarkets.The aluminium front month contract demonstrated great resilience in 2020 by recovering quickly from the impact of Covid-19 on consumption t...Read More
Tight supply in the spot market has sent tin premiums in the United States back up to April 2019 levels while the London Metal Exchange price climbed toward its highest price of 2020 in the past two weeks.Renewed demand, scant domestic supply push US premiums 4-22% higherHigh freight, metal costs subdue European spot trade Chinese premiums flat amid few importsUS supply shortage boosts premiumsTin...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices in Egypt increased during the week ending Thursday December 17 because of restocking after recent price increases, although demand for billet imports was not strong, market sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers did not accept any offered price for imported billet since locally produced billet was enough to meet rebar producers' demand.Demand for rebar and billet has been sl...Read More
Steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States have continued to rise following recent mill price increases, Fastmarkets has learned. Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US at $34.50 per hundredweight ($690 per short ton) on Wednesday December 16, up by 1.47% from $34 per cwt the previous week.US marketFastmarkets' current assessment indicates that al...Read More
Domestic transaction prices for hot-rolled coil increased slightly in Northern Europe day on day Thursday December 17 due to a shortage of material in the market that allowed steelmakers to push offers up further. Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?647.92 ($788.95) per tonne on Thursday December 17, up by ?,?1.92 per tonne day on...Read More
Offers for billet exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States are being held at high levels this week amid a surge in scrap prices and long steel prices in Turkey.But with buyers largely quiet, the gap between offers and bids remains wide, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 17.Producers from Russia were heard offering billet at $580-600 per tonne fob this week.At the...Read More
Turkish billet prices have continued to increase over the past week with the support of improving scrap costs, sources said on Thursday December 17. Offer prices for steel billet originating in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to move up for Turkish customers due to surging scrap costs and tight supply. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North...Read More
Usiminas increased its output and domestic sales volumes over the past 45 days from first-quarter and 2019 volumes, the Brazil-based flat steel producer said in a filing to Brazilian securities and exchange commission CVM.It produced 533,000 tonnes of rolled steel between November 1 and December 15, or around 11,800 tonnes per day, up by 0.2% from the daily average in January-March this year and b...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to accept higher prices for deep-sea scrap cargoes on Thursday December 17 due to limited supply of the material, with prices rising by more than $7.50 per tonne day on day.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, which originated from St Petersburg, priced at $444 per tonne for an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap and at $454 per tonne...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The bullish price run in the iron ore market continued for a sixth week in a row with the 62% Fe benchmark soaring to a near eight-year high. Looking ahead, iron ore demand in 2021 is projected to be stronger than initially expected earlier in the year. We not only anticipate continued demand growth in China, but a recovery...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices increased on Thursday December 17, amid rising concerns over limited supplies and low steel inventories, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $158.49 per tonne, up $2.04 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $158.89 per tonne, up $2.18 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $147.10 per tonne, u...Read More
Fastmarkets' premium hard coking coal cfr index jumped by more than $5 per tonne on Thursday December 17, while the fob price stayed flat due to no transactions being reported.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $101.46 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $188.42 per tonne, up $5.78 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.56 per tonne, unc...Read More
China is to classify ship scrap as a steelmaking raw material, with no need for industry participants to apply for solid waste licenses. There has previously been no classification for ship scrap originating from Chinese shipyards.The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China said this week that all steel scrap generated from the domestic repair and refitting of foreign...Read More
China's raw materials policies - including the ban of coking coal imports from Australia and the new recycled raw materials classification - will likely be among the key drivers of the global ferrous markets in 2021, market sources told Fastmarkets. Uncertainty over import policies caused by geopolitical tensions and supply have resulted in shifts in the consumption patterns of steelmaking raw mat...Read More
China's domestic rebar market maintained its upward momentum on Thursday December 17, supporting export prices that are still lower than those for products originating in other regions.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,210 -4,240 yuan ($645-649) per tonne, up by 50 yuan per tonneSteady purchasing rates among end users and active selling among stockists resulted in rebar inventories falling over...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it...Read More