The base metals were consolidating recent gains but generally holding up near high ground this morning, Thursday November 19 - this despite some nervousness emerging in wider markets about the rapid spread of Covid-19.Asian Pacific equities were mixed this morning, but major European equity indices were down while they tracked Wednesday's weakness in US marketsGold prices also weakerBase metals Th...Read More
Lithium needs a transparent market where demand and supply meet to foster the growth of the sector, attendees heard during the annual Lithium in the South America conference organised by Panorama Minero on Wednesday November 18.The event that normally takes place in Buenos Aires was hosted virtually this year due to Covid-19 related restrictions. Interest around bringing price transparency to the...Read More
Concerns over an oversupply of imported cobalt in China have continued to weigh on prices for the metal in the country's domestic market.Fastmarkets' assessment for cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China dropped to 255,000-268,000 yuan ($38,906-40,890) per tonne on Wednesday November 18, down by 2,000-3,000 yuan per tonne (0.9%) from 258,000-270,000 yuan per tonne on November 13. The latest assessmen...Read More
Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) has resumed operations on the No2 blast furnace at its Usina Presidente Vargas (UPV) unit in Brazil's southeastern Volta Redonda city, the steelmaker said on Thursday November 19.The Brazilian steelmaker decided to idle the equipment - which has capacity to produce 1.50 million tonnes per year of crude steel - in May, when demand for steel hit...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have shot above $37 per hundredweight ($740 per short ton) for the first time in nearly two years on a supply-chain squeeze potentially made worse by rising Covid-19 infections, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $37.25 per cwt ($745 per ton) on Thursday November 19, up by 1.7% from...Read More
Domestic European prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil increased over the week to Wednesday November 18, due to a combination of low availability, solid demand and a lack of imports, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?630-645 ($748-765) per tonne ex-works on Wednesday, up by ?,?15-20 per tonne from ?,?610-63...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 19 that are worth another look.Commodity traders have long forecast that there would be consolidation in their own industry, and in some of the world's biggest centers for metals business that has already...Read More
Reinforcing bar steel prices in the United States continue to hold firm on Wednesday November 18, but some market participants anticipate a scrap-driven price increase could be announced Fastmarkets' assessed steel rebar, fob mill US at $29.75 per hundredweight ($595 per short ton) on November 18, unchanged since September 16. US overviewThe domestic market is stable to trending up, sources said,...Read More
Brazilian flat and long steel import volumes dropped in October 2020, compared with the corresponding month a year earlier, according to figures released by the country's economy ministry earlier this month.Imports of flat steel products fell by 45.71% year-on-year to 69,930 tonnes, from 128,816 tonnes.Brazil did not import any volumes of hot-rolled coil (HRC) from Russia or China in October. Impo...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 19 that are worth another look.Commodity traders have long forecast that there would be consolidation in their own industry, and in some of the world's biggest centers for metals business that has already...Read More
Turkish steel mills returned to the deep-sea scrap market after three days of silence to book three new cargoes at higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 19.Two European cargoes and one from the Baltic Sea were traded after three days of market inactivity from the mills.One European origin cargo was booked by a steel mill in the Iskenderun region and comprised 15,000 tonnes o...Read More
Ukrainian pellet producer Ferrexpo has sold its first ever blast furnace pellet cargo on Globalore at a premium of $25 per tonne over Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao, January average. The 90,000-tonne cargo of 65% Fe blast furnace pellets has a loading laycan of December 18-27. The sale marks increasing transparency in the high-quality blast furnace pellet s...Read More
Turkish domestic, export and import prices for steel billet have all gone up over the past week on increasing scrap costs and strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 19.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) raised their billet offers to Turkish customers by around $30-45 per tonne to $465-480 per tonne cfr, with one deal being made around $460 per tonne cfr...Read More
CIS steel billet producers have continued to raise their offer prices, tracking the strength of the international scrap market, with demand seen mostly in Southeast Asia, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 19.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was calculated at $444 per tonne on Thursday, up by $1 per tonne day on day.The index has risen by $19 per tonne...Read More
The world's largest trade deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), could result in India losing its share of the Asian steel market, sources told Fastmarkets this week."It is likely that steel mills in Southeast Asia will benefit from the RCEP trade deal, and India will lose market share in Asia," a Chinese trader told Fastmarkets.The RCEP was signed by China, the 10 member co...Read More
A summary of German industrial group Thyssenkrupp's results for the financial year October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020.In brief Thyssenkrupp's full-year results were significantly affected by the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. In the eurozone, economic output recovered in the third quarter of 2020, after the measures to contain Covid-19 were eased in most countries. But it was expected to...Read More
The world's largest trade deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), could result in India losing its share of the Asian steel market, sources told Fastmarkets this week."It is likely that steel mills in Southeast Asia will benefit from the RCEP trade deal, and India will lose market share in Asia," a Chinese trader told Fastmarkets.The RCEP was signed by China, the 10 member co...Read More
Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) has resumed operations on the No2 blast furnace at its Usina Presidente Vargas (UPV) unit in Brazil's southeastern Volta Redonda city, the steelmaker said on Thursday November 19.The Brazilian steelmaker decided to idle the equipment - which has capacity to produce 1.50 million tonnes per year of crude steel - in May, when demand for steel hit...Read More
The closure of Thyssenkrupps's heavy plate unit is very likely considering the company has received zero interest during the bidding process for its sale, the company said on November 19. German industrial group Thyssenkrupp is going through a restructuring and in May this year, it said it was examining whether to sell or close its heavy steel plate production sites.In its annual report for the fi...Read More
The world's largest trade deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), could result in India losing its share of the Asian steel market, sources told Fastmarkets this week."It is likely that steel mills in Southeast Asia will benefit from the RCEP trade deal, and India will lose market share in Asia," a Chinese trader told Fastmarkets.The RCEP was signed by China, the 10 member co...Read More