Carbon steel plate prices in the United States were stable on Friday October 29 but are expected to rise soon, with market participants saying recent mill price hikes will likely be accepted but have not quite hit spot prices.Fastmarkets' cut-to-length plate, fob mill US price was assessed at $89 per cwt ($1780 per short ton) on Friday October 29, flat since October 1 and at an all-time...Read More
Changes to deliverable stocks of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses were mixed during the week to Friday October 29, with copper registering the most gain in percentage terms and tin leading the declines.Copper inventories grew by 9,488 tonnes (23.8%) to 49,327 tonnes, from 39,839 tonnes on a weekly basis. The largest inflow was from SIPG Logistics' warehouse in Shanghai, where vo...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 29.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed lower on a week-on-week basis on Friday October 29, after Chinese state planners intervened to cool surging thermal coal prices this week.The LME three-month aluminium price closed at $2,716 per tonne on October 29, down from $2,746 per tonne at Thursday's close and was down by nearly 5.3% from last Friday's $2,868 per tonne. The price is also...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 29.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Buy-side sentiment in key Asian steel scrap markets has been hurt by news that Chinese trading firms were offering Southeast Asian buyers steel billet which was already imported into China, together with recent falls in the scrap price in Turkey, sources said on Thursday October 28.?EUR?Easing bulk freight costs reduce Bangladesh deep-sea bulk scrap prices?EUR?China import demand muted after steel...Read More
A healthy price arbitrage for Japanese hot-rolled coil producers to export into steel markets in the Americas has enabled these mills to keep raising their steel scrap buying prices in recent months, sources told Fastmarkets.Japanese HRC exports to the Americas totaled 1.36 million tonnes in January-August 2021 under HS codes 7208 and 722530, up by 37.6% year on year, according to statistics from...Read More
A summary of production figures and financial results from Finnish metal producer Terrafame for the third quarter of 2021, as stated in its earnings report released on Thursday October 28.In brief Strong year-on-year gains in nickel and zinc output during the September quarter reflect low production figures in the comparison period due to a long maintenance shutdown. Net sales climbed almost 25% i...Read More
A healthy price arbitrage for Japanese hot-rolled coil producers to export into steel markets in the Americas has enabled these mills to keep raising their steel scrap buying prices in recent months, sources told Fastmarkets.Japanese HRC exports to the Americas totaled 1.36 million tonnes in January-August 2021 under HS codes 7208 and 722530, up by 37.6% year on year, according to statistics from...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 28 that are worth another look.The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a notice to Brazil-based miner Vale regarding a possible investigation surrounding the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in 2019. Brazilian miner Vale will resume activities...Read More
The price assessment for imported billet into Egypt decreased in the week to Thursday October 27, but local rebar prices widened upward on higher offers, sources told Fastmarkets.Local rebar producers increased their prices, effectiveOctober 20.Current offer prices for rebar range from E ?14,900 to15,350 ($946-975) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT.Demand failed to improve in the country, howev...Read More
China's cobalt metal prices declined this week in response to weak demand and cautious downstream buyers - diverging from the international trend for higher benchmark prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China was 395,000-410,000 yuan ($61,806-64,153) per tonne on Wednesday October 27, down by 2,000 yuan per tonne from 397,000-410,000 yuan per tonne on October 22...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday October 28, continuing to rebound following a recent period of widespread selling."Given the [recent] price action, this Friday's week- and month-end closes should be important to determine whether we see some longer-term length liquidate," Alastair Munro, LME desk analyst at Marex, sai...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 28 that are worth another look.The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a notice to Brazil-based miner Vale regarding a possible investigation surrounding the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in 2019. Brazilian miner Vale will resume activities...Read More
ArcelorMittal has moved forward scheduled maintenance of its galvanizing lines at its Florange site in northeastern France due to reduced demand from the automotive industry, a company representative told Fastmarkets.The company revealed the decision earlier this week, citing in part, the decreased demand from the automotive industry due to an ongoing global semiconductor shortage.The maintenance...Read More
Demand and prices for alumina in China were in limbo this week because market participants have become cautious after a steep decline in downstream aluminium prices, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday October 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for alumina, metallurgical grade, exw China, was 3,900-4,150 yuan ($610-650) per tonne on Thursday, flat from a week earlier.Domestic demand for alumina in...Read More
Demand and prices for alumina in China were in limbo this week because market participants have become cautious after a steep decline in downstream aluminium prices, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday October 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for alumina, metallurgical grade, exw China, was 3,900-4,150 yuan ($610-650) per tonne on Thursday, flat from a week earlier.Domestic demand for alumina in...Read More
For anyone purely judging manganese ore supply in China by looking at port stocks, he or she could misread the market supply picture due to rising "invisible stocks" in the past one to two months, sources told Fastmarkets. Typically, ore stocks are either stored at ports or held by producers at their warehouses or local storage sites. While port stocks are visible and measurable, the latter can be...Read More
Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for its proposal to amend the name and specifications of its UG2 chrome ore price index.This is in response to market feedback following its proposal to make the amendment. Fastmarkets proposes to change the specification for its chrome ore South Africa UG2 concentrates index basis 42%, cif China to include increasing the minimum tonnage and de...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 28 that are worth another look.The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a notice to Brazil-based miner Vale regarding a possible investigation surrounding the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in 2019. Brazilian miner Vale will resume activities...Read More