Iranian exporters of billet and slab were quiet in the week ended Wednesday October 27 amid asoftening of the Asian long and flat steel markets, particularly in China, which has been one of the main export outlets for their material this year.A sharp drop in futures and physical prices for rebar and hot-rolled coil (HRC) in China resulted in a reduction of demand for imported semi-finished steel p...Read More
A weakening import billet market in Asia, particularly China - which has been one of the main destinations for CIS-origin material this year - has forced CIS mills to seek support in nearer markets.Interest in import billet dropped sharply in China over the past ten days following a crash in rebar futures prices due to lower demand for long steel products in the country.In such conditions, traders...Read More
The low-carbon ferro-chrome market in Europe leapt over the two weeks to Tuesday October 26 to a multi-year high due to extremely tight availability, with some sellers not offering on the spot market and consumers scrambling to find material.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe was $3.43-3.75 per lb Cr on October 26, up by 38-50 cents (13.97%)...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe was unchanged on Wednesday October 27, with the market looking to recoup recent losses, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,230-1,275 ($1,427-1,479) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.Market sources believed that hollow sections prices had reac...Read More
The price of steel H-beams in Europe remained stable on Wednesday October 27 amid improving demand linked to better sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams domestic, delivered northern Europe was ?,?1,010-1,030 ($1,172-1,195) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week."We are seeing sentiment starting to turn and...Read More
More than 10% of the global container fleet is waiting for berths to become available around the world, with effective capacity being "severely limited by port congestion," shipping giant Maersk said this week.While all vessels have been deployed, 12.5% of capacity has been removed while effects of vessel delays continue to worsen, it said, quoting Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis.Trade growth m...Read More
A summary of the operational results for Russia's largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), which also has assets in Europe and the United States, for the third quarter (July-September) of 2021In brief?EUR? In the third quarter, NLMK's consolidated sales decreased by 4% compared with the second quarter, to 4.1 million tonnes amid steel output reductions at its Russian flat steel division.?EUR?...Read More
Guidance for China to achieve its carbon emissions peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 was jointly released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Sunday October 24.The guidance specifies that by the year 2025, China's energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product will be reduced by 13.5% from 2020 levels, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 27 that are worth another look.Long and flat-rolled steel producer Gerdau expects demand to continue to grow in 2022, after a rapid recovery of the local market this year from the lows of 2020 that were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the...Read More
The low-carbon ferro-chrome market in Europe leapt over the two weeks to Tuesday October 26 to a multi-year high due to extremely tight availability, with some sellers not offering on the spot market and consumers scrambling to find material.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe was $3.43-3.75 per lb Cr on October 26, up by 38-50 cents (13.97%)...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Janie Davies in London;...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Alex Cook...Read More
The collapse of the iron ore market and market turbulence over Chinese property developer Evergrande Group are adding to the economic woes caused by the Delta variant of Covid-19 for much of this year.It is hard to find bright sparks in the months ahead for the ferrous supply chain, which has been buffeted repeatedly in a short span of few months, starting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's comment...Read More
If any member was going to leave the London Metal Exchange ring trading floor, the exchange was probably hoping it wouldn't be Triland Metals Ltd.The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi, is one of the exchange's longest serving Category 1 members, having joined in 1972 after being founded in the prior year. Having a unit of Japan's largest trading company as a ri...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board at the 5pm close of trading on Wednesday October 27, following a further drop in coal prices and widespread selling."Today's news that [China's] National Development & Reform Commission has set the price of thermal and coking coal at levels [that will reduce] key input prices for energy-intensive metals - pertinent to alumi...Read More
Prices for aluminium P1020A cargoes offered into China have come down from multi-year highs because of a marked decline in demand, an uncertain near-term outlook and the closure of the London-Shanghai arbitrage window, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday October 27.Fastmarkets' latest monthly assessment of the aluminium P1020A premium, cif Shanghai, was $130-140 per tonne on Tuesday, down from a six-ye...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices in both the fob and cfr markets were relatively flat on Wednesday October 27. And China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) intervened in the coal market to curb thermal coal prices, which led to a sharp drop in the coal and coke futures market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $614.46 per tonne, up by $0.09 per tonneHard coking...Read More
European steel companies must scale up their decarbonization technologies within the coming decade or risk exhausting their allocated emissions allowances early, according to a report released on Tuesday September 14.The report, "Steeling for Net Zero," by climate researcher Industry Tracker, found that selected European steel companies have less than 26% of their carbon budget remaining and must...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US prices for hot-rolled coil moved in line with our forecasts in August, averaging $1,910 per ton, within 1% accuracy of our forecast of $1,925 per ton. The market has achieved much-needed stability in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating in the range of $1,900-1,94...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Bulk and noble alloys both moved largely in line with our price forecasts globally over the past month, though several markets surprised to the upside, exceeding our forecast gains. Stronger-than-forecast pricing momentum was primarily triggered by supply shortages in numerous...Read More