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
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Janie Davies in London;...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
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
Labor shortages across the global scrap industry pose the biggest threat to growth, according to a panel discussion at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in Brussels on Tuesday October 26."We are having tremendous difficulties in hiring employees as we grow," George Adams, president of SA Recycling said as part of the discussion."There is going to be a massive shortage of scrap...Read More
Domestic steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States were sideways on Wednesday October 27, but import tags went up for the first time in nearly two months.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US was $49.25 per hundredweight ($985 per short ton) on October 27, unchanged since August 11 at its highest level since late 2008. This marks the 11th week of that the a...Read More
Consolidating its position in the battery materials supply chain amid fierce competition is the biggest challenge facing Greatpower Nickel & Cobalt Materials Co, company president Dongqiang Cao told Fastmarkets in an interview.Previously, attracting investment and improving the ability to provide finance had proved to be a bottleneck in the early stages of Greatpower's development, when it expande...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
China's domestic rebar prices dropped sharply on Wednesday October 27 due to high supplies and weak demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,200-5,230 yuan ($814-819) per tonne, down by 150-170 yuan per tonneThe supply of coal to major power plants has been higher than consumption for 20 days, according to a report by state-owned CCTV...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
A summary of the financial results for Turkey's largest steelmaking group, Erdemir, for January-September 2021.In brief?EUR? Erdemir Group produced 6.815 million tonnes of crude steel over the first nine months of 2021, equivalent to 23% of the national total.?EUR? The group's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) increased year-on-year by 291.98% in January-Septe...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
Turkish steel mills were quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets ahead of an upcoming Republic Day holiday on Thursday and Friday, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 27.The most recent cargo was recorded on Tuesday, when a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a cargo from the United States, consisting of 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) and 10,000 tonnes of shredded at an average price o...Read More
A flurry of export sales off the East Coast and Florida has put further supply pressure on an already tight US ferrous scrap market.An East Coast sale that was reported on October 22 for an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap priced at $510 per tonne and shredded scrap at $530 per tonne raised eyebrows for its high selling price.It is too early to tell whether this cargo is an outlier tha...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices inched downward on Wednesday October 27 because most market participants were cautious about procurement amid the generally weak demand outlooks for the rest of 2021, market sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.86 per tonne, down by $2.44 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $122.15 per tonne, down by $1.96 per tonne58% Fe fin...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 UG2 chrome-ore market has seen fresh liquidity with previous offers from miners encouraging buying interest. And ample supply plus sluggish demand has continued to weigh on the market.Fastmarkets' chrome ore South Africa UG2 concentrates index basis 42%, cif China dipped by $1 per tonne on October 26 to $154 per tonne."40 to 42 percent concentrate material is under huge pressure and...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States rebounded for a second consecutive day after hitting their lowest price since early August on Monday October 25, but participants were still divided on the market direction.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $95.87 per hundredweight ($1,917.40 per ton) on Wednesday October 27, up by 0.46% from $95.43 per cwt on...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
A decision by the European Union on the future of the bloc's scrap metal export trade, which is worth billions of euros per year, could come as early as December this year, the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in Brussels heard on Tuesday October 26.The recycling industry is facing tremendous challenges, panelists said. The EU has proposed restrictions on the export of "waste" ma...Read More