A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday July 21.Please click...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico fell this week amid a weak steel market performance and increasing inventories, sources told Fastmarkets. Low steel production in the country sent scrap stocks higher during the week.Efforts to reduce prices in the country became more widespread last week, with more steelmakers cutting buying prices and additional sellers affected by previously announc...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 21 that are worth another look.Two separate strikes at ArcelorMittal steelworks in northern Spain have had little or no impact on output, the company said on July 21.Maersk Line, the world's biggest shipping line by cargo capacity, will stop handling scrap cargoes destined for mainland China and Hong Kong due to policy uncerta...Read More
Ferroglobe has appointed Craig Arnold as its new chief commercial officer, effective immediately, in the second addition to its senior sales team this year of someone from a high-purity silicon background. "Mr. Arnold succeeds Jeff Watson, who chose to step down from his position to pursue other interests while being closer to his family in the United States," London-based Ferroglobe said on July...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices universally closed up on the previous day on Tuesday July 21, bolstered by the announcement on the European Union's ?,?750 billion ($857 million) fiscal package to fight the fallout of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The approval of the EU's recovery fund is expected to shore up a large amount of liquidity, which market participants anticipate wil...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices increased on Tuesday July 21 after further concerns emerged over supplies from Brazil, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $111.43 per tonne, up $1.89 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $113 per tonne, up $1.56 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $100.36 per tonne, up $2.50 per...Read More
Fastmarkets' seaborne premium hard coking coal cfr China index continued to edge up slightly on Tuesday July 21 after the latest transaction saw it rebound further from last week's perceived 'bottom'.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $108.26 per tonne, down $0.09 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $119.47 per tonne, up $0.91 per tonneHard coking coal,...Read More
The European spot ferro-silicon market, which has been falling since March, appears to have found a floor due to near-term supply worries with production cuts and reduced export offers into Europe supporting offer prices, trade sources told Fastmarkets.The market, currently at a price last achieved in March 2016, plunged after consumers in the steel sector brought the cost of the feedstock down ag...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices universally closed up on the previous day on Tuesday July 21, bolstered by the announcement on the European Union's ?,?750 billion ($857 million) fiscal package to fight the fallout of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The approval of the EU's recovery fund is expected to shore up a large amount of liquidity, which market participants anticipate wil...Read More
The United States' Midwest aluminium premium surged on Tuesday July 21, with wide contango spreads on the London Metal Exchange and a more bullish sentiment causing traders to raise offer prices.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium P1020A premium, ddp Midwest US at 10.5-11.5 cents per lb on July 21, up 15.8% from 9-10 cents per lb on Friday July 17 and up 22.2% from 8.5-9.5 cents per lb the week bef...Read More
A summary of Brazilian miner Vale's base metals production results for the second quarter of 2020, as stated in its production report published on Monday July 20.In brief Actions to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic prevented the production of 5,000 tonnes of nickel and 17,000 tonnes of copper, Vale said. These volumes would have increased the outputs shown below. Canadian nickel unit Vo...Read More
Maersk Line, the world's biggest shipping line by cargo capacity, will stop handling scrap cargoes destined for mainland China and Hong Kong due to policy uncertainties, it said on Friday July 17.The notice issued to Maersk's clients on July 17 and seen by Fastmarkets said that any scrap cargoes, including non-ferrous and ferrous metal scrap as well as textile and waste paper, scheduled to depart...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were collectively higher during morning trading on Tuesday July 21, supported by the unveiling of a ?,?750 billion ($857 billion) European Union stimulus package to counter the continued economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Topping complex gains over the morning, nickel's three-month price on the LME was recently trading at $13,340 per...Read More
Markets were for the most part stronger this morning, Tuesday July 21, encouraged by the ?,?750 billion ($858 billion) recovery fund that European Union leaders agreed on in the early hours of this morning. Markets were also being boosted by hopes that progress is being made on Covid-19 vaccines and ongoing concerns about supply disruptions, while participants seem content to look past the current...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have remained modestly below $23 per hundredweight ($460 per short ton) while the market waits to see whether a round of mill increases will succeed in lifting prices - or at least in keeping them from falling farther.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $22.90 per cwt ($458 per ton) on Tuesday July 21, littl...Read More
The US Department of Commerce has initiated anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of standard steel welded wire mesh from Mexico, according to a release from the US International Trade Administration (ITA) dated Tuesday July 21.The probes follow petitions filed by Insteel Wire Products, Mid-South Wire Co, National Wire, Oklahoma Steel & Wire Co and Wire Mesh Corp, the re...Read More
Two separate strikes at ArcelorMittal steelworks in northern Spain have had little or no impact on output, the company said on Tuesday, July 21.Workers at ArcelorMittal Olaberria in the Basque Country region started industrial action on July 15 over a new collective labor agreement, with workers demanding "decent salary increases and pension fund retention," according to the LAB union.Arcelo...Read More
Sales of flat-rolled steel by Brazilian distributors showed a rapid recovery in June, with volumes up both month on month from May and from June 2019, according to data from national distributors' association Inda.Distributors sold 290,500 tonnes of flat steel in June, up by 17.4% from 247,500 tonnes a year before, Inda said on Tuesday July 21. This volume was also up by 38.5% compared with 209,80...Read More
Liberty Steel has restarted production on the pickling line at its Magona plant in Italy and is preparing to restart operations on the long-idle organic coating line No1, the company said on Tuesday July 21.The producer has also invested ?,?10 million ($11.44 million) in the facility, formerly known as ArcelorMittal Piombino."I'm delighted to celebrate the first steps in our transformation plan fo...Read More
Prices for domestic hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were fairly stable day on day on Tuesday July 21, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at ?,?407.67 ($466.36) per tonne on Tuesday July 21, up by just ?,?0.28 per tonne from ?,?407.39 per tonne on Monday July 20. Tuesday's...Read More