Seaborne iron ore prices corrected upward on Friday October 22 after a sharp decrease on Thursday amid continuous bearish outlook for iron ore demand.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.52 per tonne, up $2.59 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $120.89 per tonne, up $2.21 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $92.38 per tonne, up $3.40 per tonne...Read More
Mexico's Altos Hornos de M?(C)xico (Ahmsa) is considering seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for its Minera del Norte thermal coal subsidiary, after a Mexican commission canceled state supply contracts, the company said on Thursday October 21.Minera del Norte - also known as Minosa - is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mexican steelmaker and has the capacity to produce 6.6 million tonnes per...Read More
The three-month copper contract is trading near record highs on the London Metal Exchange, cash prices are rising even faster, and inventories are descending toward zero. Try running a hedge book in those conditions.It's been a very real quandary facing the physical trade and industry, which awoke on Tuesday October 19 to find copper's cash to November spread had flared to a backwardation of more...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in Poland have remained broadly unchanged over the past seven days, but the market was expected to move up in November amid high costs for producers, source told Fastmarkets on Friday October 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (drawing quality), domestic, delivered Poland, remained at 3,800-3,900 zloty ($962-987) per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the...Read More
Vale has restarted a conveyor belt at its Salobo copper mine in Brazil following an 18-day stoppage due to a fire, the multi-metal producer said on Friday October 22.Activities at the site's processing plant resumed on Friday, and the company will subsequently ramp up copper concentrate output on Monday October 25.An estimated 8,000 tonnes of copper production was lost because of that downtime, Va...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
European trade groups warned about the potentially "catastrophic impact" of a Chinese magnesium supply shortage on metals producers in the region, calling on the European Commission and national governments to take immediate action to mitigate the risks to industry.The groups - European Aluminium, European steel association Eurofer, European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, European metals a...Read More
Prices for Brazilian slab declined in the export market amid fresh deals, but sources see solid demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil was at $720-740 per tonne on Friday October 22, down by $20 from $740-760 per tonne a...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums remained high across the globe on Friday October 22, with market participants focused on business for 2022.EuropeEuropean billet premiums hit more record highs in the week ended October 22, with continued strong demand and concern about availability going into next year.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region), at $...Read More
The price for grade 18/8 alloy steel scrap increased due to higher nickel costs, while underlying market fundamentals remained stable, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?1,340-1,440 ($1,850-1,988) per tonne on Friday, up by ?10-40 per tonne from ?1,330-1,400 per tonne the...Read More
Carbon steel plate prices in the United States were stable on Friday October 22 but are expected to go up next week, since Nucor announced a price increase Friday that market participants believe will be accepted.Fastmarkets' cut-to-length plate, fob mill US price was assessed at $89 per hundredweight ($1,780 per short ton) on Friday, flat since October 1 and at an all-time high.Inputs ranged...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
Indian domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil have risen by about 1,500 rupees ($20) per tonne in the week to Friday October 22, with most mills announcing price rises.Mills raised their HRC prices with demand increasing on active restocking by traders and a sharp increase in spot prices.Mills had raised their domestic HRC prices by about 1,000 rupees per tonne in the second week of October.The...Read More
Large volumes of steel billet position cargoes held by traders have been offered at lower prices to buyers in Southeast Asia in recent days amid China's continued price decline, sources told Fastmarkets.Closures at Chinese rerolling mills amid power rationing and environmental measures, together with spiraling ferrous futures markets, have badly damaged steel billet demand in the country this week...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in the global markets continued to strengthen in the week ended Friday October 22 amid firm demand and tight supply. Turkish steel mills continued to pay higher prices for deep-sea scrap cargoes, while buyers in Southeast Asia had to raise their bids because of limited supply.?EUR?Turkish steel mills end the week with five deep-sea cargo trades, prices up?EUR?Tight supply in t...Read More
A summary of Australia-listed lithium producer Orocobre's production results as of 30 September 2021, released on Friday October 22.In brief Average pricing for the fourth quarter of 2021 and January 2022 for shipments of spodumene, a precursor of lithium, is $1,650 per tonne on a cif basis for 6% Li2O, "almost double that of the September quarter," the company said. The average spodumen...Read More
Hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil prices continued to surge in Turkey during the week to Friday October 22, supported by strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Flat steel prices started increasing in Turkey last week following the spike in scrap prices.Scrap prices have increased further over the past week, with Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) United States origin, cfr...Read More
Seaborne prices for low-volatility pulverized coal injection material (PCI) in both the fob and cfr markets in China have increased because of persistently tight supply, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 22.A trade was finally heard in the fob spot market on Friday. And China's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) held a meeting during the morning to work out plans to tackle high coal...Read More
Changes to deliverable stocks of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses were mixed during the week to Friday October 22, with aluminium increasing the most in percentage terms and tin leading the declines.Aluminium inventories grew by 20,657 tonnes, or 8.3%, week on week to 269,582 tonnes, from 248,925 tonnes previously, with stocks in warehouses in Henan, Guangdong and Jiangsu region...Read More
A summary of China's minor metals exports and imports for September 2021Exports In brief ?EUR?China's export of antimony continued to increase in September. The Netherlands remained the biggest buyer of Chinese antimony with 582,946 tonnes of import. The rest of China's exports went mainly to Japan, South Korea and the United States. ?EUR?China's import of selenium dropped...Read More