Germany-based car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has agreed a strategic partnership with China-based battery cell maker Farasis Energy, which includes buying a 3% stake in the Chinese company, it said on Friday July 3.The minority stake will allow Daimler, Mercedes' parent company, to nominate a representative for a seat on the battery cell maker's supervisory board.The minority investment is awaiting...Read More
Tata Steel has reached an agreement with trade union FNV Metaal over its Dutch assets, bringing an end to 25 days of industrial action, the company said on Friday July 3.There will be no redundancies at Tata Steel at IJmuiden and the parent company will invest in site's upgrade, FNV said.In addition, an employment pact for the company's Dutch workers has been extended by five years until Octo...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 2 that are worth another look.European importers of long steel and hot-rolled coil have claimed that this week's definitive decision in the EU steel imports safeguard case review ignored the interests of independent buyers and focused protection only on steelmakers, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.Chilean...Read More
Most Turkish flat steel prices hit a monthly peak on June 12, following feedstock prices, before edging back down when buyers concluded their procurement activity, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 2. Turkish flat steel producers are fully booked until mid-September. Feedstock scrap prices fluctuated in June. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), U...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday July 3 that are worth another look.Production resumes at Hydro's Paragominas mine and Alunorte alumina refinery. The power supply to the Paragominas bauxite mine, in the state of Par?? in northern Brazil, has been restored, producer Hydro said on Friday July 3.The volume of recoverable copper reserves at Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi...Read More
Brazilian export prices for steel slab inched downward in the week ended Friday July 3 with recent deals closed near the lower end of the assessed range and higher offers being rejected.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, narrowed downward by $10 to $375-390 per tonne on Friday, from $375-400 per tonne a week earlier.Export offers of September-shipmen...Read More
The majority of import prices for flat-rolled steel in South America were static during the week to Friday July 3 with market participants gauging the interest for September-shipment cargoes in the region, but some prices increased due to higher offers from China."We expect [to see] some requirements and inquiries from Ecuadorian customers [during August shipment negotiations, rather than only fro...Read More
Steel scrap prices in the global markets continued to fall in the working week ended Friday July 3, with the exception of Turkey, which secured a cargo at a higher price as the week closed.Turkey secures further cargoesUS East Coast recyclers reduce buying pricesVietnam demand gets thin on increasingly bearish sentimentTaiwan buyers seek lower pricesIndia's poor demand hits prices.TurkeyTurkish st...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is looking for ways to boost its options market, which has been struggling for some years to replicate the growth seen in the same sector among its peers.The exchange has launched a consultation, scheduled to end on July 29, on developing electronic options via a new trading platform while retaining its current inter-office options trading structure.Items up for discussio...Read More
The mining industry does a huge amount of good for local communities, to say nothing of its essential contribution to society through the materials it produces. Unfortunately, it all too often manages to give itself a bad name, worsening negative perceptions of the sector through accidents, spills and a failure to act as a steward of the environments in which it operates. In the past month alone,...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic that is sweeping across the world this year has changed the landscape of the seaborne coking coal market drastically.With there just being half of 2020 to go and amid a resurgence of cases around the world, Fastmarkets takes a look at the key factors to look out for in the market.1. China's import window China has been imposing non-tariff import restrictions on imported metal...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday July 3 that are worth another look.Production resumes at Hydro's Paragominas mine and Alunorte alumina refinery. The power supply to the Paragominas bauxite mine, in the state of Par?? in northern Brazil, has been restored, producer Hydro said on Friday July 3.The volume of recoverable copper reserves at Rio Tinto's Oyu Tolgoi...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices went up on Friday July 3, crossing the $100 per tonne threshold once more after falling below the mark in late June. A rise in prices in both the Chinese iron ore futures market and the 62% Fe July swaps contract on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) contributed to the increase.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $100.65 per tonne, up $1.18 per tonn...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices diverged on Friday July 3, with market participants taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the market, Fastmarkets was told.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $114.60 per tonne, up $0.11 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $125.50 per tonne, down $1.27 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $92.83 per tonne, up $0.33 per tonneHard coking c...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Capped by oversupplyA lack of a meaningful supply adjustment to the Covid-19 demand hit is keeping the aluminium physical market oversupplied and weighing on prices, limiting the success of more buoyant macro and technical forces on prices. Our premium forecasts are under review in light of threats from the U...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The latest forecast of global oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption paints a stark picture of the slowdown in demand from the energy industry in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent oil and gas retreat.For 2020, total global consumption is expected to amount to 13.2 million tonnes, a decline of nearly 3.5...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In previous reports, we noted that upside risks to our forecasts existed. These were based on Chinese steel production, and in turn alloy consumption, outperforming our expectations.Chinese crude steel production is rising each month in a year-on-year comparison, prompting our revised view that Chinese alloy consumption will...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The recent price fall in the iron ore market signals the start of a downturn, after prices averaged at the highest level in almost a year in June. A combination of both supply-related events in Brazil and demand factors in China have put pressure on prices. Vale has received permit to resume mining operations in Itabira, whi...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States was soft and quiet during the week ended Friday July 3 because of the country's Independence Day holiday and expectations of lower scrap prices.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $320-325 per tonne on Friday, down by $5 per tonne from $325-330 per tonne a week before.Sales were heard to the US from the nor...Read More