Egypt consumed 312,000 tonnes of rebar in May 2020, 35.36% less than the 482,700 tonnes consumed in May 2019, Egyptian sources told Fastmarkets.This is the lowest rebar consumption figure for the last ten years, sources noted. Comparatively, Egypt consumed 452,800 tonnes of rebar in April 2020, sources said.If consumption continues to fall at this rate, market sources expect the country's annual r...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 29 that are worth another look.Mining company BHP Group and steel producer China Baowu Steel Group have completed their first iron ore trade on MineHub Technologies Inc's blockchain-based platform.Poor physical aluminium market conditions have forced people to store excess metal, pushing total aluminium stocks on the London Met...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 Turkish steel mills continued to shy away from deep-sea scrap purchases at the beginning of this week, expecting lower prices soon, sources said on Monday June 29.The mills in Turkey booked only two deep-sea cargoes last week, which totaled 67,500 tonnes.Producers have been keeping their deep-sea scrap purchases at a low level because of the limited demand and, therefore, falling prices for lo...Read More
Vietnam's steelmakers exported huge volumes of steel to China in the first five months of 2020, according to statistics from the Southeast Asian country's customs agency.A total of 570,410 tonnes of Vietnamese iron and steel products were shipped to China in the January-May period, more than eight-and-a-half times of just 66,069 tonnes in the same period of 2019, the data shows.Steel billet produc...Read More
Mining company BHP Group and steel producer China Baowu Steel Group have completed their first iron ore trade on MineHub Technologies Inc's blockchain-based platform. The platform, which was launched in October 2019, aims to improve efficiency in trading operations and in environmental and social governance (ESG) compliance in the mining and metals supply chains.MineHub said the trade marks the fi...Read More
European prices for vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) and ferro-vanadium continued to fall in the week ended Friday June 26 under pressure from weak end-user demand, with V2O5 prices dropping by 7%.Fastmarkets assessed the price of vanadium pentoxide, 98% V2O5 min, in-whs Rotterdam, at $5.10-5.50 per lb on Friday, down from $5.15-6.25 per lb in the previous week. The market was now at its lowest for three...Read More
Striking workers have put all industrial action at Tata Steel IJmuiden on hold until Friday June 26 to negotiate with management, Dutch trade union FNV Metaal said this week. All industrial action at Tata Steel IJmuiden has been temporarily stopped until Friday 1 pm local time after the company invited unions to the negotiation table, FNV said on Wednesday. "Due to the pressure of the strikes, the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday June 23 that are worth another look.A recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections in Beijing led to some jitters in China's steel sector in the initial stages of the outbreak, but market participants do not expect this second wave to leave much of an impact on the industry.The aluminium duty-paid market in Europe is set to come under...Read More
Sales of passenger cars in the EU will fall by 25% year on year in the full 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Tuesday June 23.The major economic crisis facing the auto industry will see car sales in the European Union tumble by more than 3 million units, with only 9.6 million units expected to be sold this year, compar...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 29 that are worth another look.Mining company BHP Group and steel producer China Baowu Steel Group have completed their first iron ore trade on MineHub Technologies Inc's blockchain-based platform.Poor physical aluminium market conditions have forced people to store excess metal, pushing total aluminium stocks on the London Met...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
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow increased over the past week, supported by demand exceeding supply, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 29.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, was 34,000 roubles ($487) per tonne on June 29. This was up by 1,000-1,500 roubles per tonne week on...Read More
European producers of hot-rolled coil have increased their offer prices despite low trading activity in the week ended Friday June 26.Fastmarkets' daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?393.75 ($441.67) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?3.75 per tonne from ?,?394.38 per tonne week on week, but down by ?,?13.75 per tonne month on month.Friday's index was based on workable prices a...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 29 that are worth another look.Mining company BHP Group and steel producer China Baowu Steel Group have completed their first iron ore trade on MineHub Technologies Inc's blockchain-based platform.Poor physical aluminium market conditions have forced people to store excess metal, pushing total aluminium stocks on the London Met...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 threat of Section 232 tariffs on aluminium imports from Canada into the United States has, like the great white shark following the Brody family in the universally panned film, 'Jaws: The Revenge,' returned - akin to a truly awful horror movie franchise. And that's how Neil Herrington, senior vice president for the Americas, US Chamber of Commerce, views reports that the US administration is c...Read More
The London Metal Exchange recently reiterated its willingness to facilitate spot trading of low carbon aluminium. While not a new concept for the exchange, it would serve two important purposes. First, it would provide more transparent, digitalized data on the specification of its aluminium brands and determine whether people are actually paying more for low carbon metal. Second, it would pro...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Monday June 29 due to a weak demand outlook, reflecting heavy rainfall in several parts of China and fresh pollution control restrictions imposed on mills in Tangshan for the month of July. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $99.85 per tonne, down $3.49 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $102.45 per tonne, down $4.04 per to...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange consolidated higher during morning trading on Monday June 29, although it remained firmly below the $6,000 per tonne threshold. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently at $5,956.50 per tonne, up from a morning low of $5,924 per tonne, but firmly below the $6,000 per tonne threshold, despite spiking above the resistance level on Frid...Read More