Demand for imported steel billet and domestic steel reinforcing bar (rebar) in Egypt remained weak in the seven days to Thursday June 11, but billet import prices increased because of high offers, sources told Fastmarkets.No improvement in demand is anticipated any time soon because all construction activity was halted for six months by order of the Egyptian president in late&n...Read More
Liberty Steel plans to replace the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) at its Galati plant in Romania with two electric-arc furnaces (EAFs), with the aim of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, the company announced this week.Within the next three to five years Liberty also plans to install a 2.50 million tonnes-per-year direct reduced iron (DRI) module at the Galati plant, a Liberty Galati...Read More
Turkish domestic rebar and wire rod prices have increased over the past week due to rising imported scrap costs and strong demand, sources said on Thursday June 11.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 3,400-3,440 lira ($501-507) per tonne on Thursday, up from 3,250-3,300 lira per tonne, including 18% VAT, the week before.Steel producers in...Read More
GFG Alliance is to create its first "Greensteel" facility in Europe at its Liberty Steel facility in Galati, Romania, as part of its plan to become carbon neutral by 2030, the company said this week.The investment plans include a Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) plant with a capacity to produce 2.5 million tonnes - initially using natural gas, but with the aim of transitioning to using hydrogen...Read More
Turkish steel mills took a break from deep-sea scrap purchasing on Thursday June 11, after booking significant volumes in recent weeks, sources told Fastmarkets.Turkish steelmakers have booked at least 14 deep-sea cargoes since the beginning of the month, totaling around 450,000 tonnes.They have been booking deep-sea scrap since the easing of Covid-19-related restrictions led to an...Read More
Market participants in the Bangladesh scrap market must close the gap between bids and offers to achieve any fresh bulk sales, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 11. Some traders expected Bangladeshi mills to re-enter the market for bulk and containerized scrap in the weeks following the country's Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, but this has simply not materialized.Instead, while bulk scrap offers fr...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were largely unchanged on Thursday June 11, while market participants waited for fresh data on port inventories in China Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $103.74 per tonne, down $0.19 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $106.65 per tonne, down $0.13 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $93.25 per tonne...Read More
Seaborne premium coking coal prices edged up on Thursday June 11, possibly supported by concerns over tightening import quotas in China, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 11. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $107.59 per tonne, up $0.63 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $116.81 per tonne, up $1.79 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $88....Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore prices have shot up as market participants have judged the supply risks from Covid-19 higher at this point in time when there is already a tight seaborne market. Despite the efforts to ramp up, Vale is struggling to catch up with its pre-dam disaster export volumes and its slow recovery has only been hit further by...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Thursday June 11 amid inactivity, but high production rates have raised concerns over a possible downside for the market over the next week.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,590-3,620 yuan ($508-512) per tonne, unchangedBad weather kept demand for rebar weak but sellers maintained their prices amid rising futures.Market participants think rebar prices...Read More
The nickel price on the London Metal Exchange came under pressure during morning trading on Thursday June 11, with a complex-wide downturn emerging after the US Federal Reserve estimated that the US economy would shrink by 6.5% in 2020. Speaking on Wednesday, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell also said that higher US unemployment levels would persist throughout the year and would still be at 9.3...Read More
The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at $14.60-15.00/lb on...Read More
The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.(Due to an error, the percentage change for manganese 99.7% electrolytic manganese...Read More
A slew of extensive stimulus measures to boost the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to provide any immediate support to prices for cobalt and lithium in China, according to market participants. In the past two weeks, several European countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom, either announced schemes to encourage the adop...Read More
Chinese domestic smartphone shipments declined by 10.4% year on year in May 2020, resuming its downturn following year-on-year growth of 17.2% in April, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) data - released on June 10 - shows.Mobile phone shipments in China totalled 32.7 million in May, while total shipments so far this year amounted to 121 million, down by 16% year on...Read More
Risk assets were weaker this morning, Thursday June 11, with the base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange down across the board, as were Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity index futures. US Federal Reserve projections suggest no rate rise until end of 2022......hints they expect a long drawn out recovery, implying less of a V-shaped one.Concerns rise about a second s...Read More
Stainless steel prices in the United States rose in June, moving in tandem with higher surcharge costs; meanwhile, base prices held steady while mills maintained lower production levels to keep supply closer to demand, which rose modestly.Fastmarkets' assessments for stainless steel 304 cold-rolled sheet, fob mill US and for stainless steel 304L cold-rolled sheet, fob mill US both rose by&nbs...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel sellers raised their offers on nickel gains over the week ended Wednesday June 10 but failed to conclude any deals.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday's official trading session at $12,952 per tonne, up by $67 per tonne from a week earlier. DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 13,300-13,800...Read More
China's schedule to rename copper and aluminium scrap metal as renewable materials in July is not likely to be met, Fastmarkets has learned."There are only two weeks to go and nothing has been heard from Chinese customs yet," a source familiar with the matter said, adding that the delay could be more than one month.Currently, copper, brass and aluminium scrap imports are sold to the country under...Read More