China continued to show strong demand for pig iron in the week ended Friday June 5, supporting a global uptrend in prices for the raw material.Four cargoes of pig iron with a total volume of at least 180,000 tonnes were bought for the Chinese market from Brazil and the Commonwealth of Independent States during the week.One booking of Russia-origin material was heard at $334 per tonne cfr. Another...Read More
Pig iron exporters in Brazil achieved higher prices in the week to Friday June 5 in deals to China, market sources said. Fastmarkets' assessment of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was unchanged at $295-300 per tonne on Friday, but this week the top end of the range reflects a deal achieved at this price rather than offers last...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom moved up for the second consecutive week on Friday June 5, driving by ongoing tight material availability. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK was ?65-80 ($82-100) per tonne on Friday, up from ?60-70 per tonne on May 29. This is the second wee...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices snapped over a week of increases on Friday June 5 due to heavy rain in the country's southern region and high temperatures in the north sapping demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,600-3,630 yuan ($508-512) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,700-3,730 yuan per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonneAdverse weather condi...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market climbed over the past week due to robust demand from Chinese importers.Market participants said China's appetite for imported billet returned after domestic steel prices increased in response to costlier iron ore and production cuts in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast...Read More
Import prices of steel billet in China have risen to the $400-per-tonne-cfr mark this week on steady demand amid a domestic market strengthened by restrictions imposed on blast furnaces in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan.Local authorities in Tangshan, in northern China's Hebei province, have instructed mills to cut their blast furnace production rates by 20-50% in June to improve air qua...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday June 5.China The domestic market has stabilized while immediate availability of material has continued to be tight. The export market was unchanged, with an absence of trading activity....Read More
European monthly stainless steel alloy surcharges have increased significantly for June but there has been no corresponding increase in transaction prices following their fall at the end of May, Fastmarkets heard on Friday June 5.Fastmarkets' calculation for June of the stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm grade 304, alloy surcharge domestic, Europe, was ?,?1,329-1,363 ($1,497-1,535) per tonne,...Read More
Vehicle production increased in Latin America during May, when compared with the all-time lows reported in April, but continued to represent a sharp year-on-year decrease while most plants remained closed or are just starting to reopen following Covid-related halts.Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are the region's top auto producing countries, Fastmarkets understands.MexicoMexican light vehicle output...Read More
Vehicle production increased in Latin America during May, when compared with the all-time lows reported in April, but continued to represent a sharp year-on-year decrease while most plants remained closed or are just starting to reopen following Covid-related halts.Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are the region's top auto producing countries, Fastmarkets understands.MexicoMexican light vehicle output...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 50.8% year-on-year drop in shipment volumes in April, Eurometal said on Thursday June 4.In first four months of 2020, shipments of flat steel products by European steel service centers decreased by 18.5% year on year. Eurometal does not disclose product volumes.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe ...Read More
Workers of Tata Steel Netherlands have voted in favor of industrial action to protest planned redundancies, trade union FNV Metaal said on Thursday June 4. Employees of Tata Steel's Dutch asset in IJmiuden are ready to go on strikes if Tata Steel fails to comply with their demands, according to FNV. "If the management of Tata Steel does not meet [our] requirements before Wednesday [June 10], we wi...Read More
Global aluminium billet premiums were unchanged but for a drop in Thailand, with spot demand battered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Europe begins third quarter negotiationsUS premium static in lifeless spot marketBrazil premium flat amid weak spot interestWeak demand sinks premium in ThailandQ3 negotiations in Europe start with offers around $280-300/t Market participants throughout Europe have beg...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of regional supply chain security for critical materials like cobalt, the president and chief executive officer of First Cobalt said. According to Trent Mell, the increasing trend toward electric vehicles (EVs) has added to the impetus to ensure that a reliable and ethical supply of refined cobalt is available for use in batteries. "If the Covid...Read More
The uptake of batteries for energy storage is expected to soar between 2020 and 2030 in Europe, supporting the growth of flexible electricity assets while new renewable capacity ramps up in its key economies.Investments in green mobility and renewable sources of electricity are high on the agenda of the EU member states, to comply with energy transition targets.With sales of electric vehicles (EV)...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday June 5.China The domestic market has stabilized while immediate availability of material has continued to be tight. The export market was unchanged, with an absence of trading activity....Read More
The government of South Africa has eased the country's lockdown, yet the continued threat of Covid-19 will dampen the recovery in chrome and manganese ore supply.The government of South Africa hopes its miners will ramp up production and bolster the flagging South African economy following the lowering of the nationwide alert on Monday June 1, easing restrictions to combat the Covid-19 virus. "Und...Read More
How long it will take the global economy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic is anyone's guess right now.Could the world's major economic regions be in for an "LUV" recovery similar to the one they saw after the global financial crisis of 2008-09?That was the format of recovery that was expected in 2009 by former Rio Tinto chief executive officer Tom Albanese, who was at the helm of the mining g...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to lead to another casualty: the mega mine. The volatility created by crises like Covid-19 is adding a layer of uncertainty to the development of large-scale projects that take a decade or more to progress and are highly capital intensive, according to Tom Albanese, the former chief executive officer of Rio Tinto.This means that mining projects are likely to be deve...Read More
New Day Aluminum Holdings, the parent company of Noranda Bauxite, Noranda Alumina, and Niche Industrial Chemicals, on June 2 announced the appointment of John Habisreitinger as chief operating officer.New Day produces bauxite for metallurgical and non-metallurgical applications in Jamaica, and...Read More