Brazilian flat and long steel producer Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) has halted the No2 blast furnace at its Usina Presidente Vargas (UPV) unit, aiming to adapt its steel production to weak demand conditions, the company said late on Friday May 29.The affected equipment has capacity for 1.50 million tonnes of crude steel per year. CSN did not say how long the stoppage will last. In mid-May...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 1 that are worth another look.Mining company Rio Tinto has apologized for destroying one of Australia's oldest Aboriginal heritage sites in order to expand an iron ore project and said that it was urgently reviewing plans at other sites in the Juukan Gorge area.Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery cell maker Northvolt hav...Read More
The premium for direct-reduced (DR) iron ore pellet for the second quarter of 2020 remained provisional, and suppliers were unlikely to revise it downward retrospectively in the way that had been expected, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' assessment of the iron ore DR-grade pellet premium to 65% Fe fines index, Middle East reference, was $31 per tonne on Friday May 29, up by $1 per tonne month o...Read More
The European Commission (EC) plans to replace general annual quotas for hot-rolled coil with quarterly country-specific quotas and introduce some other strict measures to existing safeguard restrictions against imported steel, Fastmarkets understands.The EC sent a notice listing the changes to the World Trade Organization on May 29. The EC initiated a second review of the existing safeguard measur...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to extend the delivery window for its aluminium P1020A (MJP) spot premium, cif Japan. The current methodology reflects cargoes sold on a cif basis for delivery to the main Japanese ports of Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka within four weeks from the date of the transaction. Fastmarkets invites comment from market participants to determine whether extending the delivery window to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 1 that are worth another look.Mining company Rio Tinto has apologized for destroying one of Australia's oldest Aboriginal heritage sites in order to expand an iron ore project and said that it was urgently reviewing plans at other sites in the Juukan Gorge area.Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery cell maker Northvolt hav...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday June 1, needing only a further slight push to rise above $5,500 per tonne - a level it has not breached since March 11 - while a smaller-than-expected fall in US monthly construction spending also supported the base-metals complex.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $5,484 per tonne on...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has formally canceled this year's LME Week, which was due to take place in London later this year, "due to the Covid-19 pandemic."All of its official events related to the annual gathering will not happen this year, the exchange said in a notice to members on Monday June 1."In the interests of ensuring the safety of all attendees from across the metals industry, the LME h...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices mostly decreased on Monday June 1 after the surge on Friday May 29, with market participants waiting for a clear trend. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $100.45 per tonne, down $1.94 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $103.89 per tonne, down $1.11 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $91.93 per tonne, up $4.63 per to...Read More
Sentiment in the CIS export market for steel billet improved over the weekend of May 30-31 with higher bids heard from customers in China.The increased cost of iron ore, together with an upswing in the East Asian country's domestic rebar market and production cuts planned in Tangshan province, supported interest in imported billet.Fastmarkets' daily index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao, wa...Read More
Northern European hot-rolled coil producers still face poor demand for flat steel, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 1.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?402.50 ($446.83) per tonne on Monday June 1, up by ?,?1.79 per tonne from ?,?400.71 per tonne on May 29.Monday's index was calculated based on the latest deals, "workable" pri...Read More
Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) has been excluded from the investment portfolio of Norway's largest asset manager because of activities at the Ramu NiCo mine in Papua-New Guinea, of which the East Asian company is the majority owner and operator.Storebrand, which made the exclusion on environmental behaviour grounds, told Fastmarkets that the the nickel and cobalt mine has discharged tail...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday June 1, needing only a further slight push to rise above $5,500 per tonne - a level it has not breached since March 11 - while a smaller-than-expected fall in US monthly construction spending also supported the base-metals complex.Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $5,484 per tonne on...Read More
Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery cell maker Northvolt have formed a joint venture to harness recycling synergies between their two industries, Northvolt said. The Hydro Volt venture aims to leverage the Norwegian market for electric vehicles to secure a sustainable feed of battery materials. Northvolt, based in the Swedish city of Stockholm, said the joint recycling hub is slated to star...Read More
An open import arbitrage window during May has led to significant declines in copper and zinc stocks in the Shanghai bonded zone, while aluminium stocks rose following a rush by participants to deliver more metal in bonded warehouses to satisfy growing appetite to import the light metal into China.Shanghai bonded copper stocks fall to all-time low Copper stocks at Shanghai bonded warehouses have d...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange inched up 0.8% during morning trading on Monday June 1, pushing back above nearby resistance levels amid strong turnover, while a 200-tonne outflow for LME tin stocks kept its price elevated. The copper price was recently at $5,420 per tonne, climbing from Friday's closing price of $5,376 per tonne. Daily trading volumes are strong at more...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have slipped back below $25 per hundredweight ($500 per ton) after pushing above that threshold late last week amid uncertainty about whether the latest price increases from domestic mills would stick.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $24.98 per cwt ($499.60 per ton) on Monday June 1, down by 0.8% from $25.18 p...Read More
Steel plate prices in the United States have continued to hold steady after a round of price increases announced in late May again failed to gain traction on the market.US plate mills announced hikes of $40-50 per short ton ($2-2.50 per hundredweight) during the week ended May 22, but so far the follow-through has been hampered by pre-increase discounting and severe weakness in important end marke...Read More
The United States Department of Commerce has announced an affirmative circumvention ruling against imports of steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) from Mexico.Commerce issued an affirmative preliminary circumvention ruling against Mexican rebar on March 4.Commerce said imports of straight rebar that is bent at one or both ends and produced and/or exported to the US by Deacero SAPI de CV circumve...Read More
Prices for domestic and imported merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel in the United States remained flat in May amid stirrings of activity and an improving outlook.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel bar 2 x 2 x 1/4 -inch angle merchant products, fob mill US was unchanged at $33.80 per hundredweight ($676 per short ton) on Friday May 29 after declining to that level on April 24; the...Read More