A lack of vehicle-charging infrastructure, along with constraints on the supply of battery raw materials, were the major challenges to growth in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has said.Lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite are critical raw materials for the production of battery cathodes an...Read More
China's output and sales of automobiles declined in September on an annual basis amid a shortage of semiconductor chips and the country's "dual control" energy-consumption policy, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in its monthly report published on Tuesday October 12.Carmakers in China produced 2.08 million units in September, up by 20.4% month on month but down by 17.9...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil decreased across Europe in the week ended Wednesday October 13 due to weaker demand from distributors and the automotive sector, sources told Fastmarkets.Sources expect distributors to return to the market in November. While the majority of European distributors have sufficient stocks to last until the year-end, they will need to restock for the first...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil fell in Northern Europe and Italy on Wednesday October 13 with both buyers and sellers preferring to adopt a wait-and-see strategy, sources told Fastmarkets.Trading activity was expected to recover in November, however, according to market participants. Although the majority of European distributors have sufficient stocks to last until the year-end, they will ne...Read More
Steel mills announced price increases for November-delivery hot-rolled sheet and heavy plate in Russia's Central District around Moscow on Monday October 11, but are likely to face stiff opposition from buyers, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Market participants said they doubted that such fast rates of increase could be absorbed by the market, especially considering the onset of the off season...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 13 that are worth another look.Pipe producer Vallourec and Brazilian tube, bar and stainless steel distributor Grupo A??otubo announced a joint venture to supply steel tubes and pipes to industrial clients.Major zinc producer Nyrstar will cut production...Read More
Domestic and imported steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States were sideways on Wednesday October 13, and market participants expect it to stay that way for a few more weeks at least.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US was $49.25 per hundredweight ($985 per short ton) on Wednesday October 13, unchanged since August 11 but up by 65.55% from $29.75 per cwt...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in Northern Europe were broadly flat in the week to Wednesday October 13, with trading activity limited, but demand is expected to recover soon, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?800-820 ($924-948) per tonne on Wednesday, same as seven days earlier.Daily demand for wire r...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to pay higher prices for deep-sea scrap cargoes on Wednesday October 13, market participants told Fastmarkets.Late on Tuesday October 12, a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $470 per tonne and 18,000 tonnes of shredded at $490 per tonne cfr.On Wednesday, a steel mill in the Izmir region paid $...Read More
The rise in October's Kanto Tetsugen auction boosted sentiment in the Japanese scrap market and supported export offers from Japan, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 13. Japan local market pushes export offers higher Vietnam buyers increase bids Chinese buyers in wait-and-see mode due to losses in futuresJapan Offer prices for bulk cargoes of steel scrap from Japan rose again on Wedn...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to fall on Wednesday October 13, after a formal announcement on upcoming winter restrictions by China's Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT).Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.17 per tonne, down $4.83 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.09 per tonne, down $5.08 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr...Read More
Fastmarkets published its Commonwealth of Independent States export billet index later than scheduled on Wednesday October 13 due to a technical error, but it is now appearing as normal.Fastmarkets calculated the steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, at $621 per tonne on October 13. The index was published in Fastmarkets' pricing database, MInD, later than scheduled due to a technical er...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday October 13.Key drivers The European ferro-titanium price range widened higher in the week to Wednesday October 13 after new deals were reported, although overall trading activity was slow amid muted consumer buying interest. There was industry talk of some lower-priced deals, although sources said these were outliers to typical trad...Read More
A price gap between spot and tender prices developed in China's ferro-chrome market in early October after sellers in the spot market raised their prices because of supply tightness, while major stainless steel mills decided to keep their tender prices flat from the previous month.Offers heard in the spot market continued to rise after China's National Day holiday on October 1-7, due to limited av...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 13 that are worth another look.Pipe producer Vallourec and Brazilian tube, bar and stainless steel distributor Grupo A??otubo announced a joint venture to supply steel tubes and pipes to industrial clients.Major zinc producer Nyrstar will cut production...Read More
Pipe producer Vallourec and Brazilian tube, bar and stainless steel distributor Grupo A??otubo announced a joint venture to supply steel tubes and pipes to industrial clients.The new company, called Vallourec Tubos para Ind??stria (VTI) will comprise Vallourec's Brazilian unit of cold-drawn and shaped tubes and A??otubo's division of cold-drawn tubes and parts, and it will focus in supplying the a...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat in the week to Wednesday October 12, despite pressure from falling feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium) domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,275-1,330 ($1,472-1,535) per tonne on October 13, unchanged week on week.Domestic hollow section prices were under pressure...Read More
The spikes in electricity and natural gas prices have forced some European long steel producers to make output adjustments to be able to manage surging costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Spot prices for electricity and natural gas across Europe have increased sharply in October and are expected to remain volatile until the end of the year at least.Notably, steelmakers claim that electricity prices in...Read More
Pipe producer Vallourec and Brazilian tube, bar and stainless steel distributor Grupo A??otubo announced a joint venture to supply steel tubes and pipes to industrial clients.The new company, called Vallourec Tubos para Ind??stria (VTI) will comprise Vallourec's Brazilian unit of cold-drawn and shaped tubes and A??otubo's division of cold-drawn tubes and parts, and it will focus in supplying the a...Read More
China's imports of finished steel products increased by 18.2% month on month in September, preliminary Chinese customs data showed on Wednesday October 13.September exports: 4.92 million tonnes, down by 2.6% from August 2021,...Read More