Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday October 11 that are worth another look.Global cobalt supply can't keep pace with surging cobalt consumption because its production is tied to copper and nickel mining rather than underlying demand, the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group...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
Higher or more volatile prices for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earth elements could slow global progress toward a clean-energy future or make it more costly, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).In its World Energy Outlook report released on Wednesday October 13, the IEA said that price rallies for key minerals in 2021 could increase the costs o...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
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the 5pm close on Wednesday October 13, with zinc performing particularly well during the day's trading.The LME three-month price of zinc led the complex on Wednesday; it was up by 4.4% to $3,401.50 per tonne from $3,263 per tonne at Tuesday's close, after hitting an intraday high of $3,440 per tonne."LME fund managers turned bullish tow...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
Market participants are gathering in London this week while some minor metals with energy-intensive manufacturing processes and a reliance on China for supply have surged to multi-year highs.The sharp price increases in the Chinese market are rapidly filtering across Europe, resulting in the depletion of silicon and magnesium inventories in Rotterdam."This LME Week is different, totally different,...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the 5pm close on Wednesday October 13, with zinc performing particularly well during the day's trading.The LME three-month price of zinc led the complex on Wednesday; it was up by 4.4% to $3,401.50 per tonne from $3,263 per tonne at Tuesday's close, after hitting an intraday high of $3,440 per tonne."LME fund managers turned bullish tow...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
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China moved within a wide range on Wednesday October 13, after futures took a rollercoaster ride amid an uncertain outlook for supply and demand. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,700-5,880 yuan ($885-913) per tonne, widening by 50-120 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange extended its losses to an intraday low of 5,482 yua...Read More
Higher electricity prices have added to the production costs of chrome alloy, especially low-carbon ferro-chrome, during the week to Tuesday October 12, at a time when the market was already short of material with prices at multi-year highs.Fastmarkets assessed ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe at $3.05-3.25 per lb Cr on Tuesday, up 7-15 cents (+3.6%) from $2.90-3.18 per lb...Read More
Europe now has the world's most expensive silicon, with prices there and in the United States reaching new all-time highs just as prices have begun to trend down in China - where a silicon shortage started the global uptrend.The West and China moved in opposite directions in Fastmarkets assessments for the week to Friday October 8, with Europe's price for standard silicon at its highest level sinc...Read More
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
Decarbonization is expected to increase base-metal costs in the coming years, panelists said at the LME Week seminar in London.Initial investments in new technology and infrastructure to produce more sustainable metals will push production costs higher, said Geordie Wilkes, head of research at Sucden Financial."We'll go through a period of high cost which will increase the cost curve," Wilkes said...Read More
Major European zinc producers intend to significantly raise the annual contractual premiums in 2022, citing higher production costs and strong demand, Fastmarkets has learned during LME Week 2021.Offers were likely to be made close to or higher than $200 per tonne, nearly double the levels seen in 2021, which came in a range of $95-110 per tonne.The offer levels were also higher than the current s...Read More
A lack of silicon in the market has vaulted aluminium primary foundry alloy (PFA) ingot to fresh-all time highs across Europe.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium primary foundry alloy, silicon 7 ingot premium, ddp Germany at a new record high of $800-900 per tonne on Friday October 8, up by 45% from $550-620 per tonne on September 10.Fastmarkets also assessed the monthly aluminium primary foundry a...Read More
Spot premiums for P1020 aluminium ingot into main Japanese Ports (MJP) have struggled to find clear direction since the settlement of fourth-quarter MJP premiums on Tuesday October 5, despite quarterly negotiations ending on a strong note.A combination of slow buying, poor LME spreads and a closed arbitrage into China capped the rise in spot premiums since the settlement.Fastmarkets reported a fou...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
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States dipped slightly once again - remaining under $97 per hundredweight ($1,940 per short ton) for the fourth consecutive business day - while spot tonnages remained scarce and contract negotiations for 2022 supply were said to be in the final stretch.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.79 per cwt ($1,935.80 per t...Read More
The United States Commerce Department has finalized anti-dumping duties on cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate products from South Korea that it said was sold in the US at less than normal value from February 1, 2019, through January 31, 2020.In a Federal Register notice published on Wednesday October 13, Commerce affirmed its June 25...Read More