Aurubis, Europe's biggest copper producer, is considering plans to set up a new copper scrap processing facility in North America to tap into the growing availability of raw materials outside China and Malaysia, the company's chief executive told Fastmarkets.Aurubis, which acquired recycling firm Metallo in May last year, is now investigating its options in expanding its scrap-processing capacity...Read More
Base metals prices on both the Shanghai Futures Exchange and London Metal Exchange were, for the most part, up across the board on the morning of Monday October 11, along with Asia-Pacific equities.Metals stronger despite strong US treasury yields Brent crude oil approaching $84 per barrelDisappointing US employment report may hold US Federal Reserve back and give inflation a freer hand Base metal...Read More
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
A more cautious approach towards copper - due to factors including fears over energy, logistics and inflation - has failed to deter demand for the metal, according to the chairman of Chilean state-owned miner Codelco.This includes in China, the world's largest consumer of copper and where Evergrande, the country's second-largest real estate company, has been struggling to repay over $300 billion o...Read More
A sharp rise in electricity prices has forced Spanish stainless long steel producer Sidenor Aceros Especiales to suspend production, Fastmarkets has heard.The company will be paying ?,?227 ($263) per MWh in October, but for November and December the power prices have been forecast to surge upward to ?,?284 per MWh. This would be sharply up from last year's electricity price of ?,?60 per MWh. Such...Read More
China will allow its floating electricity prices to rise further from October 15 to stabilize supply amid a shortage in the country, according to a notice released by the country's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), its top economic planner, on Tuesday October 12.Electricity supplied to the national grid is priced using a formula that comprises a base price and a floating price, acco...Read More
Tsingshan Group has set its tender price for October-delivery high-carbon ferro-chrome at 9,995 yuan ($1,550) per tonne, the Chinese stainless steelmaker said on Monday October 11.The tender price was unchanged from what the eastern Chinese mill - the country's largest ferro-chrome buyer - had sought for September-delivery material, suggesting that it chose not to acknowledge a recent price surge...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 12 that are worth another look.A sharp rise in electricity prices has forced Spanish stainless long steel producer Sidenor Aceros Especiales to suspend production, Fastmarkets has heard.The London Metal Exchange has...Read More
Interest in importing steel billet fell in China on Tuesday October 12 amid a fall in the country's domestic billet market on the same day, sources have told Fastmarkets.A sharp drop in ferrous futures markets in China on Tuesday due to market expectations of a rise in Chinese steel output over the short term was also accompanied by a weakening in physical markets.Local billet prices in Jiang...Read More
Chinese domestic rebar prices continued to rise on Monday October 11 after steel mills increased their list prices, but market participants remain pessimistic about demand and prices for the rest of October.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,940-5,990 yuan ($923-931) per tonne, up by 30-40 yuan per tonneThe major eastern China producer Shagang raised its list prices for HRB400 16-25mm rebar...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China fell sharply on Tuesday October 12 after futures prices tumbled on potential increases in supply.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,750-5,760 yuan ($891-892) per tonne, down by 110-130 yuan per tonne The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed more than 200 yuan per tonne, or 3.58%, on Tuesday, marking the biggest one-day loss sin...Read More
The export market for steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States improved on Tuesday October 12 on bullish sentiment among suppliers.Fastmarkets' calculation of its daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was up by $23 per tonne day on day to $625 per tonne on October 12.One supplier from Ukraine offered billet at prices no...Read More
Ecobat's Stolberg lead smelter will remain shut until spring 2022; regional tightness is pushing more consumers to look for spot units.The German lead plant, which declared force majeure due to floods in July, is still undergoing repair work, a company statement seen by Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 12 said. The smelter is in the process of procuring parts and equipment for the rebuild, the...Read More
Aurubis' increased annual premium for 2022 was partly a consequence of having kept the copper benchmark stable in 2021, chief executive officer Roland Harings told Fastmarkets during LME Week on Monday October 11.He also noted that the high energy prices that Europe was experiencing were a "big concern for the economy." Europe's biggest copper producer increased its premium offer to consumers for...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US prices for hot-rolled coil moved in line with our forecasts in August, averaging $1,910 per ton, within 1% accuracy of our forecast of $1,925 per ton. The market has achieved much-needed stability in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating in the range of $1,900-1,94...Read More
Prices for almost all steel scrap grades continued to drop in Mexico in the week ended Friday October 8, with market participants indicating there was no end in sight for the price reductions.Some buyers have been applying gradual price adjustments on a weekly basis, while others made sharp decreases at the beginning of the month.More price reductions are being planned, with at least one major scr...Read More
Deep-sea scrap import prices in Turkey have continued to increase due to strong demand from Turkish steelmakers, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 12.Late on Monday October 11, a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 34,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $463 per tonne and 2,000 tonnes of shredded at $478 per tonne, along with 4,000 tonnes of...Read More
The United States' October ferrous scrap trade's stressful late start and private deals added confusion to a scenario that was already perplexing after one steel producer made an unexpected debut splash, leap-frogging into the market in late September at flat pricing for prime grades."The market was a mess, but that is due to prices hitting an inflection point and bottoming, which is strange becau...Read More
The two biggest ferro-alloys producers in Ukraine - Nikopol and Zaporozhye - are almost halving production of manganese alloys in October due to surging electricity prices, a source told Fastmarkets on Monday October 11.The Privat Group, which owns the facilities is shutting five of its 13 furnaces at Nikopol, cutting its monthly manganese alloys output to 35,000 tonnes, from 65,000 tonnes in Sept...Read More
China has started sourcing for wire rod and rebar imports amid electricity crimps caused by a shortage of thermal coal and ensuing high power costs, market sources told Fastmarkets."Rerollers in China have been running at low rates because of a shortage of electricity, so China needs finished products such as rebar and wire rod instead," a trader in Singapore told Fastmarkets on Friday October 8."...Read More