The congestion at major ports that has affected shipping operations for metals and minerals on the China-to-Europe route is set to worsen in the next three or four months, sources told Fastmarkets during last week's International Colloquium on Refractories conference in Aachen, Germany.Lead times for cargo shipping from China to European ports have increased in recent months because of a series of...Read More
Some of the most important countries in global mining production are moving forward with talks to secure a larger share of the commodity price escalation seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, mostly to fund their own social programs - but companies and industry groups fear this could compromise future investments.South American mining giants Chile, Peru and Brazil seek to increase mining royalties, e...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves in the week to Friday October 8.Jessica Long, Zihao Li, Ruby Liu...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Cristina Belda,...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices increased in the week ended October 8 in response to improving downstream demand for billet and rebar.Turkish mills pay higher prices on improving downstream demandUnited States sells a bulk cargo to Turkey at a $5-per-tonne increaseVietnamese buyers opt for bulk HMS 1&2 (80:20) cargoes from US, AustraliaTaiwanese buyers continue to purchase containerized cargoesIndian...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into Pakistan and India took a sharp upturn in the week to Friday October 8, on a pick-up in demand, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $ 535.07 per tonne on Friday, up from $508.69 per tonne one week previous.Deals were initially heard at $530-535 per tonne be...Read More
Turkish steel mills ended the working week with five deep-sea cargoes due to improving steel demand, market participants said on Friday October 8.Prices increases have triggered demand for billet and long steel products in the week to October 8, leading Turkish mills to book more deep-sea cargoes for November shipments.Three deals were heard on Thursday October 7.A steel mill in the Iskenderun reg...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board on the morning of Friday October 8, while those on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part stronger, as were Asia-Pacific equities.Today's focus will be on the US employment report.Market participants relieved that US Senate agreed to lift debt limit ceiling until December.Oil prices and US treasury yields rise f...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 8.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Canadian junior miner Lithium Americas has increased its resource estimate and capacity of its lithium mine project at Thacker Pass, in the US state of Nevada.The new resource estimate is 13.7 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), more than double the estimate in 2018, Lithium Americas said on Thursday October 7.Phase 1 capacity increased to 40,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate annually, up...Read More
Surging spot spodumene prices following aggressive bids in the latest Pilbara Minerals' spodumene concentrate auction has elevated negotiated prices for fourth-quarter term contracts, market sources told Fastmarkets.Bids for SC 5.5% units reached a high of $2,240 per dry metric tonne (dmt), fob Hedland, during the Australian miner's second spodumene auction on its Battery Metals Exchange on Tuesda...Read More
Brazil's domestic hot-rolled coil prices have declined in October, with some producers heard giving discounts amid pressure from distributors and clients, although the movement was not yet widespread in the market.Two steel producers were offering material above the market average but are now granting discounts due to the difficult market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' monthly price assess...Read More
South American flat steel import prices were mostly stable or moved slightly in the week to Friday October 8 amid China's National Day holiday and few offers from other origins.There was no activity from China during the October 1-7 period due to week-long national holiday there, which paved the way for material from other countries to be offered to South American clients. However, with the market...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices decreased in Turkey during the week ended Friday October 8, while buyers were uncertain about the direction of prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers were uncertain because China returned back to business after its National Day holidays with higher prices.Furthermore, sources expect higher energy costs to increase the cost of steel production and to push up prices, alt...Read More
Brazil's domestic price for steel reinforcing bar fell in October due to more balanced supply-demand fundamentals and a broader global downtrend.On the other hand, Turkish prices had rebounded in the week to Friday October 8, and market participants saw room for price increases in Brazil.Brazilian mills usually follow international trends, aiming for an average 10% premium in domestic prices over...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices fell by 300 rupees ($4) per tonne week on week, despite the price of other key raw materials such as direct-reduced iron (DRI) continuing to rise.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel billet domestic, ex-works India was down by 300 rupees per tonneat 46,300-46,500 rupees ($619-623) per tonne, compared with last week's 46,600-46,800 rupees per tonne ex...Read More
Rebar prices in Poland continue to fall due to weak buying interest but the downtrend is likely to reverse in October, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 8.Trading activity in the local rebar market remained subdued over the past week, with distributors still refraining from purchasing amid expectations of lower prices."End-user demand is not so bad - only distributors don't buy anything,"...Read More
Trading activity in the United States' pig iron import market was low in the week to Friday October 8 due to uncertainty about the direction of prices.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $540 per tonne on Friday, narrowing upward by $10 from $530-540 per tonne a week earlier. The only deal in the...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices increased in the week ended October 8 in response to improving downstream demand for billet and rebar.Turkish mills pay higher prices on improving downstream demandUnited States sells a bulk cargo to Turkey at a $5-per-tonne increaseVietnamese buyers opt for bulk HMS 1&2 (80:20) cargoes from US, AustraliaTaiwanese buyers continue to purchase containerized cargoesIndian...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into Pakistan and India took a sharp upturn in the week to Friday October 8, on a pick-up in demand, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $ 535.07 per tonne on Friday, up from $508.69 per tonne one week previous.Deals were initially heard at $530-535 per tonne be...Read More