Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 7 that are worth another look.Steel producer Feralpi Group is to invest ?,?100 million ($115 million) in renewable power at its Italian sites, it announced on Thursday October 7.Vale has resumed activities at its On??a...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices in the fob market on Thursday October 7 were largely flat amid limited trading activity in the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $603.28 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $565.14 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $404.05 per tonne, down by $0.48 per tonne ...Read More
Alumina exports from Brazil totaled 586,458 tonnes in September, a 3.32% year-on-year fall from 606,626 tonnes, according to data published by the economy ministry on Wednesday October 5.That decrease was due to lower shipments from the S??o Lu?-s port, in the country's northeastern Maranh??o state. Alumar, an alumina refinery owned by Alcoa, South32, Rio Tinto and Alumina Ltd, is located in Maran...Read More
Fastmarkets analysts Andrew Cole and Andy Farida and reporter Thorsten Schier size up the nickel market ahead of LME Week, which begins Monday October 11.Nickel prices have been capped by the $20,000-per-tonne level this year, failing to sustain a meaningful break higher despite attempts in February and again repeatedly during July-September. The London Metal Exchange three-month price peaked at $...Read More
Trafigura Pte is developing a program that will provide its customers with data on the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in its nickel and cobalt supply chains, the physical trading company said.The service will have a particular focus on the company's electric vehicle (EV) customers and will be provided by Circulor, a blockchain-based supply chain traceability and CO2 emissions tracking services pro...Read More
Steel billet prices in Turkey increased in tthe week to Thursday October 7, in response to rising scrap and energy costs, market sources told Fastmarkets.Turkish steel producers continued with deep-sea scrap purchases for November shipment over the past week, with Fastmarkets' calculation of the daily index for steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) United States origin, cfr Turkey at $447.83 per tonne o...Read More
Most base metals on the London Metal Exchange opened higher on Thursday October 7 amid thin trading on the last day of a week-long holiday in China. "Despite some macro headwinds over China's property debt, the semiconductor shortage, global inflation, shipping delays and high shipping costs, metals remain quite buoyant overall," Will Adams, Fastmarkets' head of base metals and battery research, s...Read More
Steel producer Feralpi Group is to invest ?,?100 million ($115 million) in renewable power at its Italian sites, it announced on Thursday October 7.It has a five-year target to install more than 100 megawatts of power to cover 20% of the group's energy requirements in its production sites in Italy.The investment will reduce its CO2 emissions by approximately 85,000 tonnes a year on completion of.....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
Trading activity in the European hot-rolled coil market remained limited on Thursday October 7, but buyers are expected to resume purchasing activity later this month, sources told Fastmarkets.Although most European buyers have sufficient flat-steel stocks to last until the end of the year, they will need to negotiate deals for first-quarter delivery coil no later than November, market participant...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Bulk and noble alloys both moved largely in line with our price forecasts globally over the past month, though several markets surprised to the upside, exceeding our forecast gains. Stronger-than-forecast pricing momentum was primarily triggered by supply shortages in numerous...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...Read More
Rising freight costs and increased buying interest from neighboring Asian markets led to an increase in Bangladesh import steel scrap prices in recent days, sources said on Thursday October 7.Bangladesh container import prices jumpSouth Korea purchases deep-sea scrap amid high Japanese pricesTaiwan buyers quiet after early-week buyingBangladeshContainerized imports of scrap were sold to Bangladesh...Read More
Most base metals on the London Metal Exchange opened higher on Thursday October 7 amid thin trading on the last day of a week-long holiday in China. "Despite some macro headwinds over China's property debt, the semiconductor shortage, global inflation, shipping delays and high shipping costs, metals remain quite buoyant overall," Will Adams, Fastmarkets' head of base metals and battery research, s...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board on the morning of Thursday October 7, which was in line with the stronger tone in Asia-Pacific equities and the pullback in oil prices.Brent crude oil price pulls back to $81 per barrel from Wednesday's high at $83.48 per barrel.Russia offers to increase natural gas supply to Europe.Base metalsAll of the LME base metals showe...Read More
Fastmarkets analysts Andrew Cole and Andy Farida and reporter Thorsten Schier size up the nickel market ahead of LME Week, which begins Monday October 11.Nickel prices have been capped by the $20,000-per-tonne level this year, failing to sustain a meaningful break higher despite attempts in February and again repeatedly during July-September. The London Metal Exchange three-month price peaked at $...Read More
The Brazilian automotive association, Anfavea, has cut its forecast for production and sales in 2021, due to a shortage of semiconductors and logistics issues.Vehicle production is now expected to reach between 2.13-2.22 million units this year, an increase of 6-10% from the 2.01 million units produced in 2020, the association said on Wednesday October 6.The new forecast is 10-13% lower than the a...Read More
Fastmarkets analyst William Adams and reporter Sofia Okun size up the lithium market ahead of LME Week, which begins Monday October 11.This year has been fast and furious for the lithium market, with prices rising 135-265%, depending on location and type of lithium salt. Spodumene prices are up by 470% since the start of the year. This follows the depressed state that the market was in last year.T...Read More
Slovak ferro-alloys producer OFZ Slovakia has cut more than half of its ferro-alloy production with immediate effect due to energy prices that have surged more than six-fold recently, an industry source told Fastmarkets.The company, which produces ferro-silicon and manganese alloys, has shut four out of its seven operating furnaces, including two ferro-silicon furnaces, a silico-manganese furnace...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued booking deep-sea scrap cargoes for November shipment on Thursday October 7, aided by improving demand for billet and finished long steel products, market participants told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $440 per tonne, shredded at $455 and bonus at $460 per tonne cfr. And a steel produc...Read More