Fastmarkets has corrected the pricing assessment for steel slab, export, fob ports Iran, which was published incorrectly on Wednesday September 29 due to a reporter error.The assessment range for steel slab, export, fob ports Iran was entered incorrectly as $672-782 per tonne, and has been corrected to $672-682 per tonne.Fastmarkets' price database has been updated to reflect the change.For m...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States consolidated around the $98-per-hundredweight ($1,960-per-short-ton) level on Wednesday September 29, though opinions diverged on whether the current pricing level can hold in the coming months.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $97.92 per cwt ($1,958.40 per short ton) on Wednesday, a decrease of 0.11% from $98....Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe softened in the week to Wednesday September 29, ahead of the renewal of European Union import quotas, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium) domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,300-1,330 ($1,519-1,554)per tonne on Wednesday September 29, down from ?,?1,350-1,400 per tonne on Wednesday September 2...Read More
Chinese copper smelters are looking to buy concentrates for the fourth quarter of this year, citing better availability of spot materials. China's Copper Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) set the fourth-quarter base price for treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $70 per tonne/ 7 cents per lb on Wednesday September 29, sources told Fastmarkets. The price floor...Read More
The Brazilian steel industry intends to contribute to a reduction in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in order to lower the country's carbon footprint, the steelmakers' association, Instituto A??o Brasil, said on Wednesday September 29.The methods to cut emission will include developing a strong local carbon credit market and moving forward with higher scrap and charcoal usage, as well as improving...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China gained more upward momentum on Wednesday September 29, with sentiment supported by reduced production as a result of power cuts and a rush to meet energy consumption targets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,730-5,780 yuan ($886-894) per tonne, up by 10-30 yuan per tonneHRC futures were more subdued during the day compared with the first two days of the w...Read More
Nickel was almost at a four-month low, while all prices on the London Metal Exchange declined on Wednesday September 29, pushed down by the continued uncertainty over demand given high energy prices and a US Dollar Index that was at its highest since November 2020.The US Dollar Index reached 94.28 on Wednesday, a near-one-year high and a 1.9% increase from 92.50 at the start of September. The...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe softened in the week to Wednesday September 29, ahead of the renewal of European Union import quotas, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium) domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,300-1,330 ($1,519-1,554)per tonne on Wednesday September 29, down from ?,?1,350-1,400 per tonne on Wednesday September 2...Read More
Base metals prices edged down in morning trading on Wednesday September 29, with weakness in across the complex supported by the rising US Dollar Index, which pushed up to its highest level since November 2020."Copper and most of the other metals [prices fell] on Wednesday, with Asian equities suffering from a global stock sell off," Marex LME desk analyst Anna Stablum said."Wall Street [had its]...Read More
ArcelorMittal Belgium will build a 2.5 million-tonne-per-year direct reduced iron (DRI) plant and two electric furnaces (EAFs) at its Ghent site that will drive down its carbon emissions, it said.The steelmaker has signed a letter of intent with the governments of Belgium and Flanders, supporting the ?,?1.1 billion ($1.16 billion) project, it said on Tuesday September 28.This will reduce CO2 emiss...Read More
China's power-cut policy has caused disruption in the battery raw materials supply chain and has brought uncertainty to the price of materials like nickel and cobalt, sources told Fastmarkets.The country started introducing power-consumption limits in some provinces in July 2021 due to power shortages following its carbon-reduction policy, and the curbs have been extended into more provinces and h...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves in the week to Wednesday September 29.Janie Davies in London;...Read More
The export billet price from the Commonwealth of Independent States strengthened on Wednesday September 29 with a fresh Black Sea cargo reported sold to China.A 40,000-tonne lot of Ukraine-origin billet was sold to China at $705 per tonne cfr on Wednesday, a source on the seller side told Fastmarkets. Market participants estimate that the price nets back to $600-605 per tonne fob Black Sea, consid...Read More
Prices in the Indian import steel scrap market have dropped in recent days amid continued weak demand in the country, while power shortages are constraining Chinese scrap demand, market sources told Fastmarkets.Weak demand in India continues to pressure pricesChina's restrictions on power usage depress buying interests furtherTaiwan secures containerized scrap cargoes at $465 per tonne cfrIndiaPri...Read More
Base metals prices were mostly slightly up on the LME but weaker on the SHFE this morning, Thursday September 30, but overall the markets seem to be consolidating while they await big-picture developments.* China’s power rationing weighs on the official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI)* The Thursday economic agenda is busy* US dollar rallying stronglyBase metalsAfter price weakne...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Jon Stibbs...Read More
The stainless steel scrap market in the United States is largely at a standstill for now while the London Metal Exchange cash nickel price continues to lose ground, having retreated to the mid-$8-per-lb range."LME nickel is significantly off its recent highs [of] over $9 per lb, and if demand weren't still strong I think scrap prices would be even lower," one scrap dealer source said, noting...Read More
The opposing forces taking hold of prices in the iron ore and coking coal markets could spill over in the first quarter of 2022 due to their differing fundamentals and Chinese policy, according to market sources.Depressed iron ore vs bullish coking coalIron ore prices have been falling since early July due to cues from the Chinese government that crude steel production in 2021 should not exceed th...Read More
Japan's August production and sales of Toyota's new vehicles, including those of its subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino Motors, fell on a monthly basis amid the severe shortage of semiconductor chips and raw materials, which have disrupted supply chains this year.Toyota's Japan August production of new vehicles fell by 39.3% and 11.4% on a monthly and yearly basis respectively, to 244,342 vehicles. To...Read More
ArcelorMittal has secured a ?,?280 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for research and innovation to support its decarbonization objectives, the steelmaker said.The loan will enable the company to expand its research and development (R&D) activities significantly in the field of decarbonization as well as related capital expenditure, it said on September 27.Investment spendi...Read More