Government subsidies are a necessary part of early electric vehicle adoption but EVs will have mainstream usage without the need for incentives in the long term, panelists said at the LME Metal Seminar this week. EV adoption has come at a slower pace than previously expected, coinciding with cuts in government subsidies in China. In March this year, Beijing announced a 50-60% reduction in subsidie...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
The prices of stainless steel flat products in Europe decreased this week because of persistently weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 1.Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade-304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was ?,?2,200-2,250 ($2,454-2,510) per tonne on November 1, down by ?,?100 per tonne week on week."It's [a result...Read More
The monthly European alloy steel surcharges for November for grade-316 stainless flat steel products have decreased because of lower molybdenum costs, Fastmarkets heard on Friday November 1.Fastmarkets' range for the stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 316, 2mm, alloy surcharge, domestic, Europe, was ?,?2,497-2,581 ($2,786-2,879) per tonne on November 1, down by ?,?13-63 per tonne from October.Allo...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for UK-origin light iron scrap moved up by ?5 ($6) per tonne in the week ended Friday November 1 following the upturn in key export markets, ending a four-week run of price stability.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?65-85 ($84-110) per tonne on Friday, up from the ?60-80 per tonne where...Read More
Turkish steel mills did not go into the deep-sea scrap markets on Friday November 1, with no new deals heard, sources told Fastmarkets.The Turkish import scrap market was relatively subdued throughout this week because of a two-day public holiday in the country at the start of the week. As well, the booking of 600,000 tonnes of...Read More
Turkey has not bought ferrous scrap from the United States in nearly a week, but a combination of recent steady buying and an anticipated upward move in November's domestic scrap trade have worked to raise some dock prices.Turkish steel producers paused their deep-sea cargo purchases on Monday October 28 and Tuesday October 29, due to Tuesday's public holiday for the Republic Day of Turkey and a h...Read More
Heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) from the United States' West Coast has turned competitive again due to surging prices for Japanese H2 materials, with Vietnamese buyers now looking to purchase scrap from both locations.Demand in Taiwan has eased, however, following numerous purchases last week.VietnamFastmarkets' price assessment for bulk shipments of steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam, was $...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Thursday October 30, settling below the $5,800 per tonne support level against high turnover, while lead futures also closed below nearby support.Copper's three-month price closed at $5,797 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, with some 20,000 lots exchanged over the day. The red metal's outright price fell...Read More
The three-month prices of base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange were trading down in the morning session on Thursday October 30 on lackluster China PMI, shrugging off the interest rate cut announced by the United States' Federal Reserve the day before.The three-month prices of base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange were trading down in the morning session on Thursday October 30...Read More
A spike in nickel prices as a result of a flip-flop decision in Indonesia regarding an ore export ban of the alloying metal failed to offer any support to China's stainless steel market over the past week.Reports of an immediate commencement of the nickel ore export ban in Indonesia had emerged on Monday October 28, but a day later, Indonesian officials said that the prohibition will only come eff...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday October 31 that are worth another look.Fastmarkets plans to replace its weekly assessment for domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in Northern Europe with a daily index - to better reflect the increasing price volatility caused by tougher EU trade measures.A meeting between Asarco and representatives of striking workers has be...Read More
Key data from October 31's price assessment in Shanghai.Fastmarkets assessed the price for alumina metallurgical grade, ddp China at 2,520-2,600 yuan per tonne on October 31, down 0.4% from previous week's 2,520-2,620 yuan per tonne. Key drivers: Significant quantities of imported cargoes continued to flow into China after the import arbitrage window opened in late September. China imported 1...Read More
A spike in nickel prices as a result of a flip-flop decision in Indonesia regarding an ore export ban of the alloying metal failed to offer any support to China's stainless steel market over the past week.Reports of an immediate commencement of the nickel ore export ban in Indonesia had emerged on Monday October 28, but a day later, Indonesian officials said that the prohibition will only come eff...Read More
China's cobalt sulfate price fell in the mid-week pricing session on Wednesday October 30 after coming under pressure from lackluster demand amid an underperformance in the country's electric vehicle (EV) market.Fastmarkets assessed the price of cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China at 52,000-55,000 yuan ($7,365-7,790) per tonne on Wednesday, down by 3,000-4,000 yuan per tonne - or 6.1% - from...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday October 30.Key drivers Low demand has resulted in only very limited activity in the ferro-titanium and scrap markets.Some liquidity was reported at lower prices than the previous range of $4.40-4.60 per kg as some market participants attempted to clear...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday October 31, with market participants contemplating a possible change in direction in the coming weeks, sources told Fastmarkets.With no new cargoes booked market participants were uncertain of whether the next bookings would be at similar or even higher prices.One market participant said that demand for scrap was...Read More
China's cobalt sulfate price fell in the mid-week pricing session on Wednesday October 30 after coming under pressure from lackluster demand amid an underperformance in the country's electric vehicle (EV) market.Fastmarkets assessed the price of cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China at 52,000-55,000 yuan ($7,365-7,790) per tonne on Wednesday, down by 3,000-4,000 yuan per tonne - or 6.1% - from...Read More
Fastmarkets plans to replace its weekly assessment for domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in Northern Europe with a daily index - to better reflect the increasing price volatility caused by tougher EU trade measures.Fastmarkets has concluded that a daily HRC index is necessary because the existing weekly price assessment is not nimble enough to react to the increasingly rapid changes...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Europe decreased over the week due to limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Market participants believe, however, that prices have already reached "bottom" and although demand will not allow to increase prices they are likely to remain stable.Northern EuropeFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?415-...Read More