Nyrstar, one of Europe's main zinc producers, will cut production at one of its European smelters due to rising energy costs at a time when premiums in the region are at six-year highs."Nyrstar's fully electrified zinc smelter in Budel-Dorplein, the Netherlands, is curtailing production during peak times of day when power prices exceed the break-even cost of production. This is in response to the...Read More
Turkish steel mills returned to the deep-sea scrap market on Friday September 24, ending a week-long absence and booking at least one new cargo, market sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic-sea origin cargo, comprising 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $434 per tonne and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at $449 per tonne. ...Read More
Most flat steel prices decreased in Turkey during the week to Friday September 24, with demand weak because buyers wanted to see prices hit a market bottom, sources told Fastmarkets.In addition to the falling prices, low demand from the automotive sector because of the semiconductor chip shortage also affected buying in Turkey. Several carmakers in the country were undergoing temporary shutdowns d...Read More
The Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonne trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt sulfate...Read More
LME zinc's three-month price was just $2 away from setting a new year-to-date high, while aluminium's three-month price was the only one to close lower in the afternoon session on Friday September 24. The intraday high for zinc's futures contract was of $3,138 per tonne, just a couple of dollars short of its previous 2021 high of $3,140 per tonne from September 17. The metal was spurred on by news...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices increased on Friday September 24 amid more speculative buying activity for low- and mid-grade iron ore fines, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $111.33 per tonne, up by $2.66 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $113.78 per tonne, up by $4.40 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $83.08 per tonne, up by $3.54 pe...Read More
Demand for steel, especially for flat products, in China could be hit by power supply constraints caused by the drive to reduce energy consumption and sustained coal shortages.Concerns among steel market participants have increased after reports by a major local information provider suggesting that some pipe mills in Hebei province's Tangshan and Tianjin have been required to suspend operations fo...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday September 24. Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and Sybil...Read More
Indian steel mills kept their prices for domestic cold-rolled coil and galvanized coil steady in the week to Friday September 24, even with traders selling such downstream flat steel products at significant discounts in the local markets, Fastmarkets has learnt.The price of steel hot-dipped galvanized coil, domestic, ex-whse India, was assessed at 80,500-81,500 rupees ($1,091-1,104) per tonne on F...Read More
Limited availability of light-iron scrap in the UK has cemented the market in its current range in the week to Friday September 24, with major processors holding their offer prices to ensure a steady stream of supply into their yards, trade sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C loose old light domestic, delivered inter-merchant UK, was ?170-190 ($233-260) per tonneo...Read More
South American flat-rolled steel import prices ended the week to Friday September 24 on an unclear trend amid more aggressive bidding from customers and slightly higher offers from traders due to soaring freight rates.Chinese material remained a rarity on the continent, with firm offers being scarce due to lower allocation from mills. Uncertainties regarding a potential export tax introduction in...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imports into Pakistan softened during the week to Friday September 24, with Indian scrap also inching lower, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $520.32 per tonne on Friday, down from $526.91 per tonne one week previous, and from $530.42 per tonne one fortnight ago.A dea...Read More
The processing charge on spot copper concentrates increased in the week to Friday September 24, reflecting the return of smelters to market activity after the traditionally slow summer months.Clean tonnages were sold to Chinese smelters in the low-to-mid $60s per tonne, with interest being shown for material to be available in the first quarter of next year.A new round...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday September 24. Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and Sybil...Read More
The import pig iron market in the United States was stable in the week to Friday September 24 because of a lack of trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' assessment of the price of pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $530-540 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous assessment last week.Offers from suppliers based...Read More
Coated steel coil producers in Turkey gave more discounts to buyers during the week to Friday September 24 to encourage sales amid weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Lower prices for hot-rolled coil in the country this week also contributed to the drop in coated coil values.Fastmarkets' assessed steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, exw Turkey at $890-920 per tonne on Friday, a $10 decrease week on...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil dropped in Northern Europe and Italy on Friday September 24 on limited trading, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers have mostly been taking a "wait-and-see" strategy in anticipation of further price falls. In addition, market participants said most buyers already have sufficient stocks to last until the end of the year.Lower demand for steel from the automotive indu...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in India, Europe, China and the United States on Friday September 24.Europe High- and medium-carbon ferro-manganese prices rose in Europe in the week to Friday September 24 on increased offer prices after manganese flake prices soared to record highs. European integrated steel mills are likely to try to buy more medium-carbon ferro-manganese as a substit...Read More
Indian steel mills kept their prices for domestic cold-rolled coil and galvanized coil steady in the week to Friday September 24, even with traders selling such downstream flat steel products at significant discounts in the local markets, Fastmarkets has learnt.The price of steel hot-dipped galvanized coil, domestic, ex-whse India, was assessed at 80,500-81,500 rupees ($1,091-1,104) per tonne on F...Read More
September has been a very eventful month so far for the Chinese silico-manganese and ferro-silicon markets. In the first three weeks, the futures prices for both products kept rising to new heights against market expectations.Market participants have grown antsy in the absence of any indication of a slowdown in this upward momentum. They believe the unprecedented price rally has gone far beyond ma...Read More