Increasing steel production rates in Japan are making Japanese yards increasingly reluctant to offer cargoes to China, market sources told Fastmarkets this week. Better margins to be found in Japan's domestic marketTaiwan continues to chase containerized cargoesContainer scrap offers to Bangladesh fall amid sluggish demandChinaA slowdown in downstream demand has continued to weight on spot demand...Read More
Deliveries of stainless steel in China have been disrupted by an outbreak of Covid-19 in the major production hub of Fujian, but the resultant tightened supply failed to support stainless steel prices in the week ended Wednesday September 15.DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 19,000-19,700 ($2,949-3,057) per tonne, down by 300-500 yuan per tonne from a week ear...Read More
London Metal Exchange base-metals prices were mostly lower at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday September 16, with a rise in the US dollar and the intended release of more metal from China's reserves weighing on the complex.The US Dollar Index reached its highest on Thursday since August 27, with an intraday high of 92.97. The index was well bid, with investors expecting a hawkish view from the...Read More
Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco has signed a labor agreement to last until 2024 with the No6 Benito Tapia Tapia trade union, which represents workers at its Salvador division, the company said on Wednesday September 15.The new agreement will be valid for 36 months. According to Codelco, 61% of the union's members voted in favor of taking no wage rise but having a settlement bonus of 4,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 16 that are worth another look....Read More
Global trade flows of cobalt metal have been frozen by logistics disruptions including high freight costs and a shortage of available containers, market participants have told Fastmarkets.Cobalt metal is a highly liquid commodity, with traders moving metals on their books around the globe depending on price differentials between Asia and Europe.But in the past 2-3 months, such trade flows have bee...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has extended definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled (SSCR) flat products from China and Taiwan.The decision, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Thursday September 16, followed an expiry review lodged by the European steel association Eurofer in May. The extended duties will now remain in place until 30...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 16 that are worth another look....Read More
Steel rebar and billet buyers in Egypt are waiting for prices to fall further before placing orders, sources told Fastmarkets.Global billet and rebar prices have recently been weakening; buyers in Egypt are waiting for prices to flatten before placing orders.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet import, cfr main port Turkey was $610-620 per tonne on September 16, falling from $620-...Read More
Turkish steel mills withdrew from the deep-sea scrap markets after booking several cargoes for October shipment, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 16.Turkish steelmakers have booked at least five deep-sea cargoes so far in the reported week from the United States, Canada and Baltic Sea. Market participants generally agree that most steelmakers in the country have replenished their sto...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 16 that are worth another look....Read More
German steelmaker Salzgitter has settled a contract for the supply of green steel to the Europe's largest home appliance manufacturer BSH Hausger??te, the companies announced on Thursday September 16.In September, Salzgitter's flat steel subsidiary Salzgitter Flachstahl started to supply green steel products with a 66% reduced CO2 footprint to BSH Hausger??te.The low-CO2 steel will initially be us...Read More
Steelmaker Arvedi is in the process of purchasing fellow Italian stainless steel producer Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) from Thyssenkrupp, the German steelmaker said on Thursday September 16.The sale, which is subject to approval by Thyssenkrupp's supervisory board and merger control clearance, also includes associated sales organizations in Germany, Italy and Turkey. The sale is expected to be comp...Read More
The hard coking coal cfr price rose on Thursday September 16 after Wednesday's surge in the premium hard coking coal cfr price, while offer prices for US-origin coking coal rose further, with market participants in China reluctant to procure material.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $560.76 per tonne, up $0.76 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $486.93 per tonne, up...Read More
Steel billet prices in Turkey have gone down over the past week amid soft demand, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 16.The suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States have reduced their billet offers to Turkish customers to $620-625 per tonne cfr.But Turkish buyers were bidding only $600-605 per tonne cfr, because domestic material was available at $620 per tonne e...Read More
Australian miner Whitehaven Coal's Vickery Extension Project has been approved by the federal government, it said on Thursday September 16.The project comprises an open-cut coal mine and other infrastructure about 25km north of Gunnedah town in New South Wales. It will produce mainly coking coal for steelmaking, with the rest being high-quality thermal coal for export.The mine...Read More
Increasing steel production rates in Japan are making Japanese yards increasingly reluctant to offer cargoes to China, market sources told Fastmarkets this week. Better margins to be found in Japan's domestic marketTaiwan continues to chase containerized cargoesContainer scrap offers to Bangladesh fall amid sluggish demandChinaA slowdown in downstream demand has continued to weight on spot demand...Read More
London Metal Exchange base-metals prices were mostly lower at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday September 16, with a rise in the US dollar and the intended release of more metal from China's reserves weighing on the complex.The US Dollar Index reached its highest on Thursday since August 27, with an intraday high of 92.97. The index was well bid, with investors expecting a hawkish view from the...Read More
The largest steelmakers in Bangladesh were largely out of the market for containers of steel scrap on Thursday September 16 following recent deep-sea cargo bookings, market participants have told Fastmarkets.In deals done last week, two deep-sea cargoes were booked to a mill in Bangladesh from the United States West Coast at $530 per tonne cfr for shredded, while a second mill booked deep-sea mate...Read More
German steelmaker Salzgitter has settled a contract for the supply of green steel to the Europe's largest home appliance manufacturer BSH Hausger??te, the companies announced on Thursday September 16.In September, Salzgitter's flat steel subsidiary Salzgitter Flachstahl started to supply green steel products with a 66% reduced CO2 footprint to BSH Hausger??te.The low-CO2 steel will initially be us...Read More