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
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
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
Iran posted a notable fall in steel product output in the first five months of the current Persian year (March 21-August 22, 2021), compared with the same period last year according to the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA).Local producers made 10.8 million tonnes of semi-finished products over the period, down 12% year on year, ISPA data shows.The decline in production came as steel mills...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
If any member was going to leave the London Metal Exchange ring trading floor, the exchange was probably hoping it wouldn't be Triland Metals Ltd.The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi, is one of the exchange's longest serving Category 1 members, having joined in 1972 after being founded in the prior year. Having a unit of Japan's largest trading company as a ri...Read More
China's domestic spot market for high-carbon ferro-chrome went up in the week to Tuesday September 14, reflecting tight availability and an expectation of good consumer demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, rose by 100-200 yuan per tonne to 10,000-10,300 yuan ($1,553-1,599) per tonne on Tuesday, from 9,800-10,200 yuan per tonne previou...Read More
Eight of the nine Category 1 members of the London Metal Exchange have indicated their support for continuing to trade official lunchtime prices in the open-outcry ring.Does this mean that one company does not support ring trading? And could one of the exchange's members be preparing to leave the trading floor?The exchange revealed on Monday August 9 that it had majority support for the ring, in a...Read More
Negative sentiment is prevailing among European buyers of hot-rolled coil, but mills managed to keep prices fairly stable in Italy and Northern Europe on Wednesday September 15, sources told Fastmarkets.Reduced demand from the automotive sector and cheap import material booked earlier this year that has arrived in the European Union and is awaiting customs clearance have been supporting the bearis...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the iron ore market, supply issues including heavy rains at the start of the year, followed by staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected exports from Brazil. This has helped Australia gain a larger market share, but since June, Brazilian export volumes have returned to levels last seen before the...Read More
Iron ore prices went down again on Wednesday September 15 with concerns about further steel production restrictions depressing iron ore demand outlook, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $116.65 per tonne, down $5.02 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.80 per tonne, down $4.83 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $88.53 per tonne...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 15 that are worth another look....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
Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap bookings for October shipments at fairly stable prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a United States cargo, comprising 23,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $441.50 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of plate and structural (P&S) at $456.50 per ton...Read More
China's crude steel, hot metal, and finished steel production in August all fell by more than 10% year on year, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday September 15.August outputCrude steel: 83.24 million tonnes, down by 13.2% from August 2020 and down by 4.1% from July 2021 Hot metal: 71.53 million tonnes, down by 11.1% year on year and down by...Read More
Accurate reporting of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of metals and mining companies is becoming critical in securing investment, financing and offtake agreements, according to blockchain technology platform MineHub.Metals and mining companies are under enormous pressure to improve their ESG credentials, and need to produce specific data to show that they are meeting the...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat in the week to Wednesday September 15, with trading activity slowing down ahead of the imminent renewal of quarterly European import quotas, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,654-1,689) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday September 15.Key driversFerro-titanium and titanium scrap markets were both on hold in the week to Wednesday September 15, with suppliers waiting to see the result of new tenders issued by steelmakers for alloy delivered in the short term. Most tenders by steel mills are for ferro-titanium to be supplied in October and November, acc...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap bookings for October shipments at fairly stable prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a United States cargo, comprising 23,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $441.50 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of plate and structural (P&S) at $456.50 per ton...Read More
Chinese battery materials producer Xiamen Tungsten New Energy Materials (XTC) has struck a deal with CNGR Advanced Materials Co for the supply of cobalt tetroxide and ternary precursor materials, XTC announced on Wedmesday September 15.Under the agreement, which runs from September 14, 2021, to December 31, 2023, CNGR is expected to supply to XTC with 20,000-25,000 tonnes per year of cobalt tetrox...Read More