The United States' reduction of tariffs on Turkish steel imports to 25% from 50% last week will only partially reopen the US market to Turkish mills, who should avoid raising prices if they are to successfully regain a share in that market, several sources told Fastmarkets this week. The US has lowered its tariffs on steel imports from Turkey to 25% effective Friday May 17. Duties had been at...Read More
China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) plans to build a steel rolling mill by 2023 in Marab??, a city in the Brazilian northern state of Par??, through its local subsidiary Concremat, the company said on Thursday May 23.Iron ore producer Vale will be involved as well, ensuring collateral for the project funding, the miner stated. The unit will need around 1.5 billion Reais ($371 million) in c...Read More
CIS billet producers further increased their export offers on Thursday May 23, still buoyed by last week's halving of import taxes on Turkish steel by US president Donald Trump.The US import tax on Turkish steel products is now in line with products from most other countries at 25%, and the US move improved market sentiment generally and resulted in higher scrap prices.CIS...Read More
Prices for Turkey-origin steel billet have gone up in all markets over the past week since news was heard of the removal by the United States of its extra import duty on Turkish steel, sources said on Thursday May 23.The prices for steel scrap products have gone up significantly but the rises in billet prices have not yet aroused purchasing activity, with buyers either taking a wait-and-sea approa...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was the only metal to trade in positive territory at the close of trading on Thursday April 23, climbing by just under 1% to near $1,800 per tonne. News that operations would fully resume at Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil sent the light metal's futures price spiraling to a three-year low of $1,765.50 per tonne, however i...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday May 23 that are worth another look.South32's decision to review the future of its manganese alloy assets comes as little surprise to fellow manganese alloy producers because they are likely to be considering similar options. The United States' reduction of tariffs on Turkish steel imports to 25% from 50% last week will only par...Read More
South32's decision to review the future of its manganese alloy assets comes as little surprise to fellow manganese alloy producers because they are likely to be considering similar options. The review, which could result in the divestment of the assets, reflects a wider predicament affecting alloy producers struggling with historically high ore prices and a subdued market for their own product. So...Read More
Bernardo Vel??zquez, chief executive officer of Spain-based stainless steel producer Acerinox, has been elected chairman of the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) for a two-year period until 2021, Acerinox said on Thursday May 23.Vel??zquez replaces Hitoshi Ito, representative director and president of Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel Corporation (NSSC), following an election at the...Read More
The Bureau of International Recycling has elected Tom Bird of Chiho Environmental Group to be its new president at its General Assembly at the BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition in Singapore on May 21. Bird takes over from Ranjit Baxi who has served as president for the past four years."BIR is long established as the sole truly international recycling federation," Bird said. "I am honored...Read More
The United States' reduction of tariffs on Turkish steel imports to 25% from 50% last week will only partially reopen the US market to Turkish mills, who should avoid raising prices if they are to successfully regain a share in that market, several sources told Fastmarkets this week. The US has lowered its tariffs on steel imports from Turkey to 25% effective Friday May 17. Duties had been at...Read More
The liquidation order issued by the government of Zambia, that would allow it to take control of the copper-producing assets held in the African country by global metals producer Vedanta, has sent shockwaves through the global industry.The order marked the first government takeover attempt in the country, which is Africa's second-largest copper-producing region.Customers of Konkola Copper Mines (K...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was the only metal to trade in positive territory at the close of trading on Thursday April 23, climbing by just under 1% to near $1,800 per tonne. News that operations would fully resume at Norsk Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil sent the light metal's futures price spiraling to a three-year low of $1,765.50 per tonne, however i...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices went through corrections on Thursday May 23 after jumping to more than $105 per tonne cfr China a day earlier, but Chinese steelmakers' demand for the material remained robust.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $103.79 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.99 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $101.98 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.99 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-L...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower during morning trading on Thursday May 23, with continued trade friction between the United States and China fueling risk-off sentiment while tight nearby spreads failed to attract fresh inflows. "Today has started in much the same mode with the metals losing ground in the Asian session," Kingdom Futures director and chief executive Malcol...Read More
The negative trend in prices in the EU market for hot-rolled coil (HRC) has softened and prices have now stabilized, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday May 23.Domestic prices might start to recover slowly in the second half of June, some market participants added.Some European flat steel producers, including ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia, have increased their official offers of HRC while...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have broken their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets with prices increasing sharply, sources said on Thursday May 23.Four steel mills booked deep-sea cargoes from various sources late on Wednesday and on Thursday.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $310 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of shredded at $315 per...Read More
Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Monday May 27. After that, because of the UK's Spring bank holiday, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Wednesday May 29. Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower during morning trading on Thursday May 23, with continued trade friction between the United States and China fueling risk-off sentiment while tight nearby spreads failed to attract fresh inflows. "Today has started in much the same mode with the metals losing ground in the Asian session," Kingdom Futures director and chief executive Malcol...Read More
Greek aluminium and copper producer ElvalHalcor reported a dip in profits for the first quarter of 2019 due to weak aluminium prices, according to a trading update published on Wednesday May 22.The company, a subsidiary of Belgium-based holding company Viohalco, reported gross profit of ?,?40.4 million ($45 million) for the first quarter, down by 6% from ?,?43 million in January-March 2018.ElvalHa...Read More
Energy storage in mobility and stationary storage applications will increase annual copper demand by 2.3 million tonnes by 2029, according to an analyst at research and consulting firm IDTechEx.Na Jiao said that total cumulative copper demand in energy storage over the next decade will be just over nine million tonnes. Energy storage - and battery technology in particular - is often seen as having...Read More