After suffering for some seven years through to 2015, the world's steelmakers have had cause for cheer over the past couple of years. After some heavy losses and write-downs, they finally appear to have emerged from the wreckage of the global financial crisis. An economic upswing has taken root in most regions of the world, Chinese steel output and export growth has slowed noticeably, and steel pr...Read More
For a number of years problems at Ilva, the largest steelworks in Europe, have been casting shadow over the performance of the whole Italian steel industry. Will an acquisition of Ilva by a consortium led by ArcelorMittal, now in its final stage, be a game changer for the market?Following multiple reports of environmental and health problems caused by the Taranto plant, in 2013 Ilva was placed und...Read More
China ended steel production in all of the country's illegal induction furnaces by the end of June last year, it ha claimed.Most operators in China are primarily small private mills that use low-quality scrap to produce substandard rebar. This is mixed with grade III (HRB400) rebar and sold at a discount to construction contractors.For a long period, the government had neither a record of nor cont...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
The closure of some induction furnaces in China in 2016 followed by the government's crackdown on all unlicensed IFs in mid-2017 freed up some scrap volumes, albeit arguably of low-quality material. Chinese domestic scrap prices came under pressure from the increased supply, which prevented them from keeping pace with the rise in steel and other raw material markets in the fourth quarter of 2016;...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday February 15 that are worth another look.The London Metal Exchange's linked load-in/load-out (LILO) warehouse rule thus far has not been activated at Istim's warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, despite a large aluminium queue building at the warehouse, sources confirmed to Fastmarkets MB.Section 232 tariffs on aluminium...Read More
Section 232 tariffs on aluminium and steel raised $3.6 billion in their first nine months, and revenues for the last two months are likely to push that figure up by around another $1 billion, US government data shows.That figure would be enough to cover the shortfall in funding sought by United States President Donald Trump for border security. In other words, aluminium and steel tariffs could fun...Read More
Section 232 tariffs on aluminium and steel raised $3.6 billion in their first nine months, and revenues for the last two months are likely to push that figure up by around another $1 billion, US government data shows.That figure would be enough to cover the shortfall in funding sought by United States President Donald Trump for border security. In other words, aluminium and steel tariffs could fun...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were higher across the board at the close of trading on Friday February 15, with market sentiment continuing to improve amid US-China trade talks, while participants continue to short-cover after last week's price rally. Climbing furthest over the afternoon, zinc futures closed above $2,600 per tonne and continued to trade in a volatile trend after s...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
More copper concentrates from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could be diverted after ERG suspended its Chambishi copper smelting facility in Zambia, multiple market sources said. ERG told Fastmarkets on Thursday February 14 of its decision to halt the 55,000 tonne-per-year Chambishi copper operation following the implementation of the 5% import duty on cobalt and copper concentrates i...Read More
A fire at Korea Zinc's Onsan smelter has been contained and deliveries are set to continue as usual, two sources at the company told Fastmarkets.The fire, which lasted for around half an hour, took place in the plant's power transformer, according to local daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo.London Metal Exchange three-month zinc futures have risen 1.4% from yesterday's close to $2,591 per tonne as of 9...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
Due to an input error, Fastmarkets' price book entry for European grade-553 silicon briefly showed an incorrect value on Friday February 15.The correct price, as assessed on February 15, for silicon, grade 553, min 98.5% Si, in-warehouse Rotterdam, is ?,?1,800-1,860 ($2,030-2,098) per tonne.Fastmarkets' price book and database have been updated accordingly.The weekly assessments for this price hav...Read More
The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap imported into Europe decreased on Friday February 15 because of lower nickel prices, Fastmarkets has heard.The price of 18/8 steel scrap solids imports was assessed on Friday at ?,?1,000-1,040 ($1,128-1,173) per tonne cif, narrowing downward by ?,?10 per tonne.The modest scale of the price change was related to the fact that nickel prices only began decrea...Read More
Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy moved up in February following the positive trend settled in the international scrap markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday February 15.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for domestic grade E3 scrap in Italy was ?,?270-290 ($306-327) per tonne delivered on Friday February 15, compared with ?,?260-280 per tonne delivered in January."The upward tren...Read More