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
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have risen over the past week but demand has remained soft, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 5.Demand was subdued because stock levels in the UAE were already high and buyers wanted to see which direction prices would move after the Lunar New Year holiday in China, they added.UAEChina-origin HRC was on offer to the U...Read More
The European bismuth price continued its uptrend in the latest pricing session, boosted by shipment delays that are affecting the delivery of material from China's Hunan Jinwang Bismuth, one of the biggest suppliers in the world. Fastmarkets assessed the European bismuth price at $3.70-4.20 per lb on Friday February 1, slightly higher than in the midweek assessment when the metal stood a...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday February 5 that are worth another look.Honda Motor Co Ltd aims to electrify around two-thirds of the vehicles it produces by 2030, Honda managing officer Noriya Kaihara said at the 25th Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa.Japan's Panasonic is considering investing in the upstream part of the battery raw materials indus...Read More
Honda Motor Co Ltd aims to electrify around two-thirds of the vehicles it produces by 2030, an executive at the Japanese automaker said.The goal is part of the company's electrification strategy, with around half of production to be comprised of hybrid electric vehicles (EVs), Honda managing officer Noriya Kaihara said.Zero-emissions vehicles, either through battery electric vehicles or fuel...Read More
Japan's Panasonic is considering investing in the upstream part of the battery raw materials industry in order to have better oversight of quality, pricing and supply chain responsibility, a company executive said.The move has been led by the company's growing consumption of raw materials for batteries due to rapid growth in demand for electric vehicles (EVs), Kazunori Tanaka, general manager of t...Read More
Downstream producer Novelis said in its fiscal-year 2019 third-quarter earnings report on Tuesday February 5 that strong demand for aluminium products helped boost sales.Novelis reported sales of $3 billion in the third quarter, up 3% year on year from $2.9 billion. Shipments of flat-rolled products increased 1% to 800,000 tonnes.The automotive and beverage packaging industries helped drive the in...Read More
The continuing financial and operational issues at South African power utility Eskom pose the single biggest risk to the country's economy, according to the chief operating officer of mining company South32.Eskom, which supplies South Africa's mining sector with electricity that is largely generated by burning coal, needs a business model which will retain key industrial customers that are already...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its nickel sulfate min 21%, max: 22.5%; cobalt 10ppm max, China ex-works, yuan/tonne price, which was published incorrectly on February 1.The Fastmarkets MB nickel sulfate min 21%, max: 22.5%; cobalt 10ppm max, China ex-works, yuan/tonne price was published on February 1 instead of its scheduled publication date on February 5. This has now been corrected and the price has...Read More
Base metals trading fund Commodities World Capital has brought in Kevin Connors as its new chief executive officer, it said on Tuesday February 5. He will take on the role to allow founder and co-chief...Read More
European long steel buyers are facing higher offers from suppliers which hope that prices will increase in the coming weeks, now that the European Commission (EC) has launched its new steel import quotas.The EC imposed import quotas last year as part of its provisional measures in a trade safeguard case involving steel product imports. That regime was launched in July 2018, but it has now been rep...Read More
CIS export wire rod and rebar prices increased in the week ended Monday January 4, following the uptrend in the billet segment and after customers in some destinations began accepting higher prices, which rendered additional support to CIS suppliers.In particular, Belarus-origin wire rod offers - with load readiness in April - were heard at $465-470 per tonne fob Black Sea at the end of last week,...Read More
The import prices for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates increased this week on higher offers, but domestic prices were unchanged week on week, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday February 5.Domestic rebarLocal rebar producers in the UAE announced reduced their prices on January 21 for material to be shipped in February.The country's largest producer, Emirates Steel, was offering r...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 3.1% year-on-year drop in shipment volumes in 2018, Eurometal said this week. "Shipments decelerated mainly in the second half of 2018, with mounting uncertainties regarding the European automotive industry and related supplier sectors," the regional federation for steel, tube and metals distribution and trade, said on Monday February 4. ...Read More
The CIS export price for steel billet continued to move upward at the start of the week beginning on Monday February 4, with mills pushing offers higher amid a global rise in raw materials prices.Offers of March-rolling billet from Russian and Ukrainian mills were heard within the range of $435-440 per tonne fob Black Sea, up from 430-440 per tonne fob at the end of last week.The rise in global sc...Read More
Major global steel slab markets are set to recover in February after a months-long downturn, with suppliers raising their offers amid higher prices of iron ore and ferrous scrap as well as limited slab availability, participants told Fastmarkets on Monday February 4.CISMarket participants were positive in their forecasts of export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), following...Read More
Brazilian iron ore miner Vale will halt operations at the Vargem Grande complex sooner than was scheduled, the company said on Monday February 4.This was one of the mines already included in the company's decommissioning plan for tailings dams, but its stop has been brought forward, Vale added. Mine output has been stopped immediately although the decommissioning process could take two or three ye...Read More