China's spot indium price climbed to a more than two-and-a-half-year high amid an uptick in buying activity last week while participants looked to take advantage of strong price gains in the futures market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for indium, 99.99%, exw China, was 1,350-1,700 yuan ($209-263) per kg on Friday August 27, an increase of 90-400 yuan per tonne (19.1%) from 1,260-1,300 yuan...Read More
With Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In discussion with Fastmarkets' Carrie Bone, he outlined the changes and challenges anticipated for decarbonizing the steel industry."Why green? Because when we started on...Read More
Export slab prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region decreased in the week to Tuesday August 31 pressured by multiple negative factors.Lower CIS finished flat steel prices both in the domestic markets and for foreign customers was one of the reasons for the decline in slab segment.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the price for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, C...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates decreased on Tuesday August 31 while demand for rebar improved, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand for rebar improved after a long period of poor demand due to low stock levels, sources said.The country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, was offering rebar at 2,610 dirhams ($710.46) per tonne, and Conares Steel's rebar price was 2,574 dirhams...Read More
Mexican steel scrap prices continued to decrease in the week ended on Friday August 27, as most steelmakers applied price cuts because of competition from imported material.Scrap consumers have been pushing through a series of weekly price cuts due to pressure from lower international prices.Fastmarkets' assessment of the steel scrap No1 busheling, consumer buying price, delivered mill Monterrey&n...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly firmer on the morning of Tuesday August 31, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were more mixed.This comes despite the release of some weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing numbers. The US dollar index was, however, weaker. China's manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 50.1 in August from 50.4 in July. China'...Read More
Manganese markets were quiet in the week ended Friday August 27, with buyers expecting miners to reduce their offer prices for October shipments to match the port markets."[Miners] must at least offer at a level equal to the port markets to attract buying interest, otherwise smelters will just buy from the spot market," a manganese ore buyer said. "And traders would further lower their purchase am...Read More
With Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In discussion with Fastmarkets' Carrie Bone, he outlined the changes and challenges anticipated for decarbonizing the steel industry."Why green? Because when we started on...Read More
Firmer Chinese steel markets have been supporting sentiment in the Chinese scrap market, keeping buyers optimistic about September and October, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 31.Prices in China inch up amid buyer optimismTaiwanese buyers could start paying moreChinaSpot prices for steel scrap imported into China edged up on Tuesday August 31 amid improving sentiment in the steel market...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's new digital register for physical metals data, LMEpassport, will launch on October 1, starting with aluminium, the exchange announced on Tuesday August 31.LMEpassport will store electronic Certificates of Analysis (CoAs), which are specification and quality assurance documents that must accompany shipments of LME metals into and out of warehouses.It will also store sust...Read More
Turkish steel producers made no new scrap bookings on Tuesday August 31, however a deal from the previous Friday came to light, which lowered prices, market participants said.The Baltic-sea cargo was heard late on Friday August 27, past the closing of the daily indices, and was followed by a public holiday in both Turkey and the United Kingdom on Monday August 30. The cargo was booked by a steel m...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally weaker on the morning of Wednesday September 1, in the face of further evidence of a slowdown in manufacturing activity.* Chicago’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 66.8 in August from 73.4 in July* China’s Caixin manufacturing PMI also showed contraction with a fall to 49.2...Read More
European prices for ferro-silicon were likely to set more record highs in the near term, with the market already at levels not seen since Fastmarkets started to assess the market in the late 1990s.A combination of firm fundamentals, an acute container shortage, record high freight rates, and production and transportation issues were all set to boost the metals markets at least through December and...Read More
With Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In discussion with Fastmarkets' Carrie Bone, he outlined the changes and challenges anticipated for decarbonizing the steel industry."Why green? Because when we started on...Read More
With Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In discussion with Fastmarkets' Carrie Bone, he outlined the changes and challenges anticipated for decarbonizing the steel industry."Why green? Because when we started on...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price had the strongest growth in the complex this month, trading at $2,726.50 per tonne on Tuesday August 31, while most other prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower than on August 2. Aluminium closed at $2,718 per tonne on Tuesday, a rise of 2.6% from last Friday's price of $2,649.50 per tonne and up from $2,615 per tonne at the start of August. Bullish funda...Read More
London Metal Exchange prices were mixed on the morning of Tuesday August 31, with aluminium and nickel leading on the upside due to tightening fundamentals but lead's three-month price under pressure. Aluminium's three-month price reached a peak of $2,726.50 per tonne on Tuesday morning, its highest since May 2011, when the metal reached $2,746 per tonne. It was down slightly to $2,697.50 per...Read More
Aluminium premiums increased on Tuesday August 31 across the globe, with tight supply, an opened arbitrage window in China, and overall bullish sentiment providing market tailwinds and supporting all-time highs.Premiums up in Rotterdam on insufficient supplyUS Midwest premium stable at record highPremiums rise in Shanghai amid wide arbitrage profitsImproved market sentiment drives MJP premiums upw...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday August 30 that are worth another look.Spot prices for steel rebar imports into Singapore continued their downward trend in the week to August 30 amid growing pressure on traders to slash offers due to unsold seaborne cargoes fast approaching the island state.Read More
The Mexican economy secretariat has extended the period of an existing countervailing duty on imports of longitudinal welded carbon steel pipes from the Unites States, and has started an anti-dumping investigation on flat-steel imports from Vietnam.Mexico has extended the duty on welded steel tubes from US for five years starting on May 28, 2020, according to a decision published in the country's...Read More