ArcelorMittal is to pilot the use of bio-coal as a partial replacement for fossil coal in the blast furnace at its steelmaking site in Ghent, Belgium, as a step toward cutting its carbon emissions, the company announced on Wednesday August 11.ArcelorMittal Ghent has taken this step on its decarbonization journey, it said, by choosing to use high-quality bio-coal as a raw material for its steel pro...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices continued to increase in the cfr China market on Thursday August 12 and rose slightly in the fob market due to tight supply and good procurement demand, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $222.37 per tonne, up $0.28 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $196.16 per tonne, up $0.25 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $340.19 p...Read More
Prices in the British market for steel scrap deliveries to domestic steelmakers have dropped for August 2021, snapping a run of gains in the past three months on lower demand and weaker export prices amid the seasonal summer slowdown, sources said on Thursday August 12.Prices for scrap supplied to British steelmakers were down in general by around ?5 ($7) per tonne in August, although some report...Read More
Turkish steel mills again stayed away from the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday August 12, while finished steel prices edged lower, sources told Fastmarkets.No new deep-sea cargoes were heard on the market today, continuing a trend of silence, although falling finished steel prices are beginning to weigh on market sentiment and purchasing decisions. The price of rebar in Turkey's domestic...Read More
Battery supply chain participants have prioritized securing lithium in the second half of 2021, but nickel has also been a headache for sourcing directors, who are less concerned about cobalt supplies, a Fastmarkets survey has found.Fastmarkets conducted a survey of market participants in the battery supply chain - mainly battery materials producers -to assess which battery metals pose the biggest...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices fell on Thursday August 12, with end-user demand falling away due to heavy rainfall across large parts of the country.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,200-5,230 yuan ($803-808) per tonne, down by 30 yuan per tonneHeavy rain hit a large parts of China in recent days, interrupting construction activity and disrupting the transportation of rebar from warehouses.More h...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in China's domestic market pulled back on Thursday August 12, with market participants shifting their focus away from expectations of a drop in supplies after weak lending data sparked concerns over liquidity.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,790-5,810 yuan ($894-897) per tonne, down by 30-50 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange moved...Read More
Domestic steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States rose slightly after three flat weeks, and market participants expect a continued upward trajectory despite prices for shredded scrap - rebar's key feedstock material - declining in August.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel rebar, fob mill US was $49.25 per hundredweight ($985 per short ton) on Wednesday August 11, up by 0.51% from $49 per c...Read More
Iranian slab prices for foreign customers continued to fall in the week to August 12, pressured by weak consumer markets in Asia and Europe.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel slab, export, fob ports Iran decreased by $20-25 per tonne week on week to $700-720 per tonne on August 11, from $725-740 per tonne fob on August 4.European customers were inactive due to the summer slowdown, w...Read More
Tesla, the United States-based manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs), is implementing a blockchain solution for end-to-end cobalt traceability in partnership with Glencore, China Molybdenum (CMOC) and Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), Glencore announced in a press release dated Thursday August 12.The Re|Source blockchain platform that Tesla is piloting was founded by Glencore, CMOC and ERG, and wa...Read More
Tesla, the United States-based manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs), is implementing a blockchain solution for end-to-end cobalt traceability in partnership with Glencore, China Molybdenum (CMOC) and Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), Glencore announced in a press release dated Thursday August 12.The Re|Source blockchain platform that Tesla is piloting was founded by Glencore, CMOC and ERG, and wa...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States surged above $96 per hundredweight ($1,920 per short ton) for the first time, with market participants projecting that new records will be made before this rally runs out of steam.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.54 per cwt ($1,930.80 per ton) on Thursday August 12, up by 1.77% from $94.86 per cwt on Wedne...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices fell on Thursday August 12, with end-user demand falling away due to heavy rainfall across large parts of the country.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,200-5,230 yuan ($803-808) per tonne, down by 30 yuan per tonneHeavy rain hit a large parts of China in recent days, interrupting construction activity and disrupting the transportation of rebar from warehouses.More h...Read More
Commodities - including nickel, cobalt hydroxide and fluorspar - are being held in China at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port's Meishan wharf after the facility was locked down due to a positive Covid-19 infection at the site, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 12.One person was confirmed as infected with Covid-19 on August 11 and the local government has implemented strict controls and ha...Read More
A summary of Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB's financial results for the second quarter of 2021, ended June 30.In brief Iron ore output for the second quarter at LKAB was on a par with the previous year. Production was still suffering the effects of a seismic event at the Kiruna mine more than a year ago. At present, production in Kiruna is at around 90% of capacity, and recovery works...Read More
Activity in the key Bangladesh and Vietnam deep-sea import scrap markets have increased in recent days, with mills in the countries increasingly interested in bulk shipments, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 12.Deep-sea bulk deal heard in VietnamBangladesh bulk inquiries pick upTaiwan spot prices start to reboundChina scrap import prices remain static amid weak demandVietnamVietnam retu...Read More
China's stainless steel prices fell in both the domestic and export markets in the week ended Wednesday August 11 due to weakening demand and declines in nickel futures. The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended the official trading session on Wednesday at $18,902 per tonne, down by $983 per tonne (4.9%) from $19,885 per tonne on July 30.China's domestic stainless steel fu...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 11 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal will start up a third rolling mill at its Jo??o Monlevade long steel plant in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state in January 2022, due to strong demand and...Read More
Spot ferro-chrome prices in China continued to correct downward after peaking at a 13-year high point at the end of July, despite the continuing output restrictions caused by power supply limitations in a number of production regions.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, fell by 400-500 yuan to 10,400-10,800 yuan ($1,603-1,665) per tonne on Tuesday...Read More