Freight rates for bulk cargoes of steel have risen in the last week amid a global shortage of ships, and the Covid-19 resurgence in China and Southeast Asia could raise costs for cargoes even further, sources have told Fastmarkets.Bulk freight costs for steel scrap shipped from the United States East Coast to Turkey in a Supramax vessel were heard at $48 per tonne on Wednesday August 3, up from th...Read More
Battery-grade lithium prices in China's domestic market continued to edge upward in the week ended Thursday August 5, while other global markets were steady with participants focused closely on the aftereffects of Pilbara Minerals' inaugural spodumene concentrate auction that attracted higher-than-expected bids.Battery-grade lithium prices in China rise further with producers broadly sold out afte...Read More
South American flat steel import prices did not show a clear trend in the week to Friday August 6, with some products being offered higher - especially due to tax rebate cuts in China - while others were down due to discounts or the absence of more expensive material in the market.Demand also took a hit during the period. Some customers were concerned that a Chinese export tax for hot-rolled produ...Read More
Chinese copper smelter Guangxi Nanguo has brought forward its maintenance schedule because the local government has stepped up its measures to restrict power consumption by industrial facilities, Fastmarkets has learnt.The private smelter, which has capacity for 300,000 tonnes per year, will be shut for 45 days across August-September and therefore will not be procuring extra copper raw material o...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila...Read More
Spot buying appetite from Chinese copper smelters remained low in the week to Friday August 6, with standard tonnages being traded in the mid to high $50s per tonne range.Deals for blended cargoes of lower-grade copper concentrate were reported in the low $60s per tonne. Regional power restrictions in China have led to copper smelters bringing forward their maintenance plans which created reduced...Read More
Steel scrap prices in the key global markets moved down over the week to Friday August 6 with demand for material remaining tepid.Turkish mills make fresh bookings at lower pricesUS export prices consistent in recent bookingsVietnam scrap prices down on weak demandChinese import prices fall alongside domestic pricingTaiwanese scrap prices continue downtrend on poor demandIndian scrap offers withdr...Read More
Cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet prices in the United States set fresh records this past week, and all indications point to further gains in the coming weeks.Some mills were offering sporadic spot material at levels much higher that those recorded previously, and while some buyers have been pushing back those in dire need of material were paying the premium price.Fastmarkets' weekly price as...Read More
The export market for pig iron from the Commonwealth of Independent States dropped during the week to Thursday August 5 on oversupply and short lead times. Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $550-580 per tonne on Thursday, down from $570-590 per tonne the previous week.The market level in the United States, which is the main pig...Read More
The Vietnamese scrap import market continued to slip during the week ending Friday August 6 due to weak demand for downstream long steel, sources told Fastmarkets.Offers for bulk Japanese H2-grade material were heard at $480 per tonne cfr southern Vietnam, while offers to northern Vietnam were at $485 per tonne.Buyers had lowered their bids to $460-470 per tonne cfr Vietnam."It's hard to see selle...Read More
Spot prices for imported containerized ferrous scrap in Taiwan continued on a downward trend in the week to Friday August 6 amid the current buyers' market caused by poor demand, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for containerized steel scrap, heavy melting scrap (HMS) 1&2 (80:20), United States material import, cfr main port Taiwan was $430-432 per tonne on...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Jessica Long, Ruby Liu and Carrie...Read More
Major steelmakers in China and Japan lowered their domestic scrap buy prices on Friday August 6 amid reduced intake volumes, sources told Fastmarkets.Large Chinese steelmakers drop domestic scrap purchase pricesJapan's Tokyo Steel reduces buy prices for most grades at most factoriesSouth Korea closes deals at lower prices for Japanese scrap.ChinaTwo major mills in Jiangsu province lowered their do...Read More
Turkey's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were largely stable in the week to Friday August 6 despite limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, exw Turkey was $1,010-1,050 per tonne on Friday, widening downward by $10 from $1,020-1,050 per tonne on July 30.Turkish HRC producers were offering material at $1,020-1,...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday August 6.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday August 6.ChinaThe seaborne low-grade manganese ore price edged lower after suppliers cut offers on September cargoes amid rising port inventories and weakness in the domestic portside market.The seaborne high-grade manganese ore price ticked up with higher offer prices in the spot market, t...Read More
Turkey's domestic transaction prices for hot-dipped galvanized and pre-painted galvanized coil prices were mostly stable in the week ended Friday August 6 due to limited trading, sources told Fastmarkets.Domestic buyers have mainly been holding back from acquiring substantial material volumes, waiting for the trend to settle.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel HDG coil domestic, exw T...Read More
Turkish steel mills were silent on Friday August 6 after booking at least five deep-sea cargoes earlier this week, market participants told Fastmarkets.The most recent deal was recorded on Wednesday August 4, when a steel mill in the Izmir region booked a United States cargo comprising 15,000 tonnes of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) at $464 per tonne, and 14,000 tonnes of shredded and 2,000 tonne...Read More
Spot differentials for low-carbon aluminium in Europe were stable during July, but some deals and offers for 2022 supply were reported well above current spot levels.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium low-carbon differential value-added product (VAP), Europe at $10-15 per tonne Friday August 6, unchanged from the previous assessment on July 2.Offers for 2022 VAPs were reported between $20 and abov...Read More
Fastmarkets has identified a necessary clarification to the nickel sulfate specification with regard to delivery time.The delivery time for Fastmarkets' nickel sulfate ex-works China price assessment is seven days, which was not reflected in the specifications when the price was launched in July 2018.Fastmarkets confirms that the specifications read as follows, with the clarification in italics:MB...Read More