Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
Stainless steel prices continue to register new highs around the end of the first half of 2021 and steelmakers continue to enjoy outsized margins.They have responded in recent months by increasing their output, which has now pushed above pre-pandemic levels and will eventually restore balance to the market.For now, though, supply gaps are still being filled and buyers find themselves competing aga...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices and margins for stainless steel producers have risen notably over the past few months in both Europe and the United States, but there are now signs that the rally is petering out.A clear reason for the halt to rising prices comes from the near 20% drop in nickel prices seen in late February/early March,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have been expecting us to be reporting sharply-lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.This is not the case, at least in Europe and the Unite...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis were at a four-month high on Monday July 19 due to an increase in liquidity, with cargoes changing hands at higher prices.Fastmarkets assessed its daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $289.36 per tonne on Monday, the highest since March 19.Demand for cargoes has increased over the past week. But the rise in prices also related to concern in the market abo...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow remained flat in the week to July 19 due to slower trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.August rebar offer from key local suppliers to the region were broadly unchanged from July levels, despite an anticipated downward correction due toa temporary export duty on steel products in Russia starting August...Read More
Century Aluminum subsidiary Nor??ur??l Grundartangi ehf has reached an agreement with the Icelandic national power company to extend the existing 161-megawatt contract at its Grundartangi aluminium smelter by three years through 2026.The contract will increase to 182MW over time to "support the most recent capacity creep requirements and future growth opportunities for value-added products...Read More
The Chinese government will increase the quantity of metal in its second batch of non-ferrous metal reserves sales at the end of July or beginning of August, sources said on Monday July 19.An estimated 230,000 tonnes of non-ferrous metal will enter the market soon, made up of 50,000 tonnes of copper, 80,000 tonnes of zinc, and 100,000 tonnes of aluminium, sources said. This quantity is more than...Read More
The London Metal Exchange launched new lithium and aluminium premium futures contracts on Monday July 19, which are cash-settled against Fastmarkets' assessments.The lithium contract will be cash-settled against Fastmarkets' price assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate, 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan & Korea. Fastmarkets' most recent assessment for this price...Read More
Traders in mainland China are seeking to sell stockpiled lead to Taiwan and Southeast Asia amid a worsening arbitrage for imports, which - since June - has shifted to being more favorable for exports.This comes after a noticeable gap emerged between lead prices on the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange since May, which incentivized Chinese lead traders to buy LME stock while s...Read More
Stocks of aluminium held in Major Japanese Ports (MJP) rose by 8% in June, firming to the highest level in nine months, according to data compiled by the trading house Marubeni.Total stocks were 309,100 tonnes, up from 285,600 tonnes in May 2021, but lower than the 347,300 tonnes of aluminium held in June...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States inched closer to the $91-per-hundredweight ($1,820-per-short-ton) mark again on Monday July 19, supported by strong demand for hot band amid lean supply.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $90.96 per hundredweight ($1,819.20 per short ton) on July 19, an increase of 0.23% from $90.75 per cwt on Friday July 16 and...Read More
European steel association Eurofer is demanding stronger carbon emissions measures to guarantee a balanced approach that will enable a decarbonization of the region's steel industry, it said on Thursday July 15.On July 14, the European Commission adopted a package of proposals to make the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies fit to meet its greenhouse gas emissions targe...Read More
Market activity in the European Union's hot-rolled coil sector has been limited due to the seasonal slowdown and long lead times, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday July 19.In addition to seasonal factors, buyers have shown limited interest in acquiring flat steel due to sufficient stocks and long lead times from domestic and overseas suppliers.Credit lines for buyers have also been exhausted over...Read More
Slab export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to decline in the week to Monday July 19, amid falling finished flat steel values in the region's main destination markets.In Turkey, hot-rolled coil prices dropped in the week to Friday July 16 on low activity in the key export outlets for that product. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, export, f...Read More
Flat steel prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow weakened during the week to Monday July 19 amid slow trading activity, with most producers holding back August offers while assessing the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled sheetTrading activity in the HR sheet market was muted over the past week, with most buyers abstaining from making purchases on expectations that dom...Read More
Turkish steel mills stayed away from making any deep-sea scrap deals on Monday July 19, due to the start of the week-long Eid al-Adha public holiday, sources told Fastmarkets.Regular trading is not expected to resume until Monday July 26, they added.One market participant said the Turkish market for finished steel products and the scrap market...Read More
Prices for both new steel and aluminium scrap materials continued to rise across the UK and Europe in the week to Friday July 16, amid further manufacturing disruptions, causing the global scrap supply deficit to worsen.Manufacturing shutdowns and automotive supply chain halts - and increased demand for aluminium products, which are commanding record-high premiums - have created a huge imbalance i...Read More