Asian steel scrap imports fluctuated wildly from territory to territory in 2020, with South Korea and Bangladesh reporting decreases while Taiwan and Vietnam recorded increases.Japan, Asia's largest steel scrap supplier, exported 9.39 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material last year - over a fifth more than in 2019.Vietnam became the single largest importer of Japanese scrap last year; at...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 30 that are worth another look.BHP announced in 2018 that the depletion of its 80-million-tonnes-per-year Yandi mine in its Western Australia iron ore operations would begin from the second half of 2021. Fastmarkets explores how the low-grade fines landscape...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe inched up over the week to Wednesday June 30, despite slow trading activity, sources have told Fastmarkets.The number of transactions for domestic material has been minimal.Buyers have been refraining from purchases due to long lead times from domestic mills. They preferred to remain in 'wait-and-see' mode until the price trend became clear. Full cred...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Cristina Belda and...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Dalila Ouerghi and...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 30 that are worth another look.BHP announced in 2018 that the depletion of its 80-million-tonnes-per-year Yandi mine in its Western Australia iron ore operations would begin from the second half of 2021. Fastmarkets explores how the low-grade fines landscape...Read More
BHP announced in 2018 that the depletion of its 80-million-tonnes-per-year Yandi mine in its Western Australia iron ore operations would begin from the second half of 2021. Fastmarkets explores how the low-grade fines landscape will adapt to the loss of this key brand. 1. How will the market move forward? Some traders believe the depletion of the Yandi mine will most likely prompt market participa...Read More
With the Chinese government setting 2030 as the target for China's carbon emissions to peak and 2060 for it to achieve carbon neutrality, the country's steel sector will have to change the way it does business.Fastmarkets speaks to market participants for their views on what these changes might be, and what challenges lie ahead.1. Reduce hot metal productionReducing hot metal output - such as via...Read More
Copper's three-month price has shown the biggest fall during June among base metals on the London Metal Exchange, rocked by Chinese announcements and rising inventories, while the prices of other base metals such as aluminium and tin were higher than on June 1.Copper's price was $9,374.50 per tonne on Wednesday June 30 at the close of trading, falling from $10,245 per tonne on June 1.Among the fac...Read More
Iron ore prices rose on Wednesday June 30 when concerns were raised about China's overall crude steel output for 2021, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.08 per tonne, up by $1.75 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $217.85 per tonne, up by $2.91 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $180.95 per tonne, up by $1.33 per t...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices remained flat on Wednesday June 30 on weak demand while the futures price gained.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,860-4,880 yuan ($752-755) per tonne, unchanged day on dayThe purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the steel industry was 45.1 points in June, down by 1 point from May, according to the China Federation...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil moved down across Europe on Wednesday June 30, but market participants were in disagreement over whether the decline indicated a change of trend.Buyers have been holding back from purchasing bigger tonnages of HRC, preferring to book lots of less than 500 tonnes if they needed to re-stock or when doing back-to-back business.In addition, buyers believed that a so...Read More
Copper's three-month price has shown the biggest fall during June among base metals on the London Metal Exchange, rocked by Chinese announcements and rising inventories, while the prices of other base metals such as aluminium and tin were higher than on June 1.Copper's price was $9,374.50 per tonne on Wednesday June 30 at the close of trading, falling from $10,245 per tonne on June 1.Among the fac...Read More
Premiums for tin ingots in Europe and the United States continued their rise to new highs in the fortnight to June 29, with freight and trucking costs and delays still the main issue pressuring premiums upward, sources told Fastmarkets. Premiums in Asia were stable, with the high London Metal Exchange price diverting participants away from the spot market. China's Yunnan Tin, the world's lar...Read More
Antofagasta has agreed to supply four major Chinese smelters with copper concentrates in the first half of 2022, with a treatment charge in the mid-$50s, Fastmarkets understands.The Chilean copper miner and representatives from China Copper, Jiangxi Copper, Tongling Nonferrous and Jinchuan Group held meetings for three days since Monday, sources said, with an agreement finally reached on the eveni...Read More
Copper stocks in Shanghai bonded warehouses rose to a 23-month high in the month of June as a result of a closed arbitrage window between London and Shanghai.During the same period, aluminium and zinc stocks in the bonded zone fell, while the stock level for nickel edged slightly higher.Copper inventories at 23-month highThe rise in Shanghai bonded copper stocks came despite a pick-up in spot acti...Read More
Premiums for delivered copper cathodes fell in Europe while those for seaborne cargoes firmed this week, with the market digesting how a tariff on Russian exports would affect the continent's balance of trade. The Russian government has approved temporary export duties on 340 steel and non-ferrous metals sold outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), effective from August 1 through December 31....Read More
Zinc premiums continued to increase in Antwerp and Rotterdam on Tuesday June 29 due to low supply but sources expect a downturn in August during the seasonally weaker period, while markets elsewhere were either stable or down during the week.Northern Europe zinc premiums set 40-month high on persisting supply tightnessLead, zinc premiums steady in US despite low availabilityContango, faltering dem...Read More
The United States remains the strongest market for copper cathodes, with the premium remaining at elevated levels in the week to Tuesday June 29, while premiums for imported cathodes in China are showing signs of recovery after sinking steadily for the past few months. US cathode premium holds at eight-year high. European market digests news of Russia export tax. China market firms mi...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States rose above $86 per hundredweight ($1,720 per short ton) for the first time on Wednesday June 30, surpassing the previous all-time high that was reached just a day before.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $86.53 per hundredweight ($1,730.60 per short ton) on Wednesday, an increase of 0.64% from $85.98 per...Read More