The United States plans to "make up for lost time" in the battle against climate change by developing new technologies and investing in the products that will drive the transition to a global, low-carbon economy, according to the country's Treasury chief, Janet Yellen.Speaking in a keynote speech at the US Chamber's inaugural global forum on economic recovery, the Secretary to the Treasury said th...Read More
EVE Energy Co will construct a new nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) operation in China in a joint venture with two partners, the Chinese lithium battery producer said, to bolster its position in the upstream sector for battery raw materials.The project - to be built with Chinese battery raw materials producer BTR (JiangSu) New Material Technology Ltd and South Korea-based electric vehicle (EV) batter...Read More
Sales volumes of flat-rolled steel by Brazilian distributors were up 106.69% in April from the corresponding period of 2020, amid a lower comparison basis and stronger end-user demand, national distributor association Inda said on Tuesday May 18.Distributors sold 343,100 tonnes in April, an increase from 166,000 tonnes a year before, when there was a demand crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sal...Read More
Crude steel production in Italy jumped year on year in April, mostly driven by higher output of long steel products, Italian steel association Federacciai said on Tuesday May 18.Italian crude steel production totaled 2.06 million tonnes in April, up by 78.94% from 1.15 million tonnes in April 2019.Long steel output more than doubled year on year in April, to 1.17 million tonnes from ...Read More
European hot-rolled coil buyers face a shortage of steel and have little alternative but to accept offer prices from domestic mills, market sources said on Tuesday May 18. Since steelmakers have largely stayed out of the spot market, the number of completed deals remains small for now although demand both from end consumers and from distributors remains strong. Buyers said they have no option but...Read More
Flat-rolled steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased further during the week ended Tuesday May 18, but demand has yet to improve due to limited market activity after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, sources told Fastmarkets.The Eid holidays ended on May 17 and stock levels are low in the countries, so buying is likely to improve soon, sources added.Saudi ArabiaHot-rolled...Read More
Sentiment in the CIS steel billet export market cooled down somewhat after a sharp drop in demand from China, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 18.Falling rebar futures prices resulted in significant cuts in spot rebar prices in the domestic market in China, which in turn led to reduced interest in imported billet, thereby pushing down offer prices. China had been the major buyer of CIS stee...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices increased sharply in the United Arab Emirates during the week ending Tuesday May 18 due to very good demand after the Eid al-Fitr holiday ending earlier in the week, sources told Fastmarkets. "Contractors are buying more steel, expecting big price increases," one trader told Fastmarkets. The country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, announced its rebar price at 3,06...Read More
The Commonwealth of Independent States' flat-rolled steel export market increased again during the week to Monday May 17 due to strong demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $1,055-1,075 per tonne on May 17, up by 2.65% from $1,020-1,055 per tonne a week earlier.Amid strong local market demand, the price in Turkey rose to $1,070-...Read More
Turkish steelmakers remained quiet in the seaborne scrap market on the second working day of the week amid holiday and lockdown periods, market sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 18.The country observed the post-Ramadan religious holiday, Eid al-Fitr from May 12 and ended during the country's full lockdown between April 29 and May 16 put in place in an attempt to halt a third wave of Covid-19...Read More
German steelmakers settled monthly contracts in May for steel scrap at higher prices due to tight supply as well as the rising price trend in the international market, sources told Fastmarkets. Availability of new scrap, included E8-grade, has been constrained by stoppages in the automotive segment, which in turn have been caused by a shortage of semiconductors , market participants said. Car manu...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were up across the board on Tuesday May 18, supported by falling stock levels at Chinese ports. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $224.44 per tonne, up $6.67 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $227.77 per tonne, up $6.97 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $192.70 per tonne, up $6.05 per tonne 65% Fe Brazil-origin fin...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal price surged in the fob market on rising activity, but cfr prices were largely stable on Tuesday on May 18, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $123.63 per tonne, up $2.84 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $273.15 per tonne, down $0.80 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $107.96 per tonne, down $2...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices rebounded on Tuesday May 18 amid news of fresh restrictions in the country's Tangshan region, its steel production hub.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 6,100-6,120 yuan ($947-950) per tonne, up by 70-100 yuan per tonneTangshan's municipal government has ordered steel mills to suspend their sinter equipment for the first 10 hours from midnight from Tuesday until Thur...Read More
China's will strengthen the exploration and development of its domestic iron ore resources and work to ensure that steel capacity cuts are fully observed, according to it economic planner. "Domestically, we will intensify the exploration and development of iron ore resources, accelerate the construction of new and ongoing iron ore projects, and improve consumption of recycled iron-steel materials,...Read More
The zinc price set a new year-to-date high in the morning of Tuesday May 18 on the London Metal Exchange, with worries about the recent political developments in Peru creeping into investor sentiment, while a dollar at its weakest since the end of February pushed most metals prices up too. Zinc's three-month price reached $3,108.50 per tonne on Tuesday during early trading, the most since June 15,...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board this morning, Tuesday May 18, and once again recent dips have been short-lived and not that deep, suggesting sentiment remains robust.Inflation concerns remain elevated, US treasury yields and gold firmerUnited States Federal Reserve officials stick to their view that inflationary pressures will...Read More
Ferroglobe PLC halved its losses quarter on quarter due to higher prices for silicon metal and alloys and manganese alloys in the first quarter ended March 31, according to results released on Tuesday May 18. It was, however, the 13th quarterly loss in a row for the western world's biggest producer of silicon.Higher staffing costs related to the company's ongoing restructuring, including effo...Read More
Glencore "will not hesitate bringing back online part or all" of its Mutanda copper-cobalt asset in the Democratic Republic of Congo, head cobalt trader David Brocas said.But a restart is conditional on a clearer profile for cobalt consumption including a long-term commitment to cobalt purchases from buyers, he added on Tuesday May 18 during the Cobalt Institute's annual conference."We want a stab...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More