London Metal Exchange aluminium continued to reach new multi-year highs while copper and lead were up by 1% on Thursday April 15 morning while nickel and tin fell from their Wednesday gains. LME aluminium's three-month price reached $2.356.50 per tonne during early trading, the most since October 2010, when the metal came to an intraday high of $2,358 per tonne. It was down slightly from that...Read More
The narrowing gap between seaborne manganese ore prices and spot prices in China will continue to taper amid the downward correction in the record-high premium for seaborne material in March, market participants said.It is likely the narrowing will be due to a combination of miners cutting seaborne offers amid mounting resistance from buyers and portside cargo holders raising prices following stro...Read More
Copper prices could reach $15,000 per tonne within five years, boosted by a sharp rise in demand for the metal, which has been described by Goldman Sachs analysts as the "new oil" for its use in green technologies, in a report released on Tuesday April 13.Goldman analysts, led by Nicholas Snowdon, have upgraded their 12-month price target for copper to $11,000 per tonne, predicting an average pric...Read More
Europe's low-carbon ferro-chrome market continued the steady price rise that began after dropping to multi-year lows in 2020 with prices supported on high logistical costs, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe was $2.13-2.40 per lb Cr on Tuesday April 13, a rise of 1-2 cents (0.7%) from $2.12-2.38 per lb Cr on March 30."Logis...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 15 that are worth another look.Trade unions at Liberty's Czech-based Ostrava plant have announced a strike alert amid allegations that the plant's emissions allowances will be lent to another Liberty-owned steel mill, Fastmarkets heard.Read More
Key data from the Wednesday April 14 pricing session in London and Beijing.Key drivers The cobalt hydroxide payable indicator edged down with some suppliers cutting their offers amid a persistent decrease in downstream cobalt sulfate prices and a bearish downstream market sentiment in China.Chinese consumers have made aggressive bids,...Read More
Turkish steel mills have extended their silence in the deep-sea scrap market due to limited finished long steel demand, especially in the domestic market, participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 15.The most recent deep-sea trade was done at the end of the last week, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region paid an average price of $436 per tonne cfr for 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) an...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange have been edging higher in recent days, although this morning, Thursday April 15, they were looking mixed, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part firmer. Concerns over China's policy on credit tightening in focus ahead of Friday's gross domestic product (GDP) dataAluminium sets fresh highs for the yearBase metalsLME three...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday April 14 pricing session in London and Beijing.Key drivers The cobalt hydroxide payable indicator edged down with some suppliers cutting their offers amid a persistent decrease in downstream cobalt sulfate prices and a bearish downstream market sentiment in China.Chinese consumers have made aggressive bids,...Read More
Nornickel will increase its nickel production capacity from 65,000 tonnes currently to 75,000 tonnes by 2023 at its Nornickel Harjavalta refinery in Finland, the company said on April 14.Nornickel's Harjavalta refinery mainly produces nickel cathode, nickel briquette, salt and solution, along with cobalt as a by-product of using the sulfuric acid leaching approach with an over 98% extraction rate,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 15 that are worth another look.Trade unions at Liberty's Czech-based Ostrava plant have announced a strike alert amid allegations that the plant's emissions allowances will be lent to another Liberty-owned steel mill, Fastmarkets heard.Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States climbed to a record high for a second day in a row, and market participants reported no sign that the rally will come to an end in the near term.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $68.73 per hundredweight ($1,374.60 per short ton) on Thursday April 15, up by 0.28% from $68.54 per cwt on Wednesday April 14 and by...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in the north of Europe kept increasing on Thursday April 15, driven by persistent shortages, while ArcelorMittal has increased its offer prices again after transaction prices reached its previous target, according to market sources.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?913.33 ($1,092.97) per tonne on A...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 15 that are worth another look.Trade unions at Liberty's Czech-based Ostrava plant have announced a strike alert amid allegations that the plant's emissions allowances will be lent to another Liberty-owned steel mill, Fastmarkets heard.Read More
Tata Steel is to relocate and upgrade its steel tube-making operations at Corby in the UK as part of a ?25 million ($34.4 million) investment which will give the business the best chance of a strong future, the company said on Thursday April 15.The two-year investment project will involve the creation of a single high-tech warehouse within the East Works. This will allow the closure of the South...Read More
The steel billet and rebar market in Egypt was slow this week because of a lack of changes to the country's construction ban, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 15.Market participants in Egypt were expecting the rules of the ban to be eased, however, no changes have been announced.The construction ban was first imposed in May 2020, with the rules slightly eased in September 2020 to al...Read More
Turkish steel mills have extended their silence in the deep-sea scrap market due to limited finished long steel demand, especially in the domestic market, participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 15.The most recent deep-sea trade was done at the end of the last week, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region paid an average price of $436 per tonne cfr for 35,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) an...Read More
Spot prices for imported steel billet into the Philippines have risen following fresh sales to the country in recent days with some buyers facing low stock levels, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 15.Last week, buyers in Manila indicated their interest at prices of no more than $635 per tonne cfr for standard 5sp billet, while Chinese buyers had already paid $660 per tonne cfr for 3sp ma...Read More
Trade unions at Liberty's Czech-based Ostrava plant have announced a strike alert amid allegations that the plant's emissions allowances will be lent to another Liberty-owned steel mill, Fastmarkets heard.Earlier this week, the OS KOVO trade union warned of a readiness to strike at Liberty's Ostrava plant amid market concerns about the parent company's financial sustainability.Liberty Steel has be...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 14 that are worth another look.Steel producer Feralpi Group has improved the energy efficiency of its Brescia plant in Italy with help from energy company Enel X, reducing its carbon emissions to help meet its sustainability targets, the company said on Tuesday...Read More