Flat steel import prices to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased sharply in the week to Tuesday April 13 despite weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets.The weakness in demand was attributed to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that started on the evening of April 12, traditionally a slow period for both countries amid reduced working hours.But uncertainty on rebates fo...Read More
Demand for long steel products was weak in the United Arab Emirates during the week to Tuesday April 13, with prices close to those heard last week, sources told Fastmarkets.The Islamic holy month of Ramadan started on April 12, and demand was unlikely to improve over the period because of the traditionally reduced working hours.In addition, there were hardly any new projects in the country, and s...Read More
A summary of operational results for Russia's largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), for the January-March quarter of 2021. The company also has assets in Europe and the United States.In brief Steel product sales to export markets fell to 1.2 million tonnes, down by 21% quarter on quarter, with a decline in pig iron sales but a rise in intragroup slab deliveries. Sales in home markets incre...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices stopped their downward trend on Tuesday April 13 following a recovery in the futures market, Fastmarkets heard.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,980-5,000 yuan ($760-764) per tonne, up by 10-20 yuan per tonneRebar futures rebounded from two days' of decreasing on the positive news from the futures market.Spot rebar prices followed suit but rose by just 10-20...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 13 that are worth another look.A court in the southeast Brazilian state of Minas Gerais has accepted a request for bankruptcy protection from local iron ore pellet producer Samarco, which is owned 50:50 by Vale and BHP,...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico edged up in the central Baj?-o region but were stable in the region near northern Monterrey city, with fewer buyers in the marketthan usual.One scrap buyer was applying price increases of 100-200 pesos ($5-10) this week in Mexico, but most buyers either held the line on prices or were purchasing minimum volumes due to high costs.Fastmarkets assessed the&nbs...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to avoid deep-sea ferrous scrap bookings due to weak finished steel sales, market sources said on Tuesday April 13.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Canadian cargo at the end of the last week comprising 35,000 tonnes of a 95:5 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap and 15,000 tonnes of shredded at an average price of $436 per tonne cfr, caus...Read More
Demand for long steel products was weak in the United Arab Emirates during the week to Tuesday April 13, with prices close to those heard last week, sources told Fastmarkets.The Islamic holy month of Ramadan started on April 12, and demand was unlikely to improve over the period because of the traditionally reduced working hours.In addition, there were hardly any new projects in the country, and s...Read More
The Indian Steel Association (ISA) has approved the entry of four new steel companies following a committee meeting on Thursday April 8, Fastmarkets understands.Tata Steel has re-joined the association one year after it withdrew its membership in May 2020 concurrent with the resignation of managing director T.V. Narendran as president of the association. Tata brings with it, Tata Steel BSL -...Read More
Luo Tiejun, the vice president of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) said the country will take measures to push down steel production in 2021 and raise imports.Luo, who spoke at the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership's (RCEP's) Steel Development Forum on Friday April 9, emphasized five major points, according to a report on Cisa's website.Lower crude steel outputCisa is of the opi...Read More
Automotive manufacturer Volvo Group and Swedish steelmaker SSAB have signed a collaboration agreement for the research, development, serial production and commercialization of the world's first vehicles to be made of fossil-free steel, the companies said on Thursday April 8. Volvo plans to start the production of concept vehicles and components produced from steel made by SSAB using hydrogen this...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 13 that are worth another look.A court in the southeast Brazilian state of Minas Gerais has accepted a request for bankruptcy protection from local iron ore pellet producer Samarco, which is owned 50:50 by Vale and BHP,...Read More
Inert anode technology is one of several methods UC Rusal will use to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with the company to lay out a roadmap on its path forward in September, a senior executive at the aluminium producer told Fastmarkets.According to Roman Andryushin, company head of sales and marketing, the roadmap will not just focus on reducing emissions across Rusal's smelting operations but...Read More
Aluminium premiums in the United States and Europe continued to rise on supply tightness in the week to Tuesday April 13, with the US Midwest premium climbing to its highest level for more than six years.US Midwest premium passes six-year highEuropean duty-paid premiums rise in liquid marketsHigh freight rates drive premiums up again in South Korea.US Midwest premium highest since 2015Fastmarkets...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico edged up in the central Baj?-o region but were stable in the region near northern Monterrey city, with fewer buyers in the marketthan usual.One scrap buyer was applying price increases of 100-200 pesos ($5-10) this week in Mexico, but most buyers either held the line on prices or were purchasing minimum volumes due to high costs.Fastmarkets assessed the&nbs...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 13 that are worth another look.A court in the southeast Brazilian state of Minas Gerais has accepted a request for bankruptcy protection from local iron ore pellet producer Samarco, which is owned 50:50 by Vale and BHP,...Read More
Proposed changes to the London Metal Exchange's market structure may actually have the opposite effect to its desired intention: destroying liquidity, not increasing it.Attention has been focused on the proposed permanent closure of the LME ring, the incentivization of electronic trade and changes to margin methodology, which were central issues in the exchange's recently closed discussion paper.B...Read More
The Shanghai Futures Exchange's plans to list ferro-chrome futures, potentially this year, will bring welcomed hedging opportunities and may weaken the dominance of China's stainless steel mills in the ore and alloy markets, participants told Fastmarkets.While no definite date or specifications of the ferro-chrome futures have been announced, Fastmarkets asked participants what changes these contr...Read More
Usually after a London Metal Exchange discussion paper there is a decent idea of what the outcome is likely to be. But this time around, it seems much harder to tell which path the LME will take. The proposals under debate include the permanent closure of the exchange's open outcry trading floor, known as the ring, which dates back to 1877. They also include the incentivization of electronic trade...Read More
Aluminium's futures price traded close to its 2021 year-to-date high at the close of trading on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday April 13, while most metals recovered their losses from Monday because of a tumble in the US Dollar Index.The three-month price of aluminium closed at $2,993 per tonne at 5pm, but had reached $2,295 per tonne during trading, just $6 per tonne below its year-to-date h...Read More