The import price for heavy scrap (HS) into China maintained its upward trend this week, with more buying interest heard in the spot market amid climbing prices in the region. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China was $475-480 per tonne on Wednesday April 7, up by $15 from $460-465 per tonne on April 6. This followed a $5 narrowing in the rang...Read More
Export billet prices from the Black Sea basin were supported by rising buying prices for the material in Asia, particularly China, while neighboring markets remained weak, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 7.They said the strong demand for imported billet in China, stemmed from the reduced availability of material in the domestic market, which was due to production cuts and surging finis...Read More
Export prices for steel billet from Iran continued to rise in early April, supported by demand from Asia and, in particular, from customers in China, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 7.One Iranian producer booked 30,000 tonnes of billet, scheduled for delivery at the end of April, at $570 per tonne fob southern Iranian ports.Another steelmaker in Iran sold 30,000 tonnes of billet, to be...Read More
Brazil's automotive output grew by 5.47% year on year in March, despite several plants closing toward the end of the month, national automakers association Anfavea said on Wednesday April 7.The country produced 200,340 vehicles in March, up from 189,958 units in same month in 2020 and up 1.68% from 197,035 units in February 2021, the association said."The figures in March were acceptable despite t...Read More
Future mobility vehicles such as flying cars and air taxis may use radically different battery chemistries and production methods to cater to their unique form factor and designs, industry pioneers Volocopter and Wright Electric told Fastmarkets. Touted as the transport of the future, these vehicles are meant to break the monotony and time wasted in rush-hour jams by providing an alternative to la...Read More
Liberty Steel has resumed production at its UK special steel plant in Rotherham, the steelmaker said on Tuesday April 6.Operations at the plant were halted on March 12, the company said."We are grateful for the support from our customers and suppliers in enabling the restart and in supporting our self-help measures such as matching our current stock to customer orders and working with customers to...Read More
An explosion and then a fire erupted at continuous casting machine No2 at ArcelorMittal Italia on April 5, trade union USB said.No workers were injured during the incident, the union said. Market sources told Fastmarkets that ArcelorMittal claims the fire did not have an impact on production. The steelmaker did not reply to Fastmarkets' request for comment by the time of publication.European buyer...Read More
India's JSW Steel has beefed up its production capacity after confirming the purchase of the plate and coils division of fellow steelmaker Welspun Steel, the company has announced.The purchase agreement had been in place for two years before the rubberstamp came on Wednesday March 31, with Welspun announcing in April 2019 that it would sell the assets to JSW Steel subject to approval of the Compet...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 7 that are worth another look.Indian suppliers exhausted their second-quarter quota for shipments of hot-rolled coil into Europe on the first day of the new three-month period, according to data released by the European Commission (EC).https://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3983087/Home/India-exhausts-EU-HRC-quota-on-first-d...Read More
Mining group Rio Tinto has started production of battery-grade lithium from waste rock at a demonstration plant located at a Boron mine site in California, in the United States, the company said on Wednesday April 7.The lithium demonstration plant is part of a project intended to scale up a breakthrough lithium production process developed at the mine, Rio Tinto said. The method allows Rio Tinto t...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR? Impressive advances in ore and alloy prices persisted in March, with most markets posting significant price gains. Strengthening demand from steelmakers along with supply shortages and depleted inventories in numerous markets, as well as freight and transportation...Read More
Indian suppliers exhausted their second-quarter quota for shipments of hot-rolled coil into Europe on the first day of the new three-month period, according to data released by the European Commission (EC).The European Union's HRC quota of 162,983 tonnes assigned to suppliers from India was fully exhausted on April 1.About 33,291 tonnes of HRC from India were awaiting allocation.Indian suppli...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 7 that are worth another look.Indian suppliers exhausted their second-quarter quota for shipments of hot-rolled coil into Europe on the first day of the new three-month period, according to data released by the European Commission (EC).https://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3983087/Home/India-exhausts-EU-HRC-quota-on-first-d...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
Future mobility vehicles such as flying cars and air taxis may use radically different battery chemistries and production methods to cater to their unique form factor and designs, industry pioneers Volocopter and Wright Electric told Fastmarkets. Touted as the transport of the future, these vehicles are meant to break the monotony and time wasted in rush-hour jams by providing an alternative to la...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price closed at its highest in a month on Wednesday April 7, while the rest of the base metals complex consolidated following a bullish pricing session on Tuesday. Lead's futures price, often the laggard on the LME, was the standout performer on Wednesday with a 1.3% rise to $1,993.50 per tonne at the 5pm close. This is its highest closing price since Mar...Read More
Iron ore prices pushed up on Wednesday April 7, chasing previous increments in steel prices but depressing seaborne activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $173.63 per tonne, up $2.73 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $174.16 per tonne, up $3.16 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $154.65 per tonne, up $1.40 per to...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.In both Europe and the United States, the prices of most flat steel products have pushed to record highs in the weeks to Monday March 22. They remain slightly below their mid-2008 peaks in China, but are at multi-year highs there too.This illustrates in part the heavier consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for steelmakers in...Read More