Another sharp drop in the Chinese domestic ferrous markets this week has created further pessimism in the market that import prices may continue to drop, although fundamentals have remained much more solid in Southeast Asia, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 12.Local rebar and billet prices crashed again this week amid weak futures markets, led by a dismal performance in coal contracts,...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on the morning of Friday November 12, but those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer while they followed Thursday's strong gains on the LME.Geopolitical tensions rise after the United States warns the European Union that Russia might invade Ukraine.Given the EU has become rather dependent on Russian natural gas, Russia may f...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila Ouerghi,...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices edged lower on Friday November 12, after more steel mills took the opportunity to carry out blast furnace maintenance after margins tightened significantly over the week, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.69 per tonne, down $2.88 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.39 per tonne, down $2.64 per tonn...Read More
A wide gap between bids and offers in the major deep-sea markets for ferrous scrap prevented deals being made for much of the week ended Friday November 12, sources have told Fastmarkets.?EUR?Turkey steelmakers struggle to buy December-delivery scrap?EUR?US suppliers resist lower bids amid tight supplies?EUR?Vietnam quiet amid volatile markets?EUR?Bids, offers remain far apart in cfr China market?...Read More
An overview of the energy transition raw materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday November 12.Zihao Li, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Steel billet prices in Turkey have weakened over the past week amid limited demand in the country, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 11.Steelmakers in the country have been struggling with weak finished long steel sales in the export outlets. Therefore, demand for billet has remained soft.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States have lowered their billet offers t...Read More
China's output and sales of automobiles continued their year-on-year decline in October due to the continuing semiconductor chip shortage, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in its monthly report published on Wednesday November 10.Automobile output and sales in the country dropped by 8.8% and 9.4% year on year respectively, both to 2.33 million units in October, CAAM dat...Read More
Production output for mining companies across base metals is likely to remain low despite significant additional capacity because miners face challenges from climate disruptions, ageing mines and Covid-19-related delays, Australian consultancy and research firm Cape Noir said on Thursday November 11."A lot of assets are showing declines in production and rolling delays to maintenance. Assets have...Read More
China's output and sales of automobiles continued their year-on-year decline in October due to the continuing semiconductor chip shortage, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in its monthly report published on Wednesday November 10.Automobile output and sales in the country dropped by 8.8% and 9.4% year on year respectively, both to 2.33 million units in October, CAAM dat...Read More
European hot-rolled coil prices were stable to slightly lower on Thursday November 11, on subdued activity, but producers hope to achieve higher prices in the first quarter of 2022, sources told Fastmarkets.Trading activity was slow, with buyers refraining from making purchases and instead assessing the situation. Producers, meanwhile, were looking to achieve higher prices for the first quarter of...Read More
The United States' imports of steelmaking raw materials fell by 7.36% month on month in September, spurred by a reduction in inflows of pig iron and a drop in ferrous scrap intake from Canada, according to the latest data from the US Census Bureau.Raw material imports totaled 931,030 tonnes in September, compared with 1 million tonnes in August and nearly 1.30 million tonnes in July.Overall ferrou...Read More
Turkish steel mills were quiet in the deep-sea scrap import markets on Thursday November 11 after booking two cargoes from the Baltic Sea region, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Marmara region had booked two Baltic Sea cargoes late on Tuesday November 9 at $497 and $500 per tonne cfr on HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis. Turkish steelmakers required more cargoes for December,...Read More
Seaborne coking coal cfr prices continued to drop on Thursday with new offers at lower prices emerging, while there was a trade in the fob market after a quiet week.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $522.01 per tonne, down $8.14 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $464.62 per tonne, down $10.10 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $400.49 per tonne, down $0.99...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Thursday November 11, tracking the upward movements in Chinese futures and front-month swaps contracts, but most market participants remained cautious because of weak demand for physical iron ore, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.57 per tonne, up $3.67 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.03 per tonn...Read More
Some Chinese steelmakers are refusing to deliver January-contracted steel cargoes bound for Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses to stem falling prices.Some steel mills in northern China said on Wednesday November 10 they will not deliver cargoes for January futures positions because their prices are too low compared with spot physical prices.The most-traded January rebar futures contract closed a...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely up at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday November 11, after a strong morning performance and reassuring news that emerged from the Chinese property sector."Chinese stock markets gained, on growing confidence that the authorities would ease the crackdown on the property sector and support developers," Anna Stablum, LME desk analyst at M...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 11 that are worth another look.The capacity expansion at ArcelorMittal Brasil's Monlevade unit will serve either the domestic or export markets with high-quality special steel products, chief executive officer Jefferson De Paula told Fastmarkets on November 11....Read More
A summary of the financial results for Austrian steelmaking group Voestalpine for July-September 2021, the second quarter of the company's business year.In briefA favorable economic environment in all key markets, together with Voestalpine's efforts to reduce costs and focus on efficiency, led to strong revenue in the quarter, with a particularly good performance by the company's Steel Division.Th...Read More
Johnson Matthey (JM) is pursuing the sale of all or parts of its battery materials division following a detailed review.This reflects the high capital intensity of those operations in the face of competition from more established large-scale, low-cost producers, the UK-based specialty chemical and sustainable technologies company said in a press release on Thursday November 11.Growth in demand for...Read More