Sentiment was buoyed among most market participants at the annual Nickel & Cobalt conference held by Chinese information provider Antaike on November 1-3 in Ningbo, China, but the strong resurgence of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries has created uncertainty about consumption of the two metals.Fastmarkets summarizes below four key takeaways from the sidelines of the conference.LFP outperforms...Read More
Mexican steel producer Deacero has opened an office in Washington to be closer to trade decisions affecting its business. It is a first for a Mexican company, according to a Thursday November 4 statement."This is where decisions are made that affect our company, its workers, and its customers - not only in the US, but also in Mexico, and in other international markets where we do...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States rose again on Thursday November 4 after consecutive declines, though most sources expect them to taper off again in coming weeks.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $94.33 per hundredweight ($1,886.60 per ton), up by 1.07% from $93.33 per cwt on Wednesday and down by...Read More
A summary of operational results for Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest for the third quarter of 2021.In brief The group's output of coke totaled 1.09 million tonnes, down by 9% quarter on quarter due to a decrease in the number of coke ovens in use at Ukraine's Avdiivka Coke and a shortage of raw materials. Merchant slab production increased by 15% quarter on quarter...Read More
The agreement reached between the United States and the European Union regarding the replacement of Section 232 tariffs will support domestic prices for flat steel in Europe but the impact is likely to be limited, sources told Fastmarkets.On October 30, the US and the EU agreed to replace Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs against the bloc's 27 countries with tariff-rate quotas.The decision i...Read More
The steel rebar and billet market in Egypt was slow during the week ending Thursday November 4, although some market participants expected rebar prices to increase because of increasing natural gas costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Local rebar producers increased their prices E ?15,000 ($952) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT on October 20.However, the natural gas price increased to $5....Read More
Turkish billet prices feel in the week ended November 4 in line with lower imported scrap costs and poor demand, market participants told Fastmarkets.Suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have lowered their offers to $700-705 per tonne cfr, compared with $725-730 per tonne last week.However, the buyers bid only $660-670 per tonne for CIS-origin billet. A steel mill in the Isken...Read More
Turkish steel mills have continued their deep-sea scrap imports with recovering prices on Thursday November 4, market participants told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $500 per tonne, 7,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at $520 per tonne cfr. Another steel mill in the same region booked a cargo from the...Read More
Vale and South Korea's Posco have signed a memorandum of understanding to seek low-carbon steelmaking solutions, the Brazil-headquartered company said on Thursday November 4.The world's largest iron ore producer and the steel producer are in talks about cutting carbon emissions - part of the strategy could involve Vale's higher-quality iron ore fines, pellets and briquettes, Vale added.This will a...Read More
Hot-rolled coil spot prices in China retreated to eight-month lows on Thursday November 4 as part of a broad-based decline led by coal.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,980-5,000 yuan ($779-782) per tonne, down by 70-100 yuan per tonneSpot HRC prices in China's eastern market fell to their lowest since March 18, wiping out all of Wednesday's gains.Traders reported that the price decline has redu...Read More
LME base metal prices rose during the morning session on Thursday November 4, shrugging off news that the Federal Reserve will scale back its monetary easing measures.Although the US central bank will taper its monthly bond buying programme, this does not mean an immediate rise in interest rates - the Federal Reserve "can be patient," according to chair Jerome Powell. The timing for rate increases...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in China stopped falling on Thursday November 4, reflecting tighter supply from steel mills and on the spot market.East China (Shanghai): 4,950-4,980 yuan ($774-778) per tonne, unchangedOver the week to Thursday, rebar output totaled 2.88 million tonnes, a decrease of 21,600 tonnes from the previous week. According to a local industry information...Read More
Base metals prices on the LME and SHFE were mixed early on Thursday November 4, but neither the metals nor the broader markets have been rattled by the US Federal Reserve's announcement that it is to start tapering its monthly bond buying programme.The United States Federal Reserve to trim bond buying by $15 billion a month - it had been buying $120 billion a monthA pick-up in Covid-19 cases in Ch...Read More
The price of manganese flake has reached all-time highs in China and Europe, with most producers remaining bullish on the medium-and long-term outlook due to supply tightness. However, risk aversion continues in Europe; some cheaper offers are casting doubts about the immediate price direction of the metal, Fastmarkets heard.The manganese flake price has been on the rise in China since May, peakin...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session onThursday November 4.Key DriversFastmarkets' price assessment for selenium narrowed upward on higher deals in a buoyant market, with buyers seeking spot units and long-term contracts...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade 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...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 standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam,...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves on Thursday November 4.Janie Davies in London...Read More
International spot cobalt prices have continued their trend upward over the past week, fueled by bullish sentiment in long-term contract negotiations due to next year's improved demand outlook, sources said.Spot units remain in tight hands, with sellers offering aggressively, while some spot buying appetite has returned among consumers in the United States and the European markets following the co...Read More
A summary of Finland-based stainless steel producer Outokumpu's results for the third quarter of 2021.In brief Sales increased significantly year on year due to higher deliveries and stainless steel prices as the market recovers from Covid-19. Stainless steel deliveries increased by 18% from the third quarter of 2020, which was heavily affected by the pandemic, but declined by 8% compared with the...Read More