After a one-month consultation period, Fastmarkets has amended the timing specifications for its assessment of Italian SHG (special high grade) zinc premiums.The frequency of the assessments, which are currently weekly, will move to a fortnightly basis after the next assessment date on June 15. The change is due to the Italian zinc market being largely centered around long-term contracts...Read More

The European Commission (EC) plans to set a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) for imports of some goods, including steel and aluminium, to prevent the risk of carbon leakage, according to a draft of the EC's proposal seen by Fastmarkets on June 10.The mechanism will integrate into the EU's current system that it established for greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading via the application...Read More

Commodities trading house Trafigura believes a slowdown in Chinese demand growth for metals will fail to dent rising prices, while also announcing record profits in the first half of 2021."What's perhaps most striking about the recovery in metals demand is that, for the first time in at least a decade, this is not just a China story," Trafigura's chief economist Saad Rahim said."If fact, if anythi...Read More

Steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States increased again on Wednesday June 9, with another round of mill hikes expected soon.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel rebar, fob mill US was $44.50 per hundredweight ($890 per short ton) on Wednesday, up 1.14% from $44 per cwt the previous week.US marketThe increase follows recent mill hikes, rising shredded scrap prices in Chicago and Detroit...Read More

German flat steel producer Salzgitter has declared force majeure after a lightning strike over the weekend, the company's spokesman told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 10.The lightning strike on Saturday June 5 interrupted the power supply to the plant, and thus plant operations, market sources said."A lightning strike interrupted operations last Saturday. [But] we are back in operation and striving...Read More

Prices for steel billet imported into Egypt remained stable during the week to Thursday June 10 amid recovering demand, sources told Fastmarkets.New regulations for construction in the country that allow new building permits, in effect from June 1, have buoyed demand, sources said.New construction projects are still limited due to the detailed procedures to access permits but a partial removal of...Read More

Domestic steel rebar and wire rod prices in Turkey have remained mostly stable over the past week, market sources said on Thursday June 10.Despite recent price increases for Turkish scrap imports, long steel prices did not change in the country because of limited demand, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets calculated the daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey,...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationThe hole, which was drilled within January's maiden JORC resource, returned a total intersection of 619m at 0.41% copper and 0.08gpt gold, including 88m at 1.24% copper and 0.36gpt from 305m.Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationAt Havieron, drilling returned further high-grade extensions to the South East Crescent zone below the current inferred resource of 18 million tonnes at 3.8 grams per tonne gold and 0.Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationKamoa-Kakula, a joint venture with Zijin Mining, the government and Crystal River Global, began production two weeks ago but immediately faced a renewed export ban and started seeking an exemption.  The company said yesterday Kamoa-Kakula was now "fully authorised to commence exports of blister copper an...Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationThe company has five trials underway and three commercial opportunities in its pipeline this year as the technology approaches the tipping-point of mass uptake, president and CEO Mike Outwin told Read More

The emergence of an additional Wednesday deep-sea scrap purchase by a Turkish steel mill has helped to keep prices on a upward trend, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 10.The cargo from Canada was booked by a still mill in the Iskenderun region, comprising 9,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5), 7,500 tonnes of rails and 12,000 tonnes of plate & structural (P&S) scrap at an average price of $...Read More

The latest deals for containers of steel scrap imported into Bangladesh over the past seven days have shown small price increases from deals in the previous week, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 10.Overall scrap demand in the country remained low, particularly given the start of the monsoon season this month, but sources said that buyers in the container market have been forced to raise...Read More

Iron ore prices rose on Thursday June 10, on support from increasing steel prices, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.84 per tonne, up $4.17 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $219.04 per tonne, up $4.33 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $191.90 per tonne, up $4.02 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qingdao: $246.10 per...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices slightly increased in the cfr market and stayed flat in the fob market on Thursday June 10, with market sources reporting active restocking for domestic coking coal due to a supply shortage, which boosted market sentiment for both domestic and imported coking coal.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $168.68 per tonne, up $0.18 per tonnePremium hard co...Read More

Prices for steel scrap imported into China were unchanged on Thursday June 10 amid a lack of buying interest and few negotiations going on between buyers and sellers, sources said.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China, which takes into account prices at ports in eastern China, was $510-530 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged from a day earlier....Read More

Huntsman Set to Expand Nickel Sulphide Discovery at CanegrassSPONSOREDhuntsman explorationThe operation will benefit from a hydroelectric power matrix which means it will have negligible scope 2 emissions, and it is working with three key vehicle OEMs to source electric haul trucks for aRead More

Major Chinese steelmaker Jiangsu Yonggang is aiming to use more iron ore lump in its blast furnaces and to reduce its use of sinter fines, in line with China's drive to cut pollution, Fastmarkets understands.On June 7, the steelmaker signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto for on an iron ore lump re-screening project, with Rio Tinto's experts expecte...Read More

Early in the pandemic, I had been furiously writing articles about lockdowns. My phone rang with a call from a man named Dr. Rajeev Venkayya. He is the head of a vaccine company but introduced himself as former head of pandemic policy for the Gates Foundation.Now I was listening.I did not know it then, but I've since learned from Michael Lewis's (mostly terrible) book The Premonition that Venkayya...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices continued to trend upward on Thursday June 10 after trading activity picked up in response to rising futures.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,000-5,030 yuan ($782-787) per tonne, up by 30-40 yuan per tonneTrading houses expect spot rebar prices to keep rising on the bullish sentiment in the futures market. As such, they raised their procurement rates to stock up on...Read More