Turkey's imported flat steel volumes fell by 17.66% year on year in 2018, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) last week.Turkey imported 6,908,686 tonnes of flat steel in January-December 2018, down from 8,390,305 tonnes in 2017.The decrease was largely due to weak demand for steel in Turkey's local market through 2018, especially in the second half of 2018, sourc...Read More

China's crude stainless steel output rose 3.6% to a new high in 2018, according to data released by the China Stainless Steel Council.The country produced 26.71 million tonnes of crude stainless steel last year, up 940,000 tonnes from 25.77 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the statistics released late on Thursday January 31. Of the total, 48% or 12.82 million tonnes consisted of 300-ser...Read More

Automaker Ford Motor Co, China's Huayou Cobalt and South Korean battery supplier LG Chem have joined forces in a blockchain project to monitor cobalt supplies from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an executive at Ford said. Using technology by IBM and overseen by responsible-sourcing group RCS Global, Ford and its partners are working to ensure that the cobalt used in lithium-ion batteries...Read More

Prices of flat steel products in Brazil fell in the early days of February, with market participants receiving discounts because of the threat of imported material, Fastmarkets heard on Monday February 4.Buyers claimed that they could get significant discounts by purchasing large volumes of certain materials, such as batches of more than 10,000 tonnes.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment of the price o...Read More

The stronger currencies of China and South Africa pushed prices of UG2 chrome ore higher last week. UG2 chrome ore tick up alongside stronger yuan and randAlloy prices hold steady in ChinaAlloy prices weaken in Japan and South Korea European price range widens Alloy prices climb in US UG2 chrome ore prices rose in China on Friday February 1 due to the strengthening of the yuan and the ra...Read More

Prices in the export market for flat steel from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have increased because of low material availability, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for CIS-origin exports of HRC was $460-480 per tonne fob Black Sea on February 4, up by $15 per tonne week on week.Mills were heard to have very limited tonnages to offer...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 4 that are worth another look.Automaker Ford Motor Co, China's Huayou Cobalt and South Korean battery supplier LG Chem have joined forces in a blockchain project to monitor cobalt supplies from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an executive at Ford said. Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange surg...Read More

Manganese ore prices are showing signs of recovery after a poor start to 2019 that was blamed largely on bearish sentiment around silico-manganese and steel markets in China.Low-grade manganese ore prices have edged up in late January amid a flurry of demand ahead of Chinese New Year, which meant some of the firmer offers in the market were successful, despite the fact that some miners had cut off...Read More

It's been nine months since the United States announced Section 232 tariffs, and over six months since a 10% tax was applied to imports of aluminium from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. There's been a huge debate over how successful the tariffs - imposed on the grounds of national security and also applied at a 25% rate to steel - have been. Much depends on who you talk to, and what their s...Read More

Rainer Herforth has left Nizi International after 17 years with the commodity trader, Fastmarkets has learned. Herforth held several managerial positions at Nizi, including head of base metals. Herforth oversaw Nizi's...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close on Monday February 4, with nickel, zinc and lead surging while aluminium closed above $1,900 per tonne. The three-month nickel price rallied to its highest since August 2018 above $13,000 per tonne.According to LME data, one dominant position remains in place at 50-79% across total LME nickel stocks, tom/next an...Read More

Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange surged to its highest level since August 2018 during afternoon trading on Monday February 4, breaching the nearby $2,100 per tonne support level while nickel and zinc futures similarly gathered momentum. The three-month lead price reached an intraday high of $2,135.50 per tonne this afternoon, while volumes traded in the metal remain moderate a...Read More

The price for copper in the United States market fell in morning trading on Monday February 4 on a lack of fresh news about the US-China trade war, Fastmarkets heard.The copper price for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 0.60 cents on Monday to $2.7670 per lb.Market participants kept their focus on any new developments in the US-China trade battle...Read More

China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More

Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More

The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More

Automaker Ford Motor Co has no current plans to take stakes in mining assets or secure direct offtake agreements with mining firms in order to produce batteries for electric vehicles, although it hasn't ruled it out entirely. Ted Miller, senior manager for energy storage strategy and research at the Michigan, US-based company, said Ford had "considered all options" and ultimately opted for a more...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close on Monday February 4, with nickel, zinc and lead surging while aluminium closed above $1,900 per tonne. The three-month nickel price rallied to its highest since August 2018 above $13,000 per tonne.According to LME data, one dominant position remains in place at 50-79% across total LME nickel stocks, tom/next an...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 4 that are worth another look.Automaker Ford Motor Co, China's Huayou Cobalt and South Korean battery supplier LG Chem have joined forces in a blockchain project to monitor cobalt supplies from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an executive at Ford said. Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange surg...Read More

Innovation to reduce costs, stay relevant and grow, plus creative thinking to replace jobs that will be lost to technology are central drivers of Anglo American's strategic plan for the next five years, the company's chief executive officer said.The United Kingdom-listed miner plans to grow and will not "be a Kodak or Blackberry," Mark Cutifani said at the 25th Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Sou...Read More