From future raw material investments to China's resurgence in lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery chemistries, Fastmarkets analysts and reporters consider six key discussion points dominating the battery and electric vehicle markets. The below themes were raised from questions during Fastmarkets' webinar "Covid-19 and the battery raw materials supply chain" on May 19. To listen again to the webin...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe dropped further during the week to Friday May 22, due to low trading activity.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?407.50 ($443.92) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?4.38 per tonne week on week and down by ?,?37.50 per tonne month on month.Friday's index was calculated based on deals and "workable...Read More

Workers at Tata Steel's plant at IJmuiden in the Netherlands staged a lightning protest on Tuesday May 26, but output was unaffected, the company said.A group of company employees used trucks to block the entrance to the plant to protest Tata Steel's policy in the Netherlands."We can confirm a number of employees took unplanned action near the gates of our IJmuiden steelmaking site in the Netherla...Read More

CIS export slab prices have continued to climb in the second half of May, supported by Turkish customers accepting higher-priced deals.A 30,000-tonne cargo of Ukrainian slab was reported sold last week at $360 per tonne cfr Turkey, equivalent to around $350 per tonne fob Black Sea, sources told Fastmarkets.Turkish customers accepted higher slab offers following a surge in domestic and export...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were unchanged day on day on Tuesday May 26 while trading activity remained low, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe held at ?,?407.50 ($447.03) per tonne on May 26, flat from Friday May 22.Tuesday's index was calculated based on deals and "workable" prices heard at ?,?400-410...Read More

Flat steel prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow declined in the week to Tuesday May 26 amid slow demand and an oversupplied market, sources told Fastmarkets.Buying activity in the region remained limited over the past week and key suppliers to the region cut offers for June rolling and revised stockist prices down for May rolling, sources said."Mills have huge stocks they need...Read More

Crude steel production in Germany fell by 23.85% year on year in April due to production cuts made to reflect the drop in demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the German steel federation said this week.Germany's crude steel production totaled 2.56 million tonnes in April 2020, down from 3.56 million tonnes in the corresponding period of 2019, WV Stahl said on Monday May 25.The last time ou...Read More

Oversupply in the steel rebar market in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow is a cause for concern, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 26, although prices remained largely unchanged week on week. Construction, the key consumer, was still running slowly after a gradual restart in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, sources said"Yes, the construction activity has im...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices remained broadly stable on Tuesday May 26 after news of a fresh cargo came to light. The transaction which came to light on Monday was sold either on Sunday May 24 or Monday May 25, sources said. The market was relatively quiet at the beginning of the week due to a public holidays in many countries on...Read More

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal is to receive a ?,?75 million ($82 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to be used on its projects intended to reduce carbon emissions.Two projects will operate at ArcelorMittal's Ghent location in Belgium. These are worth ?,?215 million in total and are hoped to eliminate as much as 350,000 tonnes per year of CO2 emissions in the first phase.The first pro...Read More

Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices dropped on Tuesday May 26, due to recent lower transaction values, while most market participants now expect prices to remain flat for some time.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $115.36 per tonne, down $2.91 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $124.37 per tonne, down $1.04 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT:&nb...Read More

Japanese steel producers which use electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) are being forced into raising their purchasing prices for ferrous scrap feedstock despite there being no upward movement in their steel sales prices, sources in Japan have told Fastmarkets.On Tuesday May 26, key EAF mill Tokyo Steel raised its bid price for steel scrap by ?500 ($5) per tonne at all its steelworks except in Tahara, wh...Read More

The prices for seaborne iron ore went down on Tuesday May 26 with market sources saying that Brazilian miner Vale's weekly iron ore shipments increased, easing market concerns about supply.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $95.28 per tonne, down by $2.37 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $97.97 per tonne, down by $2.31 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More

The seaborne iron ore concentrates and pellet market followed the uptrend in the iron ore fines market, but at a slower pace, in the week to Friday May 22, sources said.Iron ore concentrates, however, continued to be traded at discounts to the 65% Fe fines index because of a much stronger Brazilian high grade fines market, sources said. Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingd...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly up during morning trading on Tuesday May 26, with copper giving the best performance of the complex in terms of percentage gains.The three-month copper price was most recently trading at $5,369.50 per tonne, up by $81 per tonne (1.5%) from last Friday's 5pm close of $5,288.50 per tonne. The LME was closed on Monday due to the...Read More

Broad markets were stronger this morning, Tuesday May 26, with many Asian-Pacific equity indices up by around 2%, while pre-market major western equities were up by around 1% but metals prices were mixed.Hopes that the reopening of economies will lead to an economic recovery are boosting equities but the United States-China trade dispute is worsening, which is not going to help the global economy...Read More

The price range for high-carbon ferro-chrome widened in Europe in the week ended Friday May 22, with industry sources reporting deals agreed for more than 500 tonnes of material.The price spread widened to $0.15 per lb after deals were reported that raised the higher end of the assessment.Trading activity was said by most sources to be quiet, with only one supplier reporting deals done. But the pr...Read More

Key data from Friday May 22 pricing session in Shanghai.Key drivers- Chinese exporters held their offers firm due to a strong domestic market amid tightened supply; very few plants in China are producing grade-553 silicon.- Market sources said interest from abroad had...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in London and Shanghai on Friday May 22.Key drivers:- Buyers in China continue to replenish stocks that have run thin from refineries, bridging a gap in shipments from Africa in March and April that was a result of South Africa's Covid-19 lockdown. Outflows...Read More

S'inscrire au MasterClass D?(C)crypter les secrets du Cin?(C)ma et leur messages cach?(C)s avec Allan Duke & Didier Santiago le 12 Juin 2020 ? 19h : https://dstudio.fr/masterclass-les-se...En direct le 23.05.2020 avec Allan Duke ? 20h30 sur DStudioAlchimiste de l'?,me, Allan Duke nous d?(C)code l'envers du d?(C)cor hollywoodienhttp://www.projetalfa.com ? Intuiscience : https://dstudio.fr/intuisc...Read More