Government subsidies are a necessary part of early electric vehicle adoption but EVs will have mainstream usage without the need for incentives in the long term, panelists said at the LME Metal Seminar this week. EV adoption has come at a slower pace than previously expected, coinciding with cuts in government subsidies in China. In March this year, Beijing announced a 50-60% reduction in subsidie...Read More
A mixture of trends were forecast for steel, iron ore and coking coal prices in 2020 at the London Metal Exchange Ferrous Focus session this week."Steel is going to drift a bit lower, but not collapse," Citi research analyst Tracy Liao told delegates on Thursday October 31, "[and] iron ore will go quite a bit lower, whereas coking coal prices will go up." Liao said that wh...Read More
Demand for flat steel was soft in Turkey in the week ended Friday November 1, with import prices for both hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil going down, although domestic and export prices remained unchanged.Flat steel buyers wanted to see if producers will insist on high prices when demand is weak and whether any increases will stick, given the poor demand from final-product users. They were ex...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG), and color-coated coil or pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI), were stable in the week ended Friday November 1 with demand remaining weak, sources told Fastmarkets.A recent increase in raw material prices had given rise to the possibility of higher coated flat steel prices, but buyers said they believed this would not be accepted by the market due...Read More
Brazilian rebar prices climbed further in October as a previously attempted increase from producers is slowly being implemented, according to market participants.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic monthly, delivered Brazil, at 2,220-2,320 Reais ($555-580) per tonne on Friday November 1, up in comparison with 2,165-2,300 Reais per tonne a month before.Although...Read More
A mixture of trends were forecast for steel, iron ore and coking coal prices in 2020 at the London Metal Exchange Ferrous Focus session this week."Steel is going to drift a bit lower, but not collapse," Citi research analyst Tracy Liao told delegates on Thursday October 31, "[and] iron ore will go quite a bit lower, whereas coking coal prices will go up." Liao said that wh...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices gained 500 rupees ($7) per tonne in the week to Friday November 1 due to long steel producers increasing their semi-finished steel buying.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel billet domestic, ex-works India, rose by 500 rupees per tonne to 26,500-26,700 rupees per tonne on November 1, compared with last week's 26,000-26,200 rupees per tonne...Read More
Brazilian iron ore export volumes and revenues dropped year-on-year in October due to supply disruptions, according to figures released by the country's economy ministry on Friday November 1.Export volumes of iron ore declined to 31.20 million tonnes in October, down by 16.1% from 37.19 million tonnes a year earlier.Iron ore shipments from the country fell this year in an annual comparison, becaus...Read More
A mixture of trends were forecast for steel, iron ore and coking coal prices in 2020 at the London Metal Exchange Ferrous Focus session this week."Steel is going to drift a bit lower, but not collapse," Citi research analyst Tracy Liao told delegates on Thursday October 31, "[and] iron ore will go quite a bit lower, whereas coking coal prices will go up." Liao said that wh...Read More
Major holidays in Turkey resulted in thin spot liquidity in the global scrap markets in the week ended Friday November 1, with US exporters seeing limited sales to the major import market.But prices in Asia have surged following those in the rest of the world, with Vietnamese buyers accepting higher prices. Taiwanese demand eased slightly after the flurry of purchasing activity last week. Turkey m...Read More
A mixture of trends were forecast for steel, iron ore and coking coal prices in 2020 at the London Metal Exchange Ferrous Focus session this week."Steel is going to drift a bit lower, but not collapse," Citi research analyst Tracy Liao told delegates on Thursday October 31, "[and] iron ore will go quite a bit lower, whereas coking coal prices will go up." Liao said that wh...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices were stable in the week ended Friday November 1, as producers had limited ability to reduce their offers due to iron ore costs.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of steel slab exports, fob Brazil, was unchanged at $355-360 per tonne on Friday.Offers from Brazil were within the range of $350-360 per tonne fob, level with the previous week, and latest deals have been closed...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market remained stable on Friday November 1, with a closing arbitrage window between international prices and domestic Chinese prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Market participants said buyers in Southeast Asia were not willing to pay higher prices because they did not need materials urgently and were not being outbid by Chinese importers in the spot market.F...Read More
The prices of stainless steel flat products in Europe decreased this week because of persistently weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 1.Fastmarkets' price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade-304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was ?,?2,200-2,250 ($2,454-2,510) per tonne on November 1, down by ?,?100 per tonne week on week."It's [a result...Read More
The monthly European alloy steel surcharges for November for grade-316 stainless flat steel products have decreased because of lower molybdenum costs, Fastmarkets heard on Friday November 1.Fastmarkets' range for the stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 316, 2mm, alloy surcharge, domestic, Europe, was ?,?2,497-2,581 ($2,786-2,879) per tonne on November 1, down by ?,?13-63 per tonne from October.Allo...Read More
A mixture of trends were forecast for steel, iron ore and coking coal prices in 2020 at the London Metal Exchange Ferrous Focus session this week."Steel is going to drift a bit lower, but not collapse," Citi research analyst Tracy Liao told delegates on Thursday October 31, "[and] iron ore will go quite a bit lower, whereas coking coal prices will go up." Liao said that wh...Read More
Brazilian iron ore export volumes and revenues dropped year-on-year in October due to supply disruptions, according to figures released by the country's economy ministry on Friday November 1.Export volumes of iron ore declined to 31.20 million tonnes in October, down by 16.1% from 37.19 million tonnes a year earlier.Iron ore shipments from the country fell this year in an annual comparison, becaus...Read More
A mixture of trends were forecast for steel, iron ore and coking coal prices in 2020 at the London Metal Exchange Ferrous Focus session this week."Steel is going to drift a bit lower, but not collapse," Citi research analyst Tracy Liao told delegates on Thursday October 31, "[and] iron ore will go quite a bit lower, whereas coking coal prices will go up." Liao said that wh...Read More
BHP will provide $44 million of the necessary funding to resume operations at Brazilian iron ore pellet producer Samarco, the Australia-based mining company said on Friday November 1.Samarco is a joint venture between BHP and Vale and has been closed since late 2015, when a tailings dam failed and flooded the nearby Rio Doce river in southeastern Brazil.On October 25, the pellet producer received...Read More
Brazilian iron ore export volumes and revenues dropped year-on-year in October due to supply disruptions, according to figures released by the country's economy ministry on Friday November 1.Export volumes of iron ore declined to 31.20 million tonnes in October, down by 16.1% from 37.19 million tonnes a year earlier.Iron ore shipments from the country fell this year in an annual comparison, becaus...Read More