Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 1 that are worth another look.The fast steel market recovery seen in Brazil in the past few months has led the country's steelmaker association, Instituto A??o Brasil, to revise its forecasts for 2020 up significantly from previous expectations set...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange tumbled at the close of trading on Thursday October 1, while the rest of the complex reacted to news that US lawmakers remained at odds over the country's pandemic relief efforts. Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $6,387 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, declining from an intraday high of $6,710 per tonne, while turnover was at it...Read More
Members of Union No2 representing supervisors at the Chilean Escondida copper mine, operated by BHP, voted to strike following unsuccessful labor negotiations with the company, Union No1 said on Wednesday September 30. The latest offer from Escondida's management was rejected by 98.36% of votes from members of Union No2. According to Union No1, the largest union representing workers on the mine, n...Read More
Fastmarkets MB is inviting feedback on its audited non-ferrous price assessments and indices, as part of its annual methodology review, in compliance with IOSCO principles for price reporting agencies (PRAs). The consultation, which is open until October 31, seeks to ensure that our audited methodologies and price specifications continue to reflect the physical markets for the alumina, a...Read More
Polish ferro-silicon producer Huta Laziska is set to produce a volume close to its capacity for 80,000-90,000 tonnes per year of standard-grade ferro-silicon (Si 75%) this year, amid signs of a rise in European spot prices, an industry source has told Fastmarkets.Huta Laziska has made only minor adjustments to its output so far in 2020, due to annual planned maintenance measures that have meant on...Read More
Members of Union No2 representing supervisors at the Chilean Escondida copper mine, operated by BHP, voted to strike following unsuccessful labor negotiations with the company, Union No1 said on Wednesday September 30. The latest offer from Escondida's management was rejected by 98.36% of votes from members of Union No2. According to Union No1, the largest union representing workers on the mine, n...Read More
The refining charge (RC) for blister copper brought into China rose by 1.7% on Wednesday September 30 to its highest since June 2019, due to reported higher availability of domestic units and lackluster buying from smelters. Fastmarkets assessed the copper blister 98-99% RC spot, cif China at $140-160 per tonne on Wednesday, compared with $135-160 per tonne a month earlier. Offers for importe...Read More
Fastmarkets MB is inviting feedback on its audited non-ferrous price assessments and indices, as part of its annual methodology review, in compliance with IOSCO principles for price reporting agencies (PRAs). The consultation, which is open until October 31, seeks to ensure that our audited methodologies and price specifications continue to reflect the physical markets for the alumina, a...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloys forecast highlights:Prices across most ore and alloy markets trended higher in September, buoyed by improving demand from steelmakers with the end of the summer holiday season in Europe and the United States, as well as maintained demand from Chinese steel mills. Tightening of alloy inventories...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 1 that are worth another look.The fast steel market recovery seen in Brazil in the past few months has led the country's steelmaker association, Instituto A??o Brasil, to revise its forecasts for 2020 up significantly from previous expectations set...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices fell after news of a Baltic Sea cargo being sold into Turkey came to light on Thursday October 1.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked the Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 14,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $292 per tonne, 12,000 tonnes of shredded at $297 per tonne and 10,000 tonnes of bonus at $302 per tonne cfr.The date of the transaction, however, was...Read More
Rising steel prices over the coming months are likely to prop up prices for ferrous scrap in Japan, the Japan Iron and Steel Recycling Institute (Jisri) said on Thursday October 1."Japan is entering the 'autumn of price increases' in which product prices at both blast furnaces (BFs) and electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) are being raised one after another," Jisri said."The domestic steel scrap market is...Read More
Canada-headquartered Lundin Mining expects to partially resume operations at its Chapada copper-gold mine in the Midwestern Brazilian state of Goi??s within a week and return to full capacity usage in two months, the company said on Tuesday September 29.Lundin had to halt activities on Sunday September 27 after a power outage damaged four motors used for its semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) and...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and pre-market western equity index futures were for the most part firmer this morning, Thursday October 1, albeit in quiet conditions with China, Hong Kong and South Korea closed for holidays and technical problems meaning the Tokyo Stock Exchange could not open.Japan's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) climbed to 47.7 in September from...Read More
Fastmarkets MB is inviting feedback on its audited non-ferrous price assessments and indices, as part of its annual methodology review, in compliance with IOSCO principles for price reporting agencies (PRAs). The consultation, which is open until October 31, seeks to ensure that our audited methodologies and price specifications continue to reflect the physical markets for the alumina, a...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 1 that are worth another look.The fast steel market recovery seen in Brazil in the past few months has led the country's steelmaker association, Instituto A??o Brasil, to revise its forecasts for 2020 up significantly from previous expectations set...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were fairly stable day on day on Thursday October 1, with buyers holding back from making new deals until the market trend became clear, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?490.77 ($575.37) per tonne on Thursday, down by just ?,?0.14 per tonne from ?,?490.91 per ton...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe were fairly stable in the week to Wednesday September 30, with long lead times pushing buyers into backing away from new deals, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?560-590 ($657-692) per tonne on September 30, compared with ?,?560-580 per tonne a week earlier.The asses...Read More
Domestic reinforcing bar prices and demand in the United States were stable week over week, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US held at $29.75 per hundredweight ($595 per short ton) on Wednesday September 30, down by 0.8% from $29.50-30.50 per cwt at the beginning of the year.US marketOverall market dynamics held steady heading int...Read More
The fast steel market recovery seen in Brazil in the past few months has led the country's steelmaker association, Instituto A??o Brasil, to revise its forecasts for 2020 up significantly from previous expectations set in July.Full-year apparent steel consumption is now expected at 20 million tonnes, a 4.7% drop from 20.98 million tonnes in 2019. The previous estimate was for 17.96 million tonnes,...Read More