Bolivian zinc-lead producer Minera San Crist??bal has achieved full production after reopening from a 21-day outage in mid-September, the company's owner and operator, Sumitomo, confirmed late on Monday September 28."Minera San Crist??bal started mobilizing on September 14, [resumed operation of] the plant on September 16, and [was] at full production [by] September 18," a spokesperson for Sumitom...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 29 that are worth another look.Autumn-winter steel production restriction plans in northern China will start on October 1 and last until March 31, 2021, according to a draft plan on air pollution control released by the Ministry...Read More
Ford Motor Company of Canada will become the country's first manufacturer of all-electric vehicles, starting in 2024, the company said on Monday September 28.Ford will commit C$1.8 billion ($1.35 billion) to repurpose part of its biggest car plant in Canada, the Oakville Assembly Complex, and will introduce a new engine program at another plant, in Windsor. Both are in the Canadian province of Ont...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on the second working day of the week, in anticipation of a downturn in prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 29.A steel mill in northern Turkey broke the long-term silence by booking two Baltic Sea cargoes at $296 per tonne cfr late last week - the first trading activity since Se...Read More
Slight decreases in import prices for steel scrap in Turkey in recent days have stunned market participants in Asia who had expected a larger drop.Turkish mills had avoided purchasing steel scrap in bulk from the United States and Europe for over two weeks before returning to the market last week to buy two Baltic cargoes of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) at $296 per tonne cfr, down by just $5 pe...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed but little changed this morning, Tuesday September 29, while prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were firmer as they caught up with Monday's performance on the LME.Last week's pullbacks have run into dip-buying - hopes for further stimulus are buoying markets.US Congress making progress in talks regarding support measures.Markets might...Read More
Ford Motor Company of Canada will become the country's first manufacturer of all-electric vehicles, starting in 2024, the company said on Monday September 28.Ford will commit C$1.8 billion ($1.35 billion) to repurpose part of its biggest car plant in Canada, the Oakville Assembly Complex, and will introduce a new engine program at another plant, in Windsor. Both are in the Canadian province of Ont...Read More
European buyers of hot-rolled coil have been holding back from making deals because they are unwilling to accept further price rises, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 29.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?488.86 ($569.53) per tonne on Tuesday September 29, up by ?,?2.07 per tonne from ?,?486.79 per tonne on Monday.The ind...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have decreased over the past seven days with demand being weak, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 29.Most market participants believed that prices would remain stable or decrease further in the coming few days because of weakening Chinese demand and an upcoming holiday in the East Asian country.China will take a nati...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While steel markets in Asia have demonstrated the most strength with regards to pricing through much of 2020, recent weeks have seen prices in Europe and the United States outperform those elsewhere.In a way, much of this is simply catching up on the gains already made by Asian steelmakers. They were able to obtain higher pri...Read More
Autumn-winter steel production restriction plans in northern China will start on October 1 and last until March 31, 2021, according to a draft plan on air pollution control released by the Ministry of Ecology & Environment (MEE) late on Tuesday September 29. Steel mills in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi will be affected by production restrictions aimed at improving ai...Read More
Prices in the Commonwealth of Independent States' (CIS) export long steel market declined in the week to Monday September 28 on low demand in the majority of end-market outlets as well as generally negative sentiment globally, sources said.In the second half of September, CIS mills tested the market with higher rebar and wire rod offers, referring to the reduced availability of material at some si...Read More
The price of steel rebar and billet imported to the United Arab Emirates fell this week on limited demand, sources said on Tuesday September 29.Domestic rebarSince September 15, the country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, has been offering rebar at 1,936 dirhams ($527) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in October, while Conares Steel is offering rebar at 1,935.27 dirhams ($526....Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on the second working day of the week, in anticipation of a downturn in prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 29.A steel mill in northern Turkey broke the long-term silence by booking two Baltic Sea cargoes at $296 per tonne cfr late last week - the first trading activity since Se...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Tuesday September 29 amid the easing of sintering restrictions in Tangshan over October, trade sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.61 per tonne, up $1.46 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.89 per tonne, up $1.74 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $108.59 per tonne, up $1.84 per tonne.6...Read More
Steel market participants often identify iron ore as the key driver of steel prices because mills typically formulate their pricing strategies based on raw material costs - but this appears to have changed in 2020.While some unique challenges have emerged this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, one development that stood out from the rest is this: Iron ore market participants have attributed the s...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 29 that are worth another look.Autumn-winter steel production restriction plans in northern China will start on October 1 and last until March 31, 2021, according to a draft plan on air pollution control released by the Ministry...Read More
Autumn-winter steel production restriction plans in northern China will start on October 1 and last until March 31, 2021, according to a draft plan on air pollution control released by the Ministry of Ecology & Environment (MEE) late on Tuesday September 29. Steel mills in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi will be affected by production restrictions aimed at improving ai...Read More
The discount paid for ferro-nickel with 26-32% nickel content in China narrowed to the lowest level in three months due to increased buying interest following the big rise in the Chinese nickel pig iron (NPI) price, sources said. Fastmarkets assessed the ferro-nickel premium/discount, 26-32% Ni contained, cif China at a discount of $1,000-1,300 per tonne on Monday September 28, narrowing by $...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 29 that are worth another look.Autumn-winter steel production restriction plans in northern China will start on October 1 and last until March 31, 2021, according to a draft plan on air pollution control released by the Ministry...Read More