Prices for secondary aluminium alloys in the United States rose across the board on Thursday September 17, but producers - who have seen their margins erode due to output constraints and higher freight and scrap costs - said the climb has been too slow.Fastmarkets assessed the price for aluminium alloy A380.1, delivered Midwest at 75-77 cents per lb on September 17, widening upward from 74-75 cent...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price hit a new 2020 high on Friday September 18, providing a welcome boost for the base metals complex.All LME three-month base metals prices, with the exception of nickel, saw gains on Friday, with copper reaching a new high of $6,875 per tonne before eventually closing at $6,861 per tonne after trading a little more than 15,720 lots.Th...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index rose to its highest level in one and a half months on Friday September 18 after miners sold additional tonnes at slightly higher levels this week. The spot market was active with Chinese smelter purchases still mostly settled at a narrow range of the high $40s / 4 cents to the low $50s / 5 cents. An increasing amount of De...Read More
Finnish nickel producer Terrafame continues to lead the charge in the quest for responsible battery chemical production, announcing on Friday September 18 that its long-awaited European battery plant will be operational in early 2021. Upon completion, the plant will be the largest global nickel sulfate producing facility in the world with a production capacity of 170,000 tonnes per year, equivalen...Read More
The operator of India's biggest copper smelter, Birla, has entered an agreement to source copper concentrate locally at a time of global mined copper tightness. Hindalco Industries said on Thursday September 17 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state-owned Hindustan Copper to procure copper concentrates from the latter's local mines. Under the MoU, Hindustan Copper wi...Read More
China has issued its 12th batch of non-ferrous scrap metal import quotas for 2020, with a much larger volume of copper scrap being approved to enter the country than in the previous two rounds of quotas.The latest batch permits 136,335 tonnes of copper scrap to be imported into China, the China Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Bureau said on Thursday September 17. This compares with the 14,530 t...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was trading firmly above nearby resistance levels during morning trading on Friday September 18 after 1,500 tonnes were freshly booked out of LME-registered warehouses in Vlissingen, while a steady dip in the dollar index helped LME copper break above the $6,800-per-tonne threshold. The LME zinc price was recently trading at $2,542 per tonne,...Read More
US steel exports have rebounded from the lows seen in the months following the Covid-19 outbreak.But they remain well below the highwater mark from late in the first quarter - before the virus crisis hammered North American steel demand, US Commerce Department figures indicate.The United States exported 433,800 tonnes of steel in July, the last month for which figures are available. That is up 13....Read More
Domestic hot- and cold-rolled coil prices remained stable in Turkey in the week to Friday September 18 amid strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets.The situation confounds some market participants, who had expected to see a decrease in prices because of weakening demand and low prices from China.Fastmarkets' steel hot-rolled coil index export, fob main port China was $511.75 per ton...Read More
Prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and color-coated coil (pre-painted galvanized iron or PPGI) in the Turkish domestic market were unchanged in the week to Friday September 18 and demand was strong, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers were active this week as they had low stock levels, while prices held firm due to stability in the price of hot-rolled coil in the country.Fastmarkets' weekly p...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased day on day in Northern Europe on Friday September 18, driven by reduced output from domestic steelmakers, long lead times and limited availability of imported coil, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?486.92 ($574.75) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?4.42 per tonn...Read More
The effect of the absence of Turkish steel mills from the international scrap market was evident in tepid trading and weakening prices in the week to Friday September 18, with fears of an imminent market correction.Turkey continues to hold back from booking new cargoesUS market remains quiet on possible correctionVietnam books large volumes at lower pricesTaiwan's upward trend comes to a haltIndia...Read More
The price of shredded scrap imported into India moved down this week following a change in sentiment resulting from the absence of Turkey from the global scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 18.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $317.57 per tonne on Friday, down from $323.20 per tonne one week before.Buying activity was...Read More
The price spread for UK inter-merchant light iron scrap was steady over the week to Friday September 18, with limited supplies coming into merchant yards and a steady rate of export tonnages underpinning support for domestic prices, industry sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was ?100-110...Read More
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy has extended the ban on exports of steel and paper scrap from the country for a period of four months, the ministry said on September 13.The ban was first introduced on May 15 for a period of four months and this has now been extended for another four months."The steel scrap [ban] decision is because of the increase in the price of...Read More
Turkish steel producers ended the working week with no deep-sea bookings in anticipation of lower scrap prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 18.Mills in Turkey have been out of the market since September 9; the last booking was for US scrap at $301 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis.Some suppliers have raised their offers to $305-310 per tonne cfr since then, but mills did.....Read More
Iron ore prices rebounded on Friday September 18 amid active trading in the seaborne market and in ports, while low-grade fines performed well on solid demand. Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.90 per tonne, up $2.54 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.02 per tonne, up $2.43 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $115.46 per tonne, up $3.1...Read More
Prices for cargoes of steel scrap imported into South Korea have dropped over the past week amid lower demand from mills that will take rounds of maintenance during the next few months, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 18.Lower demand from South Korea had already weighed on Japanese export prices by Wednesday, but bearish sentiment had dragged prices down further by the end of the week...Read More
Seaborne hard coking coal indices in both fob and cfr markets rose slightly on Friday September 18 following the latest transaction, while most market participants remain in wait-and-see mode. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $122.95 per tonne, up $1.22 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134.41 per tonne, down $0.73 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $107....Read More