China's battery-grade lithium prices held in the week ended Thursday August 13 due to a stalemate in negotiations between buyers and sellers. Buyer opposition to sellers' higher offers kept the Chinese battery-grade lithium carbonate price rangebound. China's lithium hydroxide market held for the fifth consecutive week. Continued weak Asian battery-grade lithium demand kept the spot mark...Read More
The South American flat-steel import market continued on an uptrend in the week to Friday August 14, with customers accepting more expensive offers from several different regions.Clients decided to settle deals for October-shipment cargoes at higher prices, because demand was gradually improving and their supply needs had grown. It had become evident that it was now a seller's market, participants...Read More
Indian steel mills achieved a $10-20 per tonne increase in their hot-rolled coil export prices in the week ended Friday August 14, even though inquiries have dried up for future export sales."The export market has cooled off and there are very few bids or inquiries for HRC exports," an official with an Indian steel mill said.According to one market participant, buying interest from mills has reduc...Read More
Prices for both hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil in Turkey's domestic market have increased over the week to Friday August 14, but demand was only moderate because of the holiday season, sources told Fastmarkets.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, exw Turkey was $510-515 per tonne on August 14, rising from $500-505 per tonne on August 7.HRC...Read More
Liberty Steel Group, part of the GFG Alliance, is to buy French steel rail business Hayange and the Ascoval steelworks. Liberty Steel Group has committed to providing an initial ?,?65 million ($76.83 million) in new financing for Hayange and Ascoval to enact its industrial plan. Further details of development plans for the sites will be announced in due course, Liberty Steel said on Friday August...Read More
Domestic prices for steel rebar in Poland were broadly stable over the past week, supported by costlier scrap, a lack of competitive import offers and limited availability, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday August 14.At the same time, buying activity in the Polish rebar market receded amid the traditional summer slowdown, sources added."Demand is weaker; cut-and-bend shops lack orders," a...Read More
Belarus Steel Works (BMZ) was operating at full capacity and all stages of production were progressing normally, the company said on Tuesday August 11, after the start of a protest at the mill the day before.BMZ general director Dmitry Korchik said that the company had been exceeding planned production at all process stages since the beginning of this month.The company shipped 57,492 tonnes of pro...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom was up over the week to Friday August 14 due to firmer demand from major shredders that supply consumers in the steel sector combined with persistently tight availability, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK was assessed at...Read More
Pig iron exporters from the south of Brazil were bullish over the week ended Friday August 14, but no higher-priced sales were made over the period, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' latest price assessment of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $340 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week.Offers went up to $350 per tonne fob, but...Read More
The import pig iron market in the United States remained quiet over the week ended Friday August 14, with the steel market depressed and buyers not ready to pay as much for pig iron as buyers in China.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $340-345 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week.One buyer in the US estimated that the spot market price in...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin slab increased in the week ended on Friday August 14, although few volumes were traded during the period.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil reached $415-425 per tonne on Friday, up by $10-15 from $405-410 per tonne a week earlier.There have been sparse deals for Brazilian slab at increasingly higher prices, within...Read More
China's crude steel, hot metal and finished steel output hit a record high in July, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday August 14.July outputCrude steel: 93.36 million tonnes, up by 9.1% from a year earlier, up by 1.9% from JuneHot metal: 78.18 million tonnes, up 8.8% year on year, up by 2% month on month Finished steel: 116.89 million tonnes,...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States during the week ending Friday August 14.ChinaThe UG2 chrome ore market recorded a pick-up in activity over the past week, with buyers procuring at around the current index level, while some sales were reported above this level later in the week ...Read More
Liberty Steel Group, part of the GFG Alliance, is to buy French steel rail business Hayange and the Ascoval steelworks. Liberty Steel Group has committed to providing an initial ?,?65 million ($76.83 million) in new financing for Hayange and Ascoval to enact its industrial plan. Further details of development plans for the sites will be announced in due course, Liberty Steel said on Friday August...Read More
Liberty Steel Group, part of the GFG Alliance, is to buy French steel rail business Hayange and the Ascoval steelworks. Liberty Steel Group has committed to providing an initial ?,?65 million ($76.83 million) in new financing for Hayange and Ascoval to enact its industrial plan. Further details of development plans for the sites will be announced in due course, Liberty Steel said on Friday August...Read More
China's crude steel, hot metal and finished steel output hit a record high in July, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday August 14.July outputCrude steel: 93.36 million tonnes, up by 9.1% from a year earlier, up by 1.9% from JuneHot metal: 78.18 million tonnes, up 8.8% year on year, up by 2% month on month Finished steel: 116.89 million tonnes,...Read More
Aluminium primary foundry alloy premiums in Germany and Eastern Europe ticked up on Friday August 14, breaking a downtrend that started in 2018.Europe Premiums for aluminium primary foundry alloy in Europe moved up Friday for the first time in two years ahead of 2021 negotiations for annual supply in the region.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium primary foundry alloy silicon 7 ingot premium,...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin slab increased in the week ended on Friday August 14, although few volumes were traded during the period.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil reached $415-425 per tonne on Friday, up by $10-15 from $405-410 per tonne a week earlier.There have been sparse deals for Brazilian slab at increasingly higher prices, within...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets andthe reasons for any price moves.Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and the latest price moves.Read More