Steel scrap prices in the main Mexican markets of Monterrey and Bajio continued their downward trend in the week ended Friday October 15, but prices diverged widely between buyers.Price cuts of 300-700 pesos ($14-34) per tonne were common last week, with some scrap buyers seeing comfortable inventory levels and steady supply.Fastmarkets' assessment of the steel scrap No1 heavy melt, consu...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange closed lower day on day on Tuesday October 19 after a strong open.The LME zinc three-month price led the decline among the base metals, closing at $3,508 per tonne - down more than 5% from $3,696 per tonne at the open."Even though we believe the LME zinc price can remain elevated...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Bulk and noble alloys both moved largely in line with our price forecasts globally over the past month, though several markets surprised to the upside, exceeding our forecast gains. Stronger-than-forecast pricing momentum was primarily triggered by supply shortages in numerous...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 19 that are worth another look.Vietnam's Hoa Phat Steel is close to obtaining certification from the United Kingdom Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels (Cares), which would allow it to sell its rebar to the key markets of Singapore...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 19 that are worth another look.Vietnam's Hoa Phat Steel is close to obtaining certification from the United Kingdom Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels (Cares), which would allow it to sell its rebar to the key markets of Singapore...Read More
Exporters of billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States aggressively increased offers on October 19, although no sales were heard at the higher levels.Fastmarkets' calculation of its daily steel billet index export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $650 per tonne on October 19, up by $1 per tonne...Read More
Novelis will invest approximately $130 million to upgrade its operations in Oswego, New York, the global aluminum rolling and recycling firm said in a press release on October 18.The project will increase hot mill capacity by 124,000 tonnes at the plant, which serves the can, automotive and specialty products markets, Atlanta-based Novelis said. The investment, which will be between spring 2022 an...Read More
The Russian government has removed or reduced existing export duties on ferro-alloys, effective October 15, after responding to domestic industry concerns, trade sources said.Russia implemented its latest export tax changes on Friday October 15, a move which included scrapping the export taxon ferro-alloys such as ferro-titanium and ferro-tungsten.On Monday, Russia's Ministry of Economic Developme...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 19 that are worth another look.Vietnam's Hoa Phat Steel is close to obtaining certification from the United Kingdom Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels (Cares), which would allow it to sell its rebar to the key markets of Singapore...Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday October 19 and their latest price moves.China Lower-than-expected October tender prices from major stainless steel mills and weakened demand outlook following production cuts in the stainless steel sector weighed on market sentiment.The domestic spot ferro-chrome market softened with lower offers heard...Read More
Base metals prices continued to soar higher this morning, Tuesday October 19, with cash prices rising at an even faster pace while shorts are squeezed. Cash copper prices on the London Metal Exchange were evaluated on Monday evening at $1,103.50 per tonne.All of the LME base metals' cash/three-month spreads, except that for aluminium, are in backwardation.Risk appetite is fairly upbeat despite gen...Read More
Vietnam's Hoa Phat Steel is close to obtaining certification from the United Kingdom Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels (Cares), which would allow it to sell its rebar to the key markets of Singapore and Hong Kong, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Obtaining the certification means that a mill is able to produce construction steel to certain standards. For instance, in Singapore, reba...Read More
China's cobalt metal price strengthened after China's National Day holiday (October 1-7) amid the rally in international benchmark metal price and a shortage of spot units. While the price gap between China domestic market and the international market narrowed, it is unlikely that the former will match the latter in the near future, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has imposed a series of temporary measures to maintain an orderly copper market after wild outright and spread price moves and dwindling inventories in recent days, the exchange said.In a notice to members, the LME said its Special Committee had been monitoring the ongoing tightness in the copper market, with exchange inventories falling and nearby carries tightening. The...Read More
The three-month copper contract is trading near record highs on the London Metal Exchange, cash prices are rising even faster, and inventories are descending toward zero. Try running a hedge book in those conditions.It's been a very real quandary facing the physical trade and industry, which awoke on Tuesday October 19 to find copper's cash to November spread had flared to a backwardation of more...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 19 that are worth another look.Vietnam's Hoa Phat Steel is close to obtaining certification from the United Kingdom Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels (Cares), which would allow it to sell its rebar to the key markets of Singapore...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe and Italy moved downward on Tuesday October 19 on increased supply to the spot market resulting from lower consumption by the automotive sector, sources told Fastmarkets.As a result, buyers have been cautious in their purchasing because they believed that cheaper prices would be available soon.Auto-industry output - and, consequently, steel de...Read More
Ford Motor will invest $316 million to build electric car components at its Halewood factory in northern England, it said.The US automotive manufacturer expects power unit production to begin in mid-2024, with capacity planned to be around 250,000 units per year, it said in a release on Monday October 18.This vehicle transmission facility, which currently builds transmissions for several...Read More
European steel companies must scale up their decarbonization technologies within the coming decade or risk exhausting their allocated emissions allowances early, according to a report released on Tuesday September 14.The report, "Steeling for Net Zero," by climate researcher Industry Tracker, found that selected European steel companies have less than 26% of their carbon budget remaining and must...Read More
Digitalization can provide the metals trading industry with several benefits, including access to buyers' and suppliers' networks, panellists said at an LME Week seminar in London on October 11.The primary driver for adopting digital platforms so far has been that it offers a new route to the market and growth in customer base, said John Eastwood, head of stainless-steel raw materials sales at Ang...Read More