Prices for flat steel imports into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continued to increase during the week ended Tuesday October 19, but demand was not strong in either country, sources have told Fastmarkets.Energy costs have been increasing in most markets, with steel mills adding these costs to their prices.Although sources said that demand in the two Middle Eastern countries was not ver...Read More
The collapse of the iron ore market and market turbulence over Chinese property developer Evergrande Group are adding to the economic woes caused by the Delta variant of Covid-19 for much of this year.It is hard to find bright sparks in the months ahead for the ferrous supply chain, which has been buffeted repeatedly in a short span of few months, starting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's comment...Read More
There were no deep-sea bookings by Turkish steel mills on Tuesday October 19, but sources expect mills to book more cargoes for December amid strong demand for billet and rebar, market participants told Fastmarkets.The most recent deep-sea trade was recorded on Monday October 18, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo consisting of 6,500 tonnes HMS 1&2 (95:5) at $512...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
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
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
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
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
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
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
From supply chain disruptions to London Metal Exchange spreads, aluminium market participants discussed a wide variety of topics during LME Week, and what they could mean for the market in the months ahead.Fastmarkets breaks down the winners and losers across the various topics discussed during the week of October 11-15.Embedded supply chains - winnersWhile costs along the supply chain continue to...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
Expectations of further volatility in the steel markets for the remainder of 2021 were influencing buying habits among some importers of steel billet in Asia, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday October 19.China's absence from buying on the import steel billet market continued on Tuesday, with consumers able to pay a maximum of $700-710 per tonne cfr for 3sp billet. But prices in Southeast Asia ha...Read More
Prices for flat steel imports into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continued to increase during the week ended Tuesday October 19, but demand was not strong in either country, sources have told Fastmarkets.Energy costs have been increasing in most markets, with steel mills adding these costs to their prices.Although sources said that demand in the two Middle Eastern countries was not ver...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
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
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
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