Fastmarkets copper concentrate treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) edged down this week, with few inquiries for spot tonnages, sources said on Friday October 15.TCs for smelters remain in the low-to-mid $60s, a level still well below the Chinese pricing floor of $70 per tonne/7 cents per lb.As for trader purchases, a tender for Escondida concentrate...Read More
Italian stainless steel re-roller Marcegaglia Specialties reported a fire at one of its flat product pickling lines on Thursday October 14 and will be out of action for two to three months, a company source told Fastmarkets on October 15.The pickling line, which is located at the company headquarters in Gazoldo Degli Ippoliti in northern Italy, has a capacity of 15,000 tonnes per month. The compan...Read More
A summary of global mining company Rio Tinto's third-quarter production results.In brief: Aluminium production was 3% lower than in the third quarter of 2020 due to strike action at the Kitimat smelter. On October 2, Rio Tinto reached a new Collective Labor Agreement for its British Columbia operations, which includes the Kitimat smelter and the Kemano hydropower facility. The smelter will steadil...Read More
Most prices for flat-rolled steel products imported into South America were down during the week ended Friday October 15, with Brazilian mills lowering their offers, Russian sellers pressuring the market downward and Chinese material still scarce in the region.While some offers from China emerged at higher levels, following a week-long holiday in the Asian country, reduced export availability to S...Read More
Eastern China rebar prices lost upward momentum on Friday October 15 due to sellers' need to reduce inventories.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,770-5,800 yuan ($896-901) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 5,600-5,650 yuan per tonne, down by 200 yuan per tonneSellers expect prices will have little chance to rise in the remaining days of October, so...Read More
Turkish steel mills booked at another five cargoes on Friday to bring the total for the week to 10, market participants told Fastmarkets on October 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 21,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $487 per tonne and 4,000 tonnes of shredded at $507 per tonne cfr. The cargo was scheduled to be shipped on December 15.A steel mill in the...Read More
Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel is suing compatriot automaker Toyota and Chinese mill Baosteel on claims that the two had infringed on its patent for non-oriented electrical steel sheet. In its suit filed at the Tokyo district court on Thursday October 14, Nippon Steel is also seeking an injunction to prohibit Toyota from manufacturing and selling motor-driven vehicles equipped with motors using...Read More
The major car-manufacturing countries in Europe recorded double-digit percentage drops in sales volumes in September 2021 due to the continuing global semiconductor shortage, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Friday October 15.EU passenger car registrations decreased by 23.07% year-on-year to 718,598 units in September, the lowest number of registrations for a Septem...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the south of Brazil went up during the week to Friday October 15 because of new sales, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $500 per tonne on Friday, up from $480-485 per tonne a week earlier.Two sales were heard at...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has extended anti-dumping duties on imports of wire rod from China until 2026, the Official Journal of the European Union said on October 13.The EC concluded that dumping would likely recur if the current measures were allowed to lapse. This followed an expiry review lodged by the European steel association, Eurofer, in July 2020 on behalf of...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday October 14 on a weaker US Dollar Index, and continuing power supply issues that were squeezing metal supply."Chinese factory-gate pricing in September may have grown at its fastest pace in 26 years, adding to the 'stagflation' growth threats moving down the line. But in the here and now, power and suppl...Read More
The EU and its member states must do more to assist domestic metals producers after the European Commission this week issued its "toolbox" to tackle a surge in energy prices that was forecast to last through the coming winter, according to regional non-ferrous metals industry body Eurometaux.The EC on Wednesday October 13 proposed short-term national measures that would include state aid for compa...Read More
Regulation has been an important driver for the push toward clean energy technologies but industry has accelerated this mindset, the chief executive officer of Nth Cycle said.According to Megan O'Connor, the past several administrations in the United States have prioritized establishing a domestic supply of critical minerals used to power the energy transition. "Whether rare earths for critical de...Read More
Turkish steel mills are continuing to book deep-sea scrap at higher prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 14.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo at $486 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis. However, the cargo composition was not clear at the time of publication.The previous deep-sea transactions, on Wednesday October 13, were concluded at $480 p...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 14 that are worth another look.Rio Tinto will test the use of biomass in place of coking coal in the steelmaking process in a small-scale pilot plant, in an attempt to cut the industry's carbon emissions through the use of...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 14 that are worth another look.Rio Tinto will test the use of biomass in place of coking coal in the steelmaking process in a small-scale pilot plant, in an attempt to cut the industry's carbon emissions through the use of...Read More
Regulation has been an important driver for the push toward clean energy technologies but industry has accelerated this mindset, the chief executive officer of Nth Cycle said.According to Megan O'Connor, the past several administrations in the United States have prioritized establishing a domestic supply of critical minerals used to power the energy transition. "Whether rare earths for critical de...Read More
Brazil-based multi-metal producer Nexa Resources has received an operating license for its Aripuan?? zinc-lead-copper project in Brazil, with commercial output scheduled to start next year, the company said on Wednesday October 13.According to Nexa, the license was granted by the Mato Grosso state environmental secretariat, Sema, on October 7. Mato Grosso is a state in the Brazilian midwestern reg...Read More
There was a mixed outcome in settlement negotiations for domestic steel scrap deliveries to UK steelmakers in October, with suppliers resisting downward pressure from consumers because of firm export markets, trade sources said on Thursday October 14.Scrap suppliers won increases across the board for low residual and clean grades of scrap, with rollovers agreed in contracts for other grades assess...Read More