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
Prices in the United States' pig iron import market went up during the week to Friday October 15 amid an improved global market mood, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' assessment of the price for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $545-550 per tonne on Friday, up from $540 per tonne a week earlier.Offers of Russia-origin...Read More
Poland's steel rebar market remained flat in the week to October 15, but sources expect producers to seek higher prices due to high energy costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday.Rebar offers from local mills were at 3,600-3,700 zloty ($913-938) per tonne ex-works, but some had already finished October sales and are yet to return with November offers."ArcelorMittal is expected to announce new pr...Read More
Metals and battery materials company Umicore has signed long-term lithium supply agreements with China's Ganfeng Lithium and Germany's Vulcan Energy Resources, the Belgian company announced on Friday October 15.Ganfeng Lithium, based in Jiangxi, southeast China, will provide Australian-origin lithium from 2022 for "a significant part of Umicore's future lithium requirements in Asia," a press relea...Read More
The spot price for spodumene concentrates has been steady in the past two weeks, while the market is eyeing the next auction for lithium feedstock in late October.Fastmarkets' assessment for spodumene 6% Li2O min, cif China basis was $2,000-2,500 per tonne on Thursday October 15, unchanged from two weeks ago.Tightness in availability and persistent momentum of downstream lithium compounds pri...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 15.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Higher demand in key consumer markets led to a jump in steel scrap prices across all major markets in the week to Friday October 15, sources have told Fastmarkets.?EUR?Turkey import prices spike amid limited supply, firm demand?EUR?Further price increases expected in US export market?EUR?High prices dissuade Vietnam buyers from more deals?EUR?China scrap demand recovers amid less stringent power r...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' European secondary aluminium pricing session on Friday October 15.Key drivers:Prices for secondary aluminium ingots of DIN226 grade hit a record high on Friday October 15, the highest price reported for the grade since Fastmarkets began pricing it in 2002, and a 7.6% increase from the previous week.Record high prices for scrap, silicon and magnesium contributed to the up...Read More
LME base metals prices were little changed early on Friday October 15, but the strong gains seen during this LME Week support our long-held view that we are in a supercycle, with other factors, such as power cuts in China, high energy costs and logistics issues, also having an impact.LME metals up by an average of 6.6% this week, with zinc up by 14%Brent crude oil approaching $85 per barrelEU pass...Read More
The price of stainless steel in Europe was stable this week but mills were expected to try to push through increases because of higher energy costs, despite the fact that demand has slowed in recent weeks, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 15.An Italian mill was said to be hoping to implement a ?,?20 ($23) per tonne energy surcharge in order to recoup some of its expenditure on rising energy cos...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in Poland were broadly flat in the week to Friday October 15, while market sources expect producers to increase prices in November due to higher energy costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (drawing quality), domestic, delivered Poland remained at 3,800-3,900 zloty ($964-989) per tonne on Friday, unchanged from the previous we...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
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
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
Slab export prices from Brazil declined in the week to Friday October 15, with offers and bids consolidating at lower levels, but market participants expected prices to have reached a bottom with no further room to drop.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil was at $740-760 per tonne on Friday, down by $20 from $760-780 per tonne on October 8.Demand remain...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 15.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Higher demand in key consumer markets led to a jump in steel scrap prices across all major markets in the week to Friday October 15, sources have told Fastmarkets.?EUR?Turkey import prices spike amid limited supply, firm demand?EUR?Further price increases expected in US export market?EUR?High prices dissuade Vietnam buyers from more deals?EUR?China scrap demand recovers amid less stringent power r...Read More
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
Record-high coking coal prices have been pressuring steelmakers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), mainly in Ukraine, because of a dependence on imports, sources told Fastmarkets.Global coking coal prices have been trending upward since October 2020, when the Chinese government imposed a ban on Australian materials.Fastmarkets' index for premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang -...Read More
Market participants in the bauxite industry in China, both metallurgical and non-metallurgical grades, have downplayed the effect of heavy rainfall in Shanxi earlier this month despite a temporary closure of alumina operation lines. But sources expressed concerns over operations in the coming winter because of the traditional environmental regulations and energy shortages.Heavy downpours started i...Read More