China's imports of finished steel products increased by 18.2% month on month in September, preliminary Chinese customs data showed on Wednesday October 13.September exports: 4.92 million tonnes, down by 2.6% from August 2021,...Read More
The spikes in electricity and natural gas prices have forced some European long steel producers to make output adjustments to be able to manage surging costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Spot prices for electricity and natural gas across Europe have increased sharply in October and are expected to remain volatile until the end of the year at least.Notably, steelmakers claim that electricity prices in...Read More
Pipe producer Vallourec and Brazilian tube, bar and stainless steel distributor Grupo A??otubo announced a joint venture to supply steel tubes and pipes to industrial clients.The new company, called Vallourec Tubos para Ind??stria (VTI) will comprise Vallourec's Brazilian unit of cold-drawn and shaped tubes and A??otubo's division of cold-drawn tubes and parts, and it will focus in supplying the a...Read More
Pipe producer Vallourec and Brazilian tube, bar and stainless steel distributor Grupo A??otubo announced a joint venture to supply steel tubes and pipes to industrial clients.The new company, called Vallourec Tubos para Ind??stria (VTI) will comprise Vallourec's Brazilian unit of cold-drawn and shaped tubes and A??otubo's division of cold-drawn tubes and parts, and it will focus in supplying the a...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the 5pm close on Wednesday October 13, with zinc performing particularly well during the day's trading.The LME three-month price of zinc led the complex on Wednesday; it was up by 4.4% to $3,401.50 per tonne from $3,263 per tonne at Tuesday's close, after hitting an intraday high of $3,440 per tonne."LME fund managers turned bullish tow...Read More
The United States Commerce Department has finalized anti-dumping duties on cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate products from South Korea that it said was sold in the US at less than normal value from February 1, 2019, through January 31, 2020.In a Federal Register notice published on Wednesday October 13, Commerce affirmed its June 25...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday October 11 that are worth another look.Global cobalt supply can't keep pace with surging cobalt consumption because its production is tied to copper and nickel mining rather than underlying demand, the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in Northern Europe were broadly flat in the week to Wednesday October 13, with trading activity limited, but demand is expected to recover soon, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?800-820 ($924-948) per tonne on Wednesday, same as seven days earlier.Daily demand for wire r...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday October 13.Key drivers The European ferro-titanium price range widened higher in the week to Wednesday October 13 after new deals were reported, although overall trading activity was slow amid muted consumer buying interest. There was industry talk of some lower-priced deals, although sources said these were outliers to typical trad...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil fell in Northern Europe and Italy on Wednesday October 13 with both buyers and sellers preferring to adopt a wait-and-see strategy, sources told Fastmarkets.Trading activity was expected to recover in November, however, according to market participants. Although the majority of European distributors have sufficient stocks to last until the year-end, they will ne...Read More
The phase-two concentrator plant at the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is expected to begin full operations ahead of schedule in the second quarter of 2022, joint-venture partner Ivanhoe Mines said on Tuesday October 12."Construction of the phase-two concentrator plant is progressing very well... Based on the pace of the work completed to date, we now expect...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 13 that are worth another look.Pipe producer Vallourec and Brazilian tube, bar and stainless steel distributor Grupo A??otubo announced a joint venture to supply steel tubes and pipes to industrial clients.Major zinc producer Nyrstar will cut production...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to pay higher prices for deep-sea scrap cargoes on Wednesday October 13, market participants told Fastmarkets.Late on Tuesday October 12, a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $470 per tonne and 18,000 tonnes of shredded at $490 per tonne cfr.On Wednesday, a steel mill in the Izmir region paid $...Read More
The rise in October's Kanto Tetsugen auction boosted sentiment in the Japanese scrap market and supported export offers from Japan, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 13. Japan local market pushes export offers higher Vietnam buyers increase bids Chinese buyers in wait-and-see mode due to losses in futuresJapan Offer prices for bulk cargoes of steel scrap from Japan rose again on Wedn...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 13 that are worth another look.Pipe producer Vallourec and Brazilian tube, bar and stainless steel distributor Grupo A??otubo announced a joint venture to supply steel tubes and pipes to industrial clients.Major zinc producer Nyrstar will cut production...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil decreased across Europe in the week ended Wednesday October 13 due to weaker demand from distributors and the automotive sector, sources told Fastmarkets.Sources expect distributors to return to the market in November. While the majority of European distributors have sufficient stocks to last until the year-end, they will need to restock for the first...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil fell in Northern Europe and Italy on Wednesday October 13 with both buyers and sellers preferring to adopt a wait-and-see strategy, sources told Fastmarkets.Trading activity was expected to recover in November, however, according to market participants. Although the majority of European distributors have sufficient stocks to last until the year-end, they will ne...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to fall on Wednesday October 13, after a formal announcement on upcoming winter restrictions by China's Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT).Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.17 per tonne, down $4.83 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.09 per tonne, down $5.08 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr...Read More
A lack of vehicle-charging infrastructure, along with constraints on the supply of battery raw materials, were the major challenges to growth in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has said.Lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite are critical raw materials for the production of battery cathodes an...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat in the week to Wednesday October 12, despite pressure from falling feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium) domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,275-1,330 ($1,472-1,535) per tonne on October 13, unchanged week on week.Domestic hollow section prices were under pressure...Read More