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
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States dipped slightly once again - remaining under $97 per hundredweight ($1,940 per short ton) for the fourth consecutive business day - while spot tonnages remained scarce and contract negotiations for 2022 supply were said to be in the final stretch.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.79 per cwt ($1,935.80 per t...Read More
Decarbonization is expected to increase base-metal costs in the coming years, panelists said at the LME Week seminar in London.Initial investments in new technology and infrastructure to produce more sustainable metals will push production costs higher, said Geordie Wilkes, head of research at Sucden Financial."We'll go through a period of high cost which will increase the cost curve," Wilkes said...Read More
Domestic rebar prices in China decreased sharply on Wednesday September 13 due to rising inventory levels and an outlook of higher production rates.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,720-5,760 yuan ($887-893) per tonne, down by 200 yuan per tonneSpot market inventories of rebar in 20 major Chinese cities totaled 5.13 million tonnes on October 10, up by 60,000 tonnes from September 30,...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
Major European zinc producers intend to significantly raise the annual contractual premiums in 2022, citing higher production costs and strong demand, Fastmarkets has learned during LME Week 2021.Offers were likely to be made close to or higher than $200 per tonne, nearly double the levels seen in 2021, which came in a range of $95-110 per tonne.The offer levels were also higher than the current s...Read More
A lack of silicon in the market has vaulted aluminium primary foundry alloy (PFA) ingot to fresh-all time highs across Europe.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium primary foundry alloy, silicon 7 ingot premium, ddp Germany at a new record high of $800-900 per tonne on Friday October 8, up by 45% from $550-620 per tonne on September 10.Fastmarkets also assessed the monthly aluminium primary foundry a...Read More
China's output and sales of automobiles declined in September on an annual basis amid a shortage of semiconductor chips and the country's "dual control" energy-consumption policy, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in its monthly report published on Tuesday October 12.Carmakers in China produced 2.08 million units in September, up by 20.4% month on month but down by 17.9...Read More
Higher or more volatile prices for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earth elements could slow global progress toward a clean-energy future or make it more costly, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).In its World Energy Outlook report released on Wednesday October 13, the IEA said that price rallies for key minerals in 2021 could increase the costs o...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
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
Steel mills announced price increases for November-delivery hot-rolled sheet and heavy plate in Russia's Central District around Moscow on Monday October 11, but are likely to face stiff opposition from buyers, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Market participants said they doubted that such fast rates of increase could be absorbed by the market, especially considering the onset of the off season...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
Market participants are gathering in London this week while some minor metals with energy-intensive manufacturing processes and a reliance on China for supply have surged to multi-year highs.The sharp price increases in the Chinese market are rapidly filtering across Europe, resulting in the depletion of silicon and magnesium inventories in Rotterdam."This LME Week is different, totally different,...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
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
A price gap between spot and tender prices developed in China's ferro-chrome market in early October after sellers in the spot market raised their prices because of supply tightness, while major stainless steel mills decided to keep their tender prices flat from the previous month.Offers heard in the spot market continued to rise after China's National Day holiday on October 1-7, due to limited av...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
Higher electricity prices have added to the production costs of chrome alloy, especially low-carbon ferro-chrome, during the week to Tuesday October 12, at a time when the market was already short of material with prices at multi-year highs.Fastmarkets assessed ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe at $3.05-3.25 per lb Cr on Tuesday, up 7-15 cents (+3.6%) from $2.90-3.18 per lb...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