Domestic steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States were sideways this week, with the combination of demand and backlogs expected to sustain what many market participants believe is a price peak.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US was $49.25 per hundredweight ($985 per short ton) on Wednesday October 6, unchanged since August 11 but up by 65.55% from $29.7...Read More
Numerous challenges are ahead for the graphite industry while it develops to meet the needs of the rapidly growing electric vehicle (EV) sector. While debate persists around cathode chemistries, with LFP cathodes gaining ground in China in recent months at the expense of NCM cathodes, these various lithium-ion battery chemistries are all utilizing graphite anodes. In the coming years, exponential...Read More
Brazilian mineral production rose by 9.61% year on year in January-August 2021 amid the inauguration or reopening of some iron ore operations in the country, national mining institute Ibram said on Wednesday October 6.The country produced 833 million tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up from 760 million tonnes a year before, according to the association. In the same period, mining revenues...Read More
Metal market participants have been forced to take creative approaches to ensure they can continue trading amid an intensely challenging freight environment, sources told Fastmarkets.A global logistics crisis has dragged on through the summer and into the autumn of 2021, highlighted by a continued shortage of vessels and containers, together with port congestion across the globe. Quarantines relat...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday October 6.Key driversEuropean ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets extended their steady trend for a fifth consecutive week, with suppliers holding offer prices against expected renewed demand from steel mills.Deals were reported within current price ranges, but the bulk of expected renewed quarterly demand from steel mills for...Read More
Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States fell on Tuesday October 5, while the cash nickel price on the London Metal Exchange dropped to $8.07 per lb."As expected, continued weakness in LME nickel has resulted in lower 304 stainless scrap prices," one dealer said.Dealers and processors continued to be concerned about the ongoing lack of supply, due to manufacturers having difficulty return...Read More
Numerous challenges are ahead for the graphite industry while it develops to meet the needs of the rapidly growing electric vehicle (EV) sector. While debate persists around cathode chemistries, with LFP cathodes gaining ground in China in recent months at the expense of NCM cathodes, these various lithium-ion battery chemistries are all utilizing graphite anodes. In the coming years, exponential...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 6 that are worth another look.Significantly rising energy prices have forced European steelmakers to look for ways to compensate for surging production costs, but mills lack a unified approach to the problem; some are introducing energy surcharges while others...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly down on the morning of Wednesday October 6, which was in line with the weakness in Asia-Pacific equities.Brent crude oil price back above $82 per barrel - adding to inflationary pressures......could be another factor to force central banks' hands in policy tightening.There are also fears that China's Evergrande debt problem is not the onl...Read More
Premiums in Europe rose and premiums in the United States remained steady while global market participants prepare to negotiate long-term supply contracts.Northern European zinc premiums are at their highest since 2015, with market participants watching supply cutsUS spot zinc premiums are steady, while more uncertainty surrounds long-term contractsEuropean premiums nudge up, long term contracts b...Read More
The publication of Fastmarkets' Shanghai copper cathode premiums was delayed on October 5 because of a reporter error.Fastmarkets' pricing database has since been updated. The data for October 6 is unaffected.The below prices have now been updated:MB-CU-0405 - Copper grade A cathode premium, in-whs Shanghai, $/tonneMB-CU-0383 - Copper grade A cathode ER premium, bonded in-whs Shanghai, $/tonneMB-C...Read More
Significantly rising energy prices have forced European steelmakers to look for ways to compensate for surging production costs, but mills lack a unified approach to the problem; some are introducing energy surcharges while others prefer to focus on raising the price of steel, sources told Fastmarkets on the sidelines of the Made in Steel 2021 trade fair in Milan, Italy.In October, prices for gas...Read More
Steel rebar prices increased in the domestic market in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow in the week ending Monday October 4, with local producers taking advantage of the low stocks of both traders and end-users to raise offers, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia was 55,500-59,000 roubles (...Read More
Transactions for hot-rolled coil in Europe remained limited on Wednesday October 6, with buyers and sellers preferring to avoid transactions until the price trend becomes clearer, sources told Fastmarkets.Most European buyers have sufficient flat steel stocks to last until the end of the year. Buyers will have to return to the market in November at the latest because they will need to plan for the...Read More
Turkish steel producers resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases for November shipments after a short break, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 6.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $448 per tonne and 8,000 tonnes of shredded at $463 per tonne cfr.And a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea carg...Read More
Thyssenkrupp Steel has launched a form of steel with a reduction in CO2 intensity of 70%, it said.Using hot-briquetted iron (HBI), the carbon emission intensity per tonne of lower-CO2 flat steel products - which it calls "bluemint" - is 70% lower at 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per tonne than the 1.5 tonnes that would be produced otherwise, the steelmaker said on Wednesday October 6.Thyssenkrupp's "bluemint...Read More
Vietnamese steelmakers have dipped back into the deep-sea import market for steel scrap following a sudden surge in Japanese offer prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 6.Vietnam books fresh deep-sea cargoesTaiwan import prices remain high after strong Japanese offersScrap import prices in India move up following shredded dealVietnamVietnamese steel mills are purchasing bulk deep-s...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday October 6.Key driversEuropean ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets extended their steady trend for a fifth consecutive week, with suppliers holding offer prices against expected renewed demand from steel mills.Deals were reported within current price ranges, but the bulk of expected renewed quarterly demand from steel mills for...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday October 6.Key driversEuropean ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets extended their steady trend for a fifth consecutive week, with suppliers holding offer prices against expected renewed demand from steel mills.Deals were reported within current price ranges, but the bulk of expected renewed quarterly demand from steel mills for...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 6 that are worth another look.Significantly rising energy prices have forced European steelmakers to look for ways to compensate for surging production costs, but mills lack a unified approach to the problem; some are introducing energy surcharges while others...Read More