Automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Co plans to spend $11.4 billion on new production sites in the United States for electric vehicles (EVs) and their batteries as part of its push to bring zero-emission auto production to the country.One site will be in Stanton, Tennessee, where the company will build electric versions of its F-Series pickup truck as well as advanced batteries. To be known as Blue...Read More
China's domestic rebar demand - and prices - picked up slightly on Tuesday September 28, with concerns over how electricity supply restrictions would affect the market appearing to die down.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,790-5,830 yuan ($897-904) per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonneThe construction sector appears to be spared by the power supply restrictions being implemented across many parts...Read More
The collapse of the iron ore market and market turbulence over Chinese property developer Evergrande Group are adding to the economic woes caused by the Delta variant of Covid-19 for much of this year.It is hard to find bright sparks in the months ahead for the ferrous supply chain, which has been buffeted repeatedly in a short span of few months, starting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's comment...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...Read More
The Brazilian steel and aluminium sectors are preparing for a period of short electricity supply in the coming months due to a persistent drought in a country heavily reliant on hydroelectric power generation.A drought has reduced water reservoirs in Brazil, mainly in southeastern and midwestern states, leading to an electricity cost spike and fears of blackouts or even mandatory power rationing t...Read More
Consumers of ferrous scrap in the main Mexican markets of Monterrey and Bajio have applied a series of price cuts, effectively avoiding higher offers and extending the industry downtrend.A large steelmaker near the northeastern Monterrey city was said to have lowered prices by around 1,000 pesos ($50) per tonne, depending on the grade, several market participants said.Other buyers in both regions...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to liberalize the criteria for deals to be included in the calculations for the steel scrap month-to-date deal weighted average price, cfr Turkey.Currently, Fastmarkets' steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), month-to-date deal-weighted average, North Europe origin, cfr Turkey only includes deals that are classified as confirmed, which means that at least the buyer or the sell...Read More
Further reductions in Chinese steel mill operations due to ongoing power shortages are likely to hamper demand for imported semi-finished steel and steel scrap in the country, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Draconian restrictions on power supplies in China have led to a raft of electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers and re-rollers in key provinces such as Jiangsu, Yunnan and Zhejiang to either...Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday September 28 and their latest price moves.China Imported charge chrome prices continued to rise strongly; consumers who needed spot material in the tight market accepted higher offers.Spot ferro-chrome prices surged in the past week amid strict electricity controls in major production hubs, which tight...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the iron ore market, supply issues including heavy rains at the start of the year, followed by staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected exports from Brazil. This has helped Australia gain a larger market share, but since June, Brazilian export volumes have returned to levels last seen before the...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap on the second working day of the week, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 28.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a European cargo at $426 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20). And a steel producer in the same region booked a Venezuelan cargo at $434 per tonne cfr also on HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis - although this deal...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Fastmarkets analysts were invited to present our outlook for the coking coal market at Coaltrans Asia, held online on November 23-25. One of the key topics at the event was the trade tensions between China and Australia, which overtook Mongolia to become the largest coking coal exporter to China this year...Read More
Poor sentiment persisted in the European hot-rolled coil market on Tuesday September 28 due to reduced demand from automakers, sufficient distributor stocks and high import volumes in ports, sources told Fastmarkets.Spot buyers have been refraining from making new deals; they anticipate that domestic prices will continue to decrease. Buyer stocks remain sufficient, allowing them to pause purchases...Read More
Eight of the nine Category 1 members of the London Metal Exchange have indicated their support for continuing to trade official lunchtime prices in the open-outcry ring.Does this mean that one company does not support ring trading? And could one of the exchange's members be preparing to leave the trading floor?The exchange revealed on Monday August 9 that it had majority support for the ring, in a...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were largely unchanged in the week ended Monday September 27, amid high purchasing interest from distributors with low inventories and an expectation that prices have reached a bottom, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia was...Read More
Swedish special steel producer Ovako is to introduce a "climate surcharge" to support initiatives and new technology investments as its production goes carbon-neutral from January 2022, the producer announced on Tuesday September 28.The company says it has reduced carbon emissions significantly through efficient processes, the use of fossil-free electricity and dedicated investments such as conver...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
Automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Co plans to spend $11.4 billion on new production sites in the United States for electric vehicles (EVs) and their batteries as part of its push to bring zero-emission auto production to the country.One site will be in Stanton, Tennessee, where the company will build electric versions of its F-Series pickup truck as well as advanced batteries. To be known as Blue...Read More
Aluminium and tin had risen the most on the London Metal Exchange by the close on Tuesday September 28, while nickel and copper were both under pressure.Aluminium's three-month price closed at $2,945 per tonne on Tuesday, up from its close on Monday of $2,883.50 per tonne, which was the lowest since September 21. The metal stayed above the 20-day moving average of $2,847 per tonne, a key tech...Read More