Negative sentiment is prevailing among European buyers of hot-rolled coil, but mills managed to keep prices fairly stable in Italy and Northern Europe on Wednesday September 15, sources told Fastmarkets.Reduced demand from the automotive sector and cheap import material booked earlier this year that has arrived in the European Union and is awaiting customs clearance have been supporting the bearis...Read More
Producers continued to raise their offer prices for low-carbon ferro-chrome during the week to Tuesday September 14 amid tight supply, high costs and uncertain logistics.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe was $2.78-3.10 per lb Cr on Tuesday, an increase of 5 cents, or 1.7%, from $2.73-$3.05 per lb Cr one week earlier."Several of the producer...Read More
China's domestic spot market for high-carbon ferro-chrome went up in the week to Tuesday September 14, reflecting tight availability and an expectation of good consumer demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, rose by 100-200 yuan per tonne to 10,000-10,300 yuan ($1,553-1,599) per tonne on Tuesday, from 9,800-10,200 yuan per tonne previou...Read More
If any member was going to leave the London Metal Exchange ring trading floor, the exchange was probably hoping it wouldn't be Triland Metals Ltd.The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi, is one of the exchange's longest serving Category 1 members, having joined in 1972 after being founded in the prior year. Having a unit of Japan's largest trading company as a ri...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat in the week to Wednesday September 15, with trading activity slowing down ahead of the imminent renewal of quarterly European import quotas, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,654-1,689) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap bookings for October shipments at fairly stable prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a United States cargo, comprising 23,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $441.50 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of plate and structural (P&S) at $456.50 per ton...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 15 that are worth another look....Read More
Accurate reporting of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of metals and mining companies is becoming critical in securing investment, financing and offtake agreements, according to blockchain technology platform MineHub.Metals and mining companies are under enormous pressure to improve their ESG credentials, and need to produce specific data to show that they are meeting the...Read More
Chinese battery materials producer Xiamen Tungsten New Energy Materials (XTC) has struck a deal with CNGR Advanced Materials Co for the supply of cobalt tetroxide and ternary precursor materials, XTC announced on Wedmesday September 15.Under the agreement, which runs from September 14, 2021, to December 31, 2023, CNGR is expected to supply to XTC with 20,000-25,000 tonnes per year of cobalt tetrox...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap bookings for October shipments at fairly stable prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a United States cargo, comprising 23,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $441.50 per tonne, 5,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of plate and structural (P&S) at $456.50 per ton...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
Steel rebar prices in Southern Europe slipped again during the week to Wednesday September 15 amid slow trading activity and a downturn in scrap prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?745-775 ($880-916) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?15 per tonne from ?,?760-790 per tonne last week.Ital...Read More
Stainless steel prices continue to register new highs around the end of the first half of 2021 and steelmakers continue to enjoy outsized margins.They have responded in recent months by increasing their output, which has now pushed above pre-pandemic levels and will eventually restore balance to the market.For now, though, supply gaps are still being filled and buyers find themselves competing aga...Read More
China's crude steel, hot metal, and finished steel production in August all fell by more than 10% year on year, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday September 15.August outputCrude steel: 83.24 million tonnes, down by 13.2% from August 2020 and down by 4.1% from July 2021 Hot metal: 71.53 million tonnes, down by 11.1% year on year and down by...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
Following a trade of US-origin premium hard coking coal on Wednesday September 15, Fastmarkets' index for premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang registered its largest-ever daily increase.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $560 per tonne, up $66.83 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $464.78 per tonne, up $11.91 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $358.67 per...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday September 15.Key driversFerro-titanium and titanium scrap markets were both on hold in the week to Wednesday September 15, with suppliers waiting to see the result of new tenders issued by steelmakers for alloy delivered in the short term. Most tenders by steel mills are for ferro-titanium to be supplied in October and November, acc...Read More
Iron ore prices went down again on Wednesday September 15 with concerns about further steel production restrictions depressing iron ore demand outlook, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $116.65 per tonne, down $5.02 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.80 per tonne, down $4.83 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $88.53 per tonne...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...Read More
Shanghai copper premiums rose in the week to Tuesday September 14 with the market becoming quieter ahead of a national holiday in China, while in the United States copper cathodes continued to trade at multi-year high prices.Chinese electro-refined (ER) cathode import premiums hit peak of $85-95 per tonne before decliningUS market continues to be strongShanghai premiums rise ahead of holidayChina'...Read More