The seaborne premium hard coking coal cfr price and hard coking coal fob price soared on Thursday September 2 due to sustained tight supply. And some Chinese coke producers proposed the ninth round of price hikes since the start of August.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $443.02 per tonne, up $11.99 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $403.85 per tonne, up $7.33 per...Read More
Non-binding offers have been made for the purchase of Glencore's warehousing and logistics firm, Access World, with the official due diligence process now underway, according to sources familiar with the matter.At least three Asia-based bidders are in the final stages of the process, which will require firm offers to be submitted at the end of the month, sources told Fastmarkets.A number of compan...Read More
Chile's state-owned mining entity Codelco announced on September 2 that it had reached an agreement with two of the three labour unions that are striking at its Andina mine."The workers associated with the SIIL and SUT Unions will resume their work on a date to be defined with the administration," Codelco said in a statement. The new wage agreement between the company and the Industrial Union of L...Read More
United States-based aluminium producer Novelis has concluded a $175 million capacity expansion project in Brazil and was already studying further increases to meet growing demand in the country for aluminium cans, its local vice-president for procurement, Alfredo Veiga, told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 1.The company disclosed in November 2018 its plans to raise rolling capacity by 100,000 t...Read More
China's cobalt tetroxide prices drifted lower in the week to Wednesday September 1, due to weak demand from battery producers, while cobalt sulfate prices remained rangebound, with producers rejecting lower bids.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co min, delivered China fell to 275,000-285,000 yuan ($42,562-44,110) per tonne on September 1, down from 282,000-292,000 yuan per...Read More
Copper scrap prices in the United States were steady on Wednesday September 1 amid solid demand and whipsawing Comex copper prices."Demand has held up well overseas, domestically it's fair," one trader source said. "Consumers have found a comfort level with their suppliers and everybody is making decent money at these spreads, so there've been no drastic...Read More
Domestic rebar prices remained unchanged in Egypt for orders to be placed in September on still-weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 2.Egyptian producers normally announce new rebar prices at the beginning of each month, but have kept their prices unchanged since May 17. And despite lifting a ban on construction activity on July 1, demand has remained limited, sour...Read More
Steel wire rod prices in Northern Europe were largely flat in the week to Wednesday September 1, supported by good end-user demand and limited supplies, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality) domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?890-920 ($1,052-1,088) per tonne on Wednesday, widening down from ?,?900-920 per tonne week on wee...Read More
Speculation as to whether China will lift its anti-dumping (AD) duty on Indonesian stainless steel arose during the week to September 2. Some market participants believe this move would reduce China's crude stainless steel production and thereby help lower carbon emissions.China has imposed AD duty on imports of stainless steel billet, slab, hot-rolled plate and coil produced in the European...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Thursday September 2, with the outlook remaining bearish despite a drop in steel inventories amid relatively active port trading, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $142.02 per tonne,down $1.41 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $142.59 per tonne,down $1.64 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qing...Read More
The London Metal Exchange trading ring will reopen on Monday September 6, for the first time in 18 months, and chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain admits that there have been a lot of tough conversations with members about its future.Ring trading will look very different after the restart. Closing prices will be traded electronically, via LMESelect, and only official prices will move back...Read More
The anticipated agreement between the European Union and the United States on Section 232 tariffs would boost flat-steel export sales to the US and, consequently, reduce domestic EU availability, triggering a price rise in Europe, European buyers told Fastmarkets.The US and EU will reach an agreement on the exemption from Section 232 of European imports of steel and aluminium by November 1. The US...Read More
Turkish prices for flat steel products kept decreasing during August because of the holiday season and a global downtrend in prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 2.Iron ore prices in particular decreased significantly in August, leading to price falls for steel end products. Fastmarkets' daily calculation of the index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao was $142.02 per tonne o...Read More
The supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe has extended Bernhard Osburg's contract as chairman for another five years to June 30, 2027, the company said earlier this week.Osburg has been chairman of the executive board since March 2020, succeeding Premal Desai. He has been a member of the executive board since June 2019 with a focus on sales and innovation.In a meeting on August 31,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 2 that are worth another look.The anticipated agreement between the European Union and the United States on Section 232 tariffs would boost flat-steel export sales to the US and, consequently, reduce domestic EU availability, triggering a price rise in Europe, European...Read More
The anticipated agreement between the European Union and the United States on Section 232 tariffs would boost flat-steel export sales to the US and, consequently, reduce domestic EU availability, triggering a price rise in Europe, European buyers told Fastmarkets.The US and EU will reach an agreement on the exemption from Section 232 of European imports of steel and aluminium by November 1. The US...Read More
Lead was the best performer on the London Metal Exchange at the end of trading on Thursday September 2, reaching its highest price in the past week, while most other metals in the base-metals complex remained around their Wednesday prices.Lead's three-month contract rose to as much as $2,315 per tonne on Thursday, and closed the session at $2,312.50 per tonne, up from Wednesday's 5pm price of $2,2...Read More
The European hot-rolled coil market remained in "wait-and-see" mode on Thursday September 2, with mills continuing to reject buyers' lower bids, sources told Fastmarkets.Order books for the majority of EU mills are filled until the first quarter of 2022. As a result, they are keeping official offers unchanged from levels in June - before the market entered its traditional summer slowdown. Some mar...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday September 2 that are worth another look.The anticipated agreement between the European Union and the United States on Section 232 tariffs would boost flat-steel export sales to the US and, consequently, reduce domestic EU availability, triggering a price rise in Europe, European...Read More
The anticipated agreement between the European Union and the United States on Section 232 tariffs would boost flat-steel export sales to the US and, consequently, reduce domestic EU availability, triggering a price rise in Europe, European buyers told Fastmarkets.The US and EU will reach an agreement on the exemption from Section 232 of European imports of steel and aluminium by November 1. The US...Read More