Export prices for steel billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States region continued to decrease in the week to Tuesday August 31 with the market lacking support, Fastmarkets has heard.One of the principal negative factors weighing on prices was the dearth of trading activity in the major export outlets.Last week, CIS sellers covered the demand from Latin America...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's new digital register for physical metals data, LMEpassport, will launch on October 1, starting with aluminium, the exchange announced on Tuesday August 31.LMEpassport will store electronic Certificates of Analysis (CoAs), which are specification and quality assurance documents that must accompany shipments of LME metals into and out of warehouses.It will also store sust...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price had the strongest growth in the complex this month, trading at $2,726.50 per tonne on Tuesday August 31, while most other prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower than on August 2. Aluminium closed at $2,718 per tonne on Tuesday, a rise of 2.6% from last Friday's price of $2,649.50 per tonne and up from $2,615 per tonne at the start of August. Bullish funda...Read More
Aluminium premiums increased on Tuesday August 31 across the globe, with tight supply, an opened arbitrage window in China, and overall bullish sentiment providing market tailwinds and supporting all-time highs.Premiums up in Rotterdam on insufficient supplyUS Midwest premium stable at record highPremiums rise in Shanghai amid wide arbitrage profitsImproved market sentiment drives MJP premiums upw...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb...Read More
The European hot-rolled coil (HRC) market remained calm on Tuesday August 31 while buyers remained in a "wait-and-see" mode, sources told Fastmarkets.Although both buyers and sellers have returned to the market after a traditionally slow August, they have been taking their time to assess market trends. Buyers' sentiment has been largely negative due to lower iron ore costs, uncertainty over automo...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 31 that are worth another lookWith Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 31 that are worth another lookWith Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame Group's recently announced investment in a new green steel plant in Romania, chief executive Carlo Beltrame is looking to futureproof the company ahead of the upcoming green steel revolution. In...Read More
The mood in the European hot-rolled coil market soured in the week ended Friday August 27 after both buyers and producers started to return after the summer holiday in August.Trading activity has been limited while buyers follow a wait-and-see strategy.Buyers expect domestic coil prices to decline in September due to lower raw material costs.Demand outlook for the automotive segment - one of the k...Read More
Aluminium's three-month price had the strongest growth in the complex this month, trading at $2,726.50 per tonne on Tuesday August 31, while most other prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower than on August 2. Aluminium closed at $2,718 per tonne on Tuesday, a rise of 2.6% from last Friday's price of $2,649.50 per tonne and up from $2,615 per tonne at the start of August. Bullish funda...Read More
Mexican steel scrap prices continued to decrease in the week ended on Friday August 27, as most steelmakers applied price cuts because of competition from imported material.Scrap consumers have been pushing through a series of weekly price cuts due to pressure from lower international prices.Fastmarkets' assessment of the steel scrap No1 busheling, consumer buying price, delivered mill Monterrey&n...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged down slightly on Tuesday August 31, but less so than futures due to strong end-user demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,220-5,260 yuan ($807-813) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonne.The most-traded January rebar futures contract briefly dropped to today's low of 5,287 yuan per tonne before recovering...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in China edged lower on Tuesday August 31; futures prices pulled back due to the latest factory activity data prompting concerns over the country's economic recovery.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,700-5,730 yuan ($881-886) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange came down from its highest leve...Read More
China's biggest metals conglomerate, Minmetals, has hired Julio Cesar Rojas Ramirez to develop its copper concentrates blending business and the utilitization of its copper smelting capacity, Fastmarkets has heard.Prior to joining Minmetals, Rojas was director for primary raw materials with Aurubis, Europe's biggest copper smelter.His previous roles include head of global sales at Nyrstar and seni...Read More
Firmer Chinese steel markets have been supporting sentiment in the Chinese scrap market, keeping buyers optimistic about September and October, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday August 31.Prices in China inch up amid buyer optimismTaiwanese buyers could start paying moreChinaSpot prices for steel scrap imported into China edged up on Tuesday August 31 amid improving sentiment in the steel market...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in China edged lower on Tuesday August 31; futures prices pulled back due to the latest factory activity data prompting concerns over the country's economic recovery.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,700-5,730 yuan ($881-886) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange came down from its highest leve...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's new digital register for physical metals data, LMEpassport, will launch on October 1, starting with aluminium, the exchange announced on Tuesday August 31.LMEpassport will store electronic Certificates of Analysis (CoAs), which are specification and quality assurance documents that must accompany shipments of LME metals into and out of warehouses.It will also store sust...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were down on Tuesday August 31 amid suggestions in the local media that steel production cuts would be imposed in China's Guangxi province, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $153.67 per tonne, down by $2.99 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $154.44 per tonne, down by $2.75 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium,...Read More
Volatility in steel markets continues to build into the last four months of 2021, with the recent plunges in iron ore prices affecting the wider ferrous supply chain.Uncertainty about the outlook for the ferrous supply chain continues to build in the Asia-Pacific region, with a number of key determinants still appearing clouded and inconclusive. What are they and how will they affect the ferrous m...Read More