Recycling firm Chiho Environmental Group (CEG) has appointed experienced scrap industry figure Tom Bird as chief trading officer, the company announced on July 27. The appointment was effective from July 1.Chiho is China's largest scrap metal recycling company, running 700 yards globally with extensive operations in the recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous metals scrap. CEG also owns both German f...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up on Thursday July 29 following futures gains on expectations of tight supply caused by a new power pricing method, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,300-5,330 yuan ($820-825) per tonne, up by 30 yuan per tonneThe National Development and Reform Commission now requires local governments to change peak-valley power prices for industri...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 29 that are worth another look.Industrial group Thyssenkrupp has agreed the sale of its mining business to Danish engineering company FLSmidth, the German company said on July 29.Former schoolteacher and union leader Pedro Castillo...Read More
Brazil-based miner Vale expects to increase iron ore output in the second half of the year, because of advances in its capacity resumption plan, and expects the premium for high grade iron ore to remain strong.Vale has reiterated its guidance to produce between 315-335 million tonnes of iron ore in 2021.Production is expected to reach at least 89 million tonnes in the third quarter and at least 85...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices and margins for stainless steel producers have risen notably over the past few months in both Europe and the United States, but there are now signs that the rally is petering out.A clear reason for the halt to rising prices comes from the near 20% drop in nickel prices seen in late February/early March,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have been expecting us to be reporting sharply-lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.This is not the case, at least in Europe and the Unite...Read More
A summary of the first-half production results from Anglo American.In brief Anglo American attributed an overall increase in copper production by 5% to the continued strong performance at Collahuasi and planned improved water availability at Los Bronces in Chile. Copper production at Los Bronces increased by 9% to 163,200 tonnes due to higher water availability owing to water management...Read More
Lundin Mining's copper production was down during the first half of the year because planned lower grades at its Chapada mine reduced its output.The company's profit in the first half was up by 160% at $835.2 million, boosted by higher gold, copper and zinc prices.In brief: At 120,811 tonnes, copper production was down...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Global welded pipe prices surged in May as strong demand and still-insufficient supply lifted flat steel prices.The biggest jumps were seen in China, which was hit by the unexpected announcement of the elimination of export rebates on welded pipes in April. Chinese seaborne prices reached $1,570 per tonne fob for longitudina...Read More
The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
Lundin Mining's copper production was down during the first half of the year because planned lower grades at its Chapada mine reduced its output.The company's profit in the first half was up by 160% at $835.2 million, boosted by higher gold, copper and zinc prices.In brief: At 120,811 tonnes, copper production was down...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? US sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum persisting into June. Actual US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $1,553 per ton in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,540 per ton. Prices remain supported by strong underlying sup...Read More
Fastmarkets has modified the name of one of its Japan steel scrap export prices to reflect the product's usage in the market.Heavy scrap (HS) is a grade of obsolete scrap traded widely in the Japan and South Korea market, used for material of equivalent quality to plate and structural (P&S).Fastmarkets' price assessment for Japan export HS had previously been named steel scrap, plate and structura...Read More
Bangladeshi steelmakers have dipped into the market for small tonnages of containerized heavy melting scrap at slightly lower prices over the past week, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 29.Overall steel scrap demand remained low, with the country still in a strict Covid-19 lockdown and facing production restrictions, but a small number of deals were heard closed...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.United States sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum carrying into June. Actual US HRC prices averaged $1,712 per tonne in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,698 per tonne. Strong underlying supply-and-demand conditions both in the US and globally are supporting prices as well as long lead...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
Chinese importers have been buying double the copper scrap from overseas under the category of 'recyclable copper material', yet its growth in secondary copper production is relatively modest. The country's import volume of copper scrap (HS code: 7404) almost doubled in the first half of 2021 to 821,376 tonnes. It is up 90.8% year on year from a base number affected by outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Europe held fairly firm on Thursday July 29 despite a higher number of competitive import offers, market sources told Fastmarkets.Demand in Northern Europe has been weak due to the seasonal summer-holiday slowdown across the EU.The number of offers from European mills has been limited anyway. Suppliers in Germany were reported to be holding back from making new o...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's base metals prices were robust at the close of trading on Thursday July 29, supported in part by a US Dollar Index that reached its lowest since June 29 and fundamental factors affecting the metals themselves.The dollar index bottomed at 91.87 on Thursday, having reached a year-to-date high of 93.19 on June 21, following the US Federal Reserve bank's renewed dovish stat...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