Lithium prices in China mostly rose over the week ending Thursday July 22 due to restocking drives among consumers, sources told Fastmarkets.Lithium prices in Chinese domestic market rise amid consumer restocking activity.Seaborne Asian lithium market remains steady amid persistently tight supply.European and US prices remain largely stable, with technical-grade lithium hydroxide narrowing upward...Read More
The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) is leading an industry-wide pushback against the country's proposed export tax of 5% on steel billet, it said on Friday July 23."The proposal to increase export taxes on billet and reduce import taxes on finished steel products is not suitable with the current situation of steel production," the association said.This was in response to domestic demand for steel...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil have edged down, with most market participants remaining cautious and holding onto their inventory positions.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $975-985 per tonne on Friday July 23, down from $975-995 per tonne the previous week. The latest Brazilian slab deals to the United States have been heard...Read More
A barrage of import steel billet deals have been concluded with Chinese buyers this week at progressively higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday July 23.Demand for imported billet has spiked at mills in China amid targets which would push down steel production in the country over the second half of 2021.Chinese steelmakers can use import billet to roll long steel products while simultan...Read More
The inter-merchant light iron scrap market in the United Kingdom was steady in the week to Friday July 23, consolidating small gains from the previous week amid strong domestic fundamentals, despite quiet export sales to key destinations such as Turkey and the Indian subcontinent, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered...Read More
European steelmakers are returning to the bulk alloys markets for quarterly deliveries to be shipped between October and December due to persistent supply tightness, shipping delays and container shortages and strong steel production and prices, sources told Fastmarkets.It had appeared that steelmakers were satisfied with their current quarterly intake of ferro-alloys and would typically return fo...Read More
Spot copper concentrate processing charge rose to its highest level since June last year, with the market firming up levels after a month of volatility.Smelter deals concluded for clean spot concentrates at low-to-mid $50s, including shipment diverted as a result of a smelter outage in Yantai. Major smelters...Read More
Spot copper concentrate processing charge rose to its highest level since June last year, with the market firming up levels after a month of volatility.Smelter deals concluded for clean spot concentrates at low-to-mid $50s, including shipment diverted as a result of a smelter outage in Yantai. Major smelters...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in the United States, China and Europe for the week ended Friday July 23.China The in-warehouse China ferro-silicon price went up following the news that a major producer in Inner Mongolia will issue a production cut due to the electricity controls in summer; in addition, Ningxia will start a series of electricity controls to limit production. Spot avail...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies and...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil have edged down, with most market participants remaining cautious and holding onto their inventory positions.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $975-985 per tonne on Friday July 23, down from $975-995 per tonne the previous week. The latest Brazilian slab deals to the United States have been heard...Read More
The flooding caused by torrential rains that have battered central China's Henan province since last weekend has disrupted logistics and deliveries there although production remains largely unaffected, market sources told Fastmarkets.Henan, one of China's most populous provinces, is a major production hub for base metals including lead, zinc, copper and nickel. Some regions of the province, inclu...Read More
China's alumina price has risen after severe floods in Henan province led to the closure of several local refineries, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for alumina metallurgical grade, exw China was 2,425-2,560 yuan ($375-397) per tonne on Thursday July 22, widening upward by 60 yuan per tonne from 2,425-2,500 yuan per tonne one week earlier, after offe...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang, and Sybil...Read More
Import prices for flat steel in South American markets edged up for most grades due to higher offers from Chinese producers, while some participants reported a slowdown in the market.Offers of hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil rose at least by $20-30 per tonne on lower material availability, sources said.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main ports South Americ...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang, and Sybil...Read More
Domestic and export prices for Chinese stainless steel prices rose sharply over the week ended Wednesday July 21 on tight supply, which led to increased expectations of an export tariff to ease the shortage.DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 19,000-20,100 ($2,939-3,109) per tonne, up by 1,000-1,300 yuan per tonne from a week earlierPrices have risen to their hi...Read More
The world's largest carbon trading market is slowly gaining momentum and will eventually be a key component of China's ferrous industry, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.China kicked off nationwide carbon trading on July 16, with mostly thermal coal-fired power plants participating on the first day. Companies can buy carbon emission quotas from the market, while those with lower emissions...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose on Friday July 23 on stronger restocking demand and lower production, but end-user demand weakened in the eastern coastal region ahead of an upcoming typhoon.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,280-5,300 yuan ($815-818) per tonne, up by 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 5,160-5,200 yuan per tonne, up by 80-90 yuan per tonneTyphoon In-fa...Read More
A major Japanese steel producer will raise its offer for October-shipment steel heavy plate to around $1,200 per tonne cfr Southeast Asia amid positive expectations, a source close to the producer told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 22.Inquiries for October-shipment plate from Southeast Asian buyers have been good despite a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the region, he said, and September-shipment...Read More