Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly stable on Wednesday July 21, with minimal reaction to China's announcement to sell more state reserve metal during the day. The three-month zinc price closed 1.1% lower than the previous day at $2,929 per tonne, while the three-month aluminium price was down 0.5% to close at $2,453.5 per tonne from a day ago,...Read More
European lead smelter Berzelius Metall has declared force majeure on supply contracts after floods that have caused chaos in northern Germany and Belgium forced the closure of its Stolberg smelter.Fastmarkets' calls to Berzelius were not answered, while an email to parent company EcoBat Technologies was not responded to by the time of publication.But sources in the lead market confirmed to Fa...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 21 that are worth another look.Flat steel sales from Brazilian distributors increased by 3.3% year on year in June; volumes began to stabilize after strong growth in the first half of 2021, flat steel distributors...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market reported no new trading activity on Wednesday July 21, because of the week-long Eid al-Adha public holiday.Turkish steel mils have not booked any new scrap material since July 13.The country is currently off work for the week-long religious holiday of...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Declan...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Cristina Belda and...Read More
Steel rebar prices in northern Europe edged up in the week to Wednesday July 21 despite a seasonal slowdown in buying activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?890-930 ($1,049-1,096) per tonne on July 21, up from ?,?880-930 per tonne. This marks its highest level since Fastmarkets start...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up slightly on Wednesday July 21 following major mills raising ex works prices.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,230-5,250 yuan ($808-811) per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonneEastern China major rebar producer, Shagang, raised their ex works price by 250 yuan per tonne to 5,550 yuan...Read More
The Northern European market for steel wire rod was quiet in the week to Wednesday July 21, with prices being broadly flat, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?890-915 ($1,049-1,078) per tonne on Wednesday, the same as last week.The assessment was based on deals, offers and market participants'...Read More
Iron ore prices fell on Wednesday July 21 due to steel production cuts in some Chinese provinces for the second half of 2021, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.79 per tonne,down $6.25 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.17 per tonne,down $6.85 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $176.44 per tonne,down $5.83 per tonne65% Fe...Read More
Prices in the United States for domestic and imported carbon steel wire rod rose by $40 per ton in July, nearing an all-time high for domestic product and a record for imports.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US was $55-57 per hundredweight ($1,100-1,140 per short ton) on Tuesday July 20, up by 3.70% from 53-55 per cwt on June 1...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Italy declined slightly in the week to Wednesday July 21 due to lower slab costs and mills' needs to book more orders, sources told Fastmarkets.Competitive import offers have also contributed to the softening of domestic prices.Southern EuropeOfficial offers for plate from Italian re-rollers have been heard at ?,?980-1,000 ($1,155-1,178) per tonne ex-works....Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market reported no new trading activity on Wednesday July 21, because of the week-long Eid al-Adha public holiday.Turkish steel mils have not booked any new scrap material since July 13.The country is currently off work for the week-long religious holiday of...Read More
Sentiment in the European hot-rolled coil segment has been mixed, with buyers in Northern Europe trying to assess impact of floods on the market and Italian buyers monitoring declining import prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 21.Across the European Union, trading activity has been limited while buyers wait for a clear market trend. Credit lines have been exhausted over the past fe...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 21 that are worth another look.Flat steel sales from Brazilian distributors increased by 3.3% year on year in June; volumes began to stabilize after strong growth in the first half of 2021, flat steel distributors...Read More
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for cobalt hydroxide index, via an open consultation process between June 16 and July 13. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.No feedback was received during the consultation period and therefore no changes will be made to the methodologies at this stage.This consultation sou...Read More
Iranian steel billet export prices continued to rise in the second half of July on improving demand from China, but availability is being constrained by a slowdown in steel production caused by electricity shortages, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 21.Extreme heat and drought conditions, combined with industrial growth and high energy-use cryptocurrency mining were cited as the reasons...Read More
European lead smelter Berzelius Metall has declared force majeure on supply contracts after floods that have caused chaos in northern Germany and Belgium forced the closure of its Stolberg smelter.Fastmarkets' calls to Berzelius were not answered, while an email to parent company EcoBat Technologies was not responded to by the time of publication.But sources in the lead market confirmed to Fa...Read More
Fastmarkets' Asia ferro-silicon prices were published early today due to an editor error.These prices were published at 10.35 GMT instead of 14.00-15.00 GMT. The pricing session took place as normal and the data appears as intended.The affected prices are:Ferro-silicon 75% Si min, cif Japan, $/tonneFerro-silicon 75% Si min, in-whs China, yuan/tonneFerro-silicon 75% Si min export, fob China, $/tonn...Read More
Domestic prices for ferro-chrome in the spot market in China surged in the week ended Tuesday July 20 following production cuts in the province of Inner Mongolia.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, jumped by 17.3% to 10,000-10,300 yuan ($1,541-1,587) per tonne on Tuesday, from 8,500-8,800 yuan per tonne one week earlier, and was now at its highest...Read More