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
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
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 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
Global scrap prices remained broadly stable over the week to Friday July 23; trading remains subdued due to public holidays and a resurgence of Covid-19.Turkish mills remain silent on public holidayUnited States export market apprehensive of downward correctionChinese prices improve on rising demandVietnam market flat on lack of interestTaiwanese scrap prices impacted by Covid-19 related lockdownI...Read More
The Turkish steel mills continued to limit their deep-sea scrap bookings in the week ended Friday July 16 due to weak finished steel sales, while the downturn in the country had a knock-on effect on prices in the global markets.Turkish mills restrict deep-sea purchases to put downward pressure on pricesSummer slowdown hits US export marketCovid-19 pandemic shuts down local long steel and scrap mar...Read More
Long steel producer Badische Stahlwerke has denied that there was a stoppage at its rolling mill in southwest Germany, a source at the company told Fastmarkets on Friday July 23.Heavy floods in Germany have interrupted the supply of steel products and raw materials across the country, with some flat steel producers even declaring force majeure to customers.There were market rumors on Friday indica...Read More
Indian domestic prices for secondary steel billet rose by about $13 per tonne during the week to Friday July 23 on stronger demand for finished products, particularly rebar, sources said.Fastmarkets assessed steel billet domestic, ex-works India at 42,200-42,400 rupees ($567-570) per tonne on Friday, up by 1,000 rupees from 41,200-41,400 rupees per tonne last week. "The billet price recovery is in...Read More
Crude steel production in Germany continued to rise in June, recording a fourth consecutive month of recovery, German steel federation WV Stahl said on Thursday July 23.German crude steel production totaled more than 3.42 million tonnes in June 2021, up from 2.47 million tonnes in June 2020, WV Stahl said.The sharp rise is partially explained, however, by a low comparative base - last year's domes...Read More
Trading activity in the hot-rolled coil markets across Europe was still limited on Friday July 23, with prices broadly stable despite gaining strength from short supply, Fastmarkets has heard.Firm offers were still scarce in the Northern European HRC market, sources said.Mills in the region had good order books and could only offer fourth-quarter production HRC, with some of them claiming to be so...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
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 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
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang, and Sybil...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally stronger this morning, Friday July 23, the exception was lead on the LME that was down by 0.5%, but that was after a strong gain on Thursday. Lead, tin and nickel all pushed the boundary on the upside on Thursday with gains of 1.5% or moreEuropean Central Bank projected a dovish outlook on monetary po...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies and...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
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close on Friday July 23, with nickel up 2.3%.Nickel traded in a wide range between $18,830 and $19,410 per tonne on Friday. The three-month contract closed at $19,372 per tonne, up from $18,922 per tonne on Thursday. Traded volumes were relatively low however, with just over 6,700 lots traded by the 5pm close."This has been...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