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
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
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
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
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
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
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat on Wednesday July 21 following a summer slowdown in the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,656-1,691) per tonne on July 21, unchanged week on week."Prices are stable, the market is slowing down now for three to four weeks," a d...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
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
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
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
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday July 21.Key drivers The ferro-titanium price range widened higher in the week to July 21 on new deals against renewed demand from buyers ahead of new export duties from Russia which begin on August 31. The major consumers in the steel sector, however, have yet to emerge for longer term contracted deliveries and one steelmaker said t...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
German industrial giant Siemens plans to build "one of Europe's largest energy storage facilities" at Wunsiedel in eastern Germany, it announced on Monday July 19.The Siemens facility will have power capacity of 100MW and energy storage capacity for 200MWh, and will store electricity generated locally from surplus renewable energy. It will also cover demand peaks on the power grid. The electricit...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday July 21.Key drivers The ferro-titanium price range widened higher in the week to July 21 on new deals against renewed demand from buyers ahead of new export duties from Russia which begin on August 31. The major consumers in the steel sector, however, have yet to emerge for longer term contracted deliveries and one steelmaker said t...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
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