The London Metal Exchange's new aluminium duty-paid European premiums contract, which is settled againstFastmarkets' assessment, traded for the first time on Tuesday July 20.The cash-settled contract had more than 1,800 tonnes cleared in the LME's inter-office market at $359 per tonne for a September 2021 to April 2022 period. The contract, which launched on Monday July 19, is basis...Read More
China's domestic rebar price dropped on Tuesday July 20 due to weak demand caused by adverse weather in large parts of the country, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,220-5,240 yuan ($804-807) per tonne, down by 10-20 yuan per tonneThere was heavy rain in central China's Henan province and southern China's Guangdong province on July 20, and large...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs...Read More
Chinese antimony market participants report reduced offers, higher prices and increasing difficulty in securing material, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for antimony MMTA standard grade II, ddp China was 59,000-60,000 yuan ($9,093-9,248) per tonne onJuly 16, up by 1,500-2,000 yuan per tonne (3.0%) from 57,500-58,000 yuan pertonne the previous week.A shortage of ores...Read More
Sentiment varied in the hot-rolled coil markets of Northern Europe and Italy despite seasonally slow demand in both regions, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 20.In Northern Europe, domestic HRC prices are likely to remain fairly stable during summer and will possibly rise in autumn, sources said. Good order books at the region's mills and concerns about tight supply due to German floods su...Read More
Shipments and distribution of steel in Germany have been disrupted by the recent flooding in the country, pushing flat steel producer Thyssenkrupp to declare force majeure, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 20.The situation was likely to worsen the carbon steel shortage in the European market, participants believed. Over the past year, the supply of both flat and long steel products has bee...Read More
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry in an open-consultation process on the pricing methodology for its Northern Europe and United States hot-rolled coil indices. The consultation, which began June 16 and ended on Friday July 16, was done as part of its annual methodology review process in compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (Iosco) principles for pri...Read More
Steelmaking heavyweights in eastern China's Jiangsu province were actively looking to source steel billet imports on Tuesday July 20, after the reality of crude steel production cuts in the region started to become clearer.Three mill sources from the region told Fastmarkets they were interested in importing billet, with the recent output cuts communicated to them by Chinese authorities set to limi...Read More
Export prices for steel hot-rolled coil products from the Commonwealth of Independent States region were stable over the week to Monday July 19 with deal prices almost unchanged from the previous week.The Turkish market continued to support CIS producers, with two cargoes heard sold within the range of $950-955 per tonne cfr. This compared with bookings at $945-960 per tonne cfr previously. This w...Read More
Base metals prices on the LME were up across the board this morning, Tuesday July 20, while the SHFE followed Monday's weakness, which was triggered by growing fears over the potential impact of the Delta variant of Covid-19 on the global economic recovery.Gold, the yen and the dollar were stronger and the United States 10-year treasury yield weaker - all signs of a pick-up in haven demandThe spre...Read More
China's domestic rebar price dropped on Tuesday July 20 due to weak demand caused by adverse weather in large parts of the country, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,220-5,240 yuan ($804-807) per tonne, down by 10-20 yuan per tonneThere was heavy rain in central China's Henan province and southern China's Guangdong province on July 20, and large...Read More
A summary of BHP's operational review for iron ore for the year ended June 30, 2021, as released on Tuesday July 20.In brief BHP delivered full-year production of iron ore in line with its guidance for the year to June 30, which was 245-255 million tonnes. BHP achieved record production at Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO), reflecting record production at Jimblebar and Mining Area C, which include...Read More
A summary of Brazilian miner Vale's iron ore results for the second quarter of 2021, as stated in its latest production and sales report published on Monday July 19.In brief Vale's iron ore fines production totaled 75.7 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2021, up by 12% from a year earlier and by 11.3% from the first quarter of 2021. Vale said second-quarter fines production increased for the...Read More
Major steelmaker Shagang raised its purchase price for domestic scrap in the week to July 20 after keeping its prices stable for one month, sources told Fastmarkets. Mills in other regions followed suit.Shagang increased its domestic scrap purchase price by 80 yuan to 3,850 yuan ($593.3) per tonne delivered mill on Saturday July 17, including a 9.2% value-added tax (VAT)."The supply of domestic sc...Read More
A summary of the second-quarter iron ore production results for 2021 from British multinational mining company Anglo American, reported in its latest production report released on Tuesday July 20.In briefIron ore production increased by 6%, driven primarily by a 14% increase at Kumba, and partly offset by a 5% decrease at Minas Rio.Total production at Kumba increased, reflecting the effect of Covi...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices across China's domestic market edged lower on Tuesday July 20 and futures prices fell following Beijing's latest pledge to ensure stable prices for commodities.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,850-5,930 yuan ($903-915) per tonne, down by 20-30 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped to a one-week low of 5,822 yuan per tonne in e...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 19 that are worth another look.European steel association Eurofer is demanding stronger carbon emissions measures to guarantee a balanced approach that will enable a decarbonization of the region's steel industry, it said on Thursday July 15.Read More
A combination of concerns over the spread of the delta variant of Covid-19, a sturdy dollar index and falling US equities triggered a sell-off in London Metal Exchange prices during the afternoon's trade on Monday July 19.Nickel's three-month price showed the biggest drop of the day, down by 3.2% at the close to $18,462 per tonne, from Friday's $19,070 per tonne price at the same time."Nickel pric...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis were at a four-month high on Monday July 19 due to an increase in liquidity, with cargoes changing hands at higher prices.Fastmarkets assessed its daily alumina index, fob Australia, at $289.36 per tonne on Monday, the highest since March 19.Demand for cargoes has increased over the past week. But the rise in prices also related to concern in the market abo...Read More