Fastmarkets has corrected its alumina index, fob Australia, which was published incorrectly on Tuesday July 20 and Wednesday July 21 due to an index calculation error.On July 20, the alumina index, fob Australia, should have been $289.74 per tonne but was incorrectly published as $289.62 per tonne.On July 21, the alumina index, fob Australia, should have been $291.11 per tonne but was incorrectly...Read More
The European market for steel hot-rolled coil remained quiet on Thursday July 22, with most producers holding back offers amid seasonally slow trading, sources told Fastmarkets.Sentiment turned negative in Northern Europe after severe flooding in Germany and parts of Belgium reduced trading activity to close to zero, with buyers and sellers assessing the consequences for the market.Even though the...Read More
Increasing supplies of H2-grade steel scrap have allowed South Korean buyers to obtain the material at lower prices in the week to Thursday July 22, sources told Fastmarkets.Summer maintenance rounds at various Japanese steelmakers have reduced consumption of material in that local market, but the tighter supply and strong demand seen in higher grades such as Shindachi busheling have kept prices f...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices edged lower on Thursday July 22 after market participants reacted to Beijing's latest efforts to stabilize commodity prices.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,800-5,900 yuan ($897-912) per tonne, widening by 20-60 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange touched an intraday low of 5,802 yuan per tonne in early afternoon tr...Read More
Export billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States increased toward the end of the week after several bookings done at higher prices came to light, sources told Fastmarkets.The Middle East-North Africa (Mena) region including Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were not present in the market in the week to Thursday July 22 due to celebrations for the Eid Al-Adha Islami...Read More
Export billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States increased toward the end of the week after several bookings done at higher prices came to light, sources told Fastmarkets.The Middle East-North Africa (Mena) region including Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were not present in the market in the week to Thursday July 22 due to celebrations for the Eid Al-Adha Islami...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 22 that are worth another look.Production of steel will be halted for at least two weeks in the key Bangladesh market when the country's latest Covid-19-related lockdown starts on Friday July 23, sources have told Fastmarkets.Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Declan...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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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