The European Commission (EC) adopted on Wednesday July 14 a package of proposals under the EU Green deal that affect the metals industry, including a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).The CBAM will apply to imports into the EU of iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilizers and electricity.During a transition period from 2023 to 2025, importers will have to report the emissions embodied...Read More
Vietnam is proposing to impose a 5% export tax on steel billet, which could make offer prices from the country's mills uncompetitive in key Asian markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 15.The proposal has been drafted by the Vietnam Ministry of Finance, but is not yet official policy as it is awaiting final government approval, according to key billet trading sources.News of the propos...Read More
Brazilian steel producers have accepted a reduction of 10% in import duties, and agreed to avoid raising domestic prices further, according to the country's economy minister, Paulo Guedes.The government has been in talks with representatives of steel producers, the country's construction industry and other end users. They are discussing options to normalize supply of rebar and other steel products...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 15 that are worth another look.Brazilian steel producers have accepted a reduction of 10% in import duties, and agreed to avoid raising domestic prices further, according to the country's economy minister, Paulo Guedes.Aluminium producer UC Rusal will...Read More
London Metal Exchange ring dealing members have a decision to make - whether to remain one or not.The LME has just announced it will reopen the open outcry trading floor, which was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, on September 6.Its plan, however, comes with a twist; some ring dealers say, a knife.The official prices - which the global trade and industry use as the global reference for physical...Read More
PT Freeport has said it will continue with building a new copper smelter in Indonesia on its own, the latest twist in a saga that has run for almost a decade.The company, which is a subsidiary of US mining company Freeport McMoRan, will begin constructing a new smelter able to process 1.7 million tonnes of copper concentrates per year, its spokesperson Riza Pratama told Reuters on July...Read More
First Cobalt has held preliminary discussions with Canadian government officials on the creation of a lithium-ion battery park on the same site as its battery materials hydrometallurgical refinery north of Toronto, the company said.The goal is to attract a precursor manufacturer to the site to recycle black mass from spent lithium-ion batteries, recovering nickel and cobalt in the process, it note...Read More
Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the ongoing use of fossil fuels and their generation of a vast carbon footprint as "the dumbest experiment in human history."Not everyone will agree with his assessment of the petroleum, gas and coal sectors, which have powered the world's growth for decades. Nonetheless, the twin goals of supply chain security and sustainability are now driving a t...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil in northern Europe were stable in the week to Wednesday July 14 despite a decline in offers for overseas material, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil import, cfr main port Northern Europe was ?,?1,200-1,240 ($1,417-1,464) per tonne on July 14, down by ?,?50-60 per tonne week on week from...Read More
Glencore has described rioting in South Africa as a "force majeure event" in a letter to customers about a number of ores, alloys and metals exported from the country, although this is not a declaration of force majeure. In a notice to customers on July 14, seen by Fastmarkets, the trader-miner warned that ongoing violence in South Africa could potentially prevent them from fulfilling contracts wi...Read More
Turkish steel producers were inactive in the deep-sea scrap import markets on Thursday July 15 due to a public holiday in the country, sources have told Fastmarkets.Steel and scrap trading were expected to slow in the coming weeks because of several public and religious holidays. Turkish market participants were not at work on Thursday with the country...Read More
First Cobalt has held preliminary discussions with Canadian government officials on the creation of a lithium-ion battery park on the same site as its battery materials hydrometallurgical refinery north of Toronto, the company said.The goal is to attract a precursor manufacturer to the site to recycle black mass from spent lithium-ion batteries, recovering nickel and cobalt in the process, it note...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 15 that are worth another look.Brazilian steel producers have accepted a reduction of 10% in import duties, and agreed to avoid raising domestic prices further, according to the country's economy minister, Paulo Guedes.Aluminium producer UC Rusal will...Read More
Chinalco Shanxi New Material Co suspended production on an alumina line at its refinery in Shanxi province last weekend, removing 500,000 tonnes per year from its annual output, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 15.The subsidiary of the state-owned Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), has an annual capacity of 2.5 million tpy - although that has been reduced to 1.7 million tpy since t...Read More
Benchmark futures were mostly higher on the London Metal Exchange at Thursday's 5pm close following positive economic data released from China and a sustained dovish stance from the US Federal Reserve on interest rates.The three-month copper contract continued to rally, reaching $9,486.50 per tonne at Thursday's 5pm close, up by 1.5% from $9,342.50 per tonne on Wednesday. Despite recent consolidat...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
Iron ore prices increased on Thursday July 15, supported by falling steel inventories in China, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $222.09 per tonne, up $3.43 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $223.75 per tonne, up $3.75 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $182.06 per tonne, up $3.65 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fines,...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices across China's domestic market edged higher on Thursday July 15 while futures prices traded rangebound after Wednesday's sharp gains due to the increased likelihood of a drop in steel production in the second half of 2021, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,860-5,920 yuan ($907-916) per tonne, narrowing upward by 20 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC...Read More
Benchmark futures were mostly higher on the London Metal Exchange at Thursday's 5pm close following positive economic data released from China and a sustained dovish stance from the US Federal Reserve on interest rates.The three-month copper contract continued to rally, reaching $9,486.50 per tonne at Thursday's 5pm close, up by 1.5% from $9,342.50 per tonne on Wednesday. Despite recent consolidat...Read More
Bill Gates has a theory about green premiums: He wants to eliminate them entirely. The American business magnate and philanthropist calls green premiums the additional cost of choosing a clean technology over one that emits a greater amount of greenhouse gases.In other words, the price that metals and mining companies are starting to charge their customers for producing low-carbon produc...Read More