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
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
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
The European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will be generally supportive of aluminium premiums in Europe and will add further bullish sentiment to an already heated market, sources told Fastmarkets this week."A Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will put a carbon price on imports of a targeted selection of products to ensure that ambitious climate action in Europe does not lead...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to rise on Thursday July 15, following a strong showing in the futures market in early trading.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,200-5,240 yuan ($805-811) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneDeals were concluded at 5,200-5,240 yuan per tonne in early trading, with buyers expecting rebar prices to continue rise on seeing the futures...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of June U.S. Retail Sales at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop of 0.4% versus a decline of 1.3% in May. Actual was an increase of 0.6%. Excluding auto sales, consensus was an increase of 0.5% versus a decline of 0.2% in May. Actual...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
(Adds detail, writes through) MELBOURNE, July 16 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto reported a 12% fall in quarterly iron ore shipments on Fridayafter storms affected its West Australian operations, but isexpected to report bumper results this month on soaring pricesfor the steel raw material. Rio said it now expects to ship near the lower end of itsrange of 325 million tonnes (mt) and 340 mt in calendar 2021,...Read More
Chinese authorities are unlikely to lower barriers to allow more lower-grade scrap to enter the country, panelists said at the Singapore Steel Forum 2021 on Wednesday July 14.China imported 221,409 tonnes of ferrous scrap in the first five months of 2021, according to Chinese customs statistics, which was a 2,894% increase from the same period in 2020.Most of the material imported has been higher...Read More
Market terms for copper concentrates reached a 10-year high in April 2021; since then it has only been uphill for sellers.Fastmarkets' calculation of the index for copper concentrates TC/RC, which measures a mid-point for processing fees paid to smelters, hit $42.40 per tonne/ 4.24 cents per lb on July 9, almost double the low set on April 9.Over the weekend, information began to filter throu...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday July 14.Please click...Read More
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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 14 that are worth another look.The International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) expects the prospects for global long steel products to remain satisfactory for the rest of 2021 and for 2022.The European Commission adopted on July 14...Read More
China's domestic ferro-chrome prices rose further in the week ending Tuesday July 13 after major production regions imposed tighter power restrictions, while prices for imported charge chrome followed suit amid bullish sentiment across international markets.The county of Huade in Inner Mongolia ordered a number of local smelters to halt production for 15-20 days from July 6 because they exceeded t...Read More
Investment and management company Dada Holdings has sold a portion of its stake in New Day Aluminum Holdings to Concord Resources Ltd, the companies said.The deal, for an undisclosed sum, gives the commodities merchant trader a substantially larger equity interest in New Day, which is the parent of Noranda Bauxite, Noranda Alumina and Niche Industrial Chemicals.In addition to retaining a minority...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 14 that are worth another look.The International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) expects the prospects for global long steel products to remain satisfactory for the rest of 2021 and for 2022.The European Commission adopted on July 14...Read More
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
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies and...Read More