Several steelmakers in China stopped issuing export offers this week, while others sharply increased their offer prices to overseas buyers, suggesting that the Chinese government's desire to see production cuts is starting to have an impact.Steel mills, including Shandong Iron & Steel and Yingkou Medium Plate Co, have issued no export offers this week, with limited availability forcing them to pri...Read More
Coal exports from Australia's Queensland state fell 2% year on year in June, according to data from the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corp and Gladstone Ports Corp.Queensland, the country's metallurgical coal hub, exported 18.02 million tonnes of coal - including some thermal coal - in June, down from 18.43 million tonnes shipped in June 2020, according to the latest data from the two port operators...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
Flat-rolled steel import prices increased in South America during the week ended Friday July 16 amid higher freight rates from China and the first deals for September-shipment cargoes of Brazilian and Japanese origin, market participants told Fastmarkets."Freight from China... was heard to be still rising. This is creating big headaches for traders," a mill source said.A vessel shortage and less b...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices were unchanged on Friday July 16, with most producers in a wait-and-see mode amid high prices for flat steel in the United States and falling slab prices in other regions.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $975-995 per tonne on July 16, stable from the previous week.Slab sellers were optimistic about the US market, sinc...Read More
Production at Koniambo Nickel SAS (KNS) in New Caledonia has been disrupted by protesters, a Glencore spokesperson confirmed to Fastmarkets.Le Figaro newspaper had reported the disruption on Thursday July 15, citing a statement issued by KNS owners Glencore and Soci?(C)t?(C) Mini??re du Sud Pacifique SA (SMSP).The site was placed "on standby," with production...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Declan...Read More
Tin's three-month price reached a new all-time peak on the London Metal Exchange on Friday July 16, with supply concerns from Southeast Asia - due to the spread of the delta variant of Covid-19 - also supporting most prices.Tin's benchmark futures price has jumped by 63% since the start of the year, when the metal was priced $20,735 per tonne. It closed at $33,600 per tonne on Friday, a 1.4% gain...Read More
Iron ore prices mostly edged downward on Friday July 16 under the influence of increasing inventory at China's ports despite reduced shipments.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $221.43 per tonne, down by $0.66 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $223.39 per tonne, down by $0.36 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $181.57 per tonne, down by $0.49...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were firm in the cfr market on Friday July 16 despite quiet trading. Offers for September loaded cargoes rose but the fob coking coal market also remained stable, sources said.Prices for seaborne pulverized coal injection (PCI) inched up in the cfr market in the week to July 16 due to tight supply for high quality resources from Russia. The fob market continued to incre...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in London on Friday, July 16.Key drivers Vanadium product prices increased in the week to Friday July 16, with producers and traders increasing offers rapidly due to widespread violence in South Africa, sparked by the jailing of former South African president Jacob Zuma. Following the riots, major ports of Durban and Richards Bay have been disrupted by da...Read More
The Turkish steel mills continued to limit their deep-sea scrap bookings due to weak finished steel sales, while the downturn in the country had a knock-on effect on prices in the global markets.Turkish mills restrict deep-sea purchases to put downward pressure on pricesSummer slowdown hits US export marketCovid-19 pandemic shuts down local long steel and scrap markets in VietnamDomestic supply ti...Read More
The benchmark A380.1 secondary aluminium alloy price crept higher on Thursday July 15, while strong demand and limited supply for A413.1 pushed that price up to parity with 356.1.Fastmarkets assessed the price for aluminium alloy A380.1, delivered Midwest at $1.18-1.20 per lb on July 15, up by 0.85% from $1.17-1.19 per lb on July 8 and at its highest in nearly 10 years.Some producers have not quot...Read More
Continued demand for aluminium scrap in the United States boosted prices of some grades of material week on week, but difficulties in finding labor and shipping containers - as well as rising ingot manufacturing costs - put pressure on the wider market.Fastmarkets' assessment of the buying prices for mixed low copper clips, delivered Midwest secondary smelters, mixed high copper clips, delive...Read More
The US aluminium billet premium soared on Friday July 16, supplanting the all-time high set in the previous assessment despite limited spot activity while market participants await the impact of the looming Russian export tax set to take effect next month.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, delivered Midwest US at 21-25 cents per lb on July 16, up by 6.98% from 20-23...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang, and Sybil...Read More
Tin's three-month price reached a new all-time peak on the London Metal Exchange on Friday July 16, with supply concerns from Southeast Asia - due to the spread of the delta variant of Covid-19 - also supporting most prices.Tin's benchmark futures price has jumped by 63% since the start of the year, when the metal was priced $20,735 per tonne. It closed at $33,600 per tonne on Friday, a 1.4% gain...Read More
Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) paid for copper concentrates became noticeably firmer over the past week, with smelters pressing home their negotiating advantage for the few cargoes that traded.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific, was calculated at $47.40 per tonne/4.74 cents per lb for the week to Friday July 16, up from $42.40...Read More
European copper maker Aurubis announced on Friday July 16 that it has declared force majeure on its Stolberg operations, being unable to deliver or accept incoming deliveries following floods in the valley where the site is located. Aurubis Stolberg manufactures semi-finished products made of copper and copper alloys, including high-precision strip and wire made for industrial applications, such a...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet climbed to new records, with cold roll catapulting above the $100-per-hundredweight ($2,000-per-short-ton) milestone for the first time ever.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US jumped to $101 per cwt ($2,020 per ton) on Thursday July 15 from $98.50 per cwt ($1,970 per ton) on July 8. The assessment has now g...Read More