Metal held outside of London Metal Exchange warehouses fell for the third month in a row to just above 1 million tonnes in May, according to data released by the LME, with the amount aluminium and copper falling by more than 10%.Across all metals, stocks fell by 140,246 tonnes through May to 1,037,379 tonnes, the latest LME off-warrant stock report shows, down from 1,177,625 tonnes in April.The bi...Read More
Prices for steel scrap in Mexico continued to rise this week, with supply remaining tight and demand for steel products positive.Mexican scrap buyers accepted price increases during the week ended Friday July 9 in order to secure supply, and some market participants expect more increases to come this week.Fastmarkets assessed the steel scrap No1 busheling, consumer buying price, delivered mill Mon...Read More
Several aluminium smelters in the western part of China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region have been subject to electricity load shifting since the end of last week due to tight power supply in the region, several sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 13.Power companies have been limiting electricity supply to these smelters every day between 7pm and 10pm, they said. The power companies have no...Read More
ArcelorMittal has announced that its Sestao plant in Spain will become a full-scale zero carbon-emissions steel plant through the use of green hydrogen and renewable electricity as part of a ?,?50 million ($59 million) investment.The elimination of scope 1 and 2 emissions under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol will be done by changing the metallic input via increasing the proportion of recycled scrap,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 13 that are worth another look.European steel association Eurofer has called for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to be balancing mechanisms without any further reductions in free...Read More
Tin set a new year-to-date high on the London Metal Exchange on the morning of Tuesday June 13, while the rest of the complex edged upwards too, with macroeconomic factors and a new wave of Covid-19 hitting metal-producing countries supporting higher prices.Tin reached $32,285 per tonne during early trading, before trimming back to $32,135 per tonne at 9am, but still higher than Monday's closing p...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States hovered within $1 of $90 per hundredweight ($1,800 per short ton) for a sixth consecutive business day after market participants reported relative stabilization around that level while spot tons continued to be in short supply. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $89.94 per cwt ($1,798.80 per ton) on Tuesday July...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally weaker this morning, Wednesday July 14, after stronger-than-expected inflation data from the United States on Tuesday raised concerns.* US consumer price index (CPI) climbed by 0.9% month on month in June, after a 0.6% rise in May* US 10-year treasury yields rebound to 1.4%, after a low of 1.25% last...Read More
Widespread violence and looting have triggered declarations of force majeure at ports in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal, threatening to stall exports of chrome and manganese.Transnet, the South African national logistics service, declared force majeure on Monday July 12 for operations at the ports of Durban and Richards Bay.The violence "has now reached proportions beyond the control of the local la...Read More
Prices in the British market for steel scrap deliveries to domestic steelmakers have increased for the third straight month, sources said on Tuesday July 13.They cited tight supplies, notably from arisings in car production, and steady exports into deep-sea markets, with unusually strong demand from the United States.Suppliers have agreed on a general increase of ?5 ($7) per tonne for scrap, alth...Read More
Turkish steel producers managed to secure lower prices from United States suppliers after continuing their deep-sea bookings at a slow pace, market sources said on Tuesday July 13. A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $485 per tonne, 20,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at $500 per tonne cfr late on Monday July 12....Read More
Iron ore prices largely went up on Tuesday July 13 after China's June imports data was released and with relatively low shipments from Australia.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.48 per tonne, up by $0.63 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $221.46 per tonne, up by $0.86 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $178.66 per tonne, down by $2.73 pe...Read More
The anchor event for Singapore International Ferrous Week (SIFW) was the Singapore Iron Ore Forum, and this offered an in-depth agenda which addressed the industry's most pressing issues, unparalleled insights into global trends shaping the iron ore sector after Covid-19, and compelling speakers who delivered fresh perspectives.In the panel discussion on Tuesday July 13 titled "Diversifying China'...Read More
Global demand for steel is growing, and major iron ore producers have made plans to increase their output capacity to keep up. Major miners were represented at a panel discussion during the Singapore International Ferrous Week 2021 on Tuesday July 13 to discuss the outlook for supply and demand.Supply outlookBHP has achieved record production of iron ore in the first nine months of its current fin...Read More
Iron ore prices largely went up on Tuesday July 13 after China's June imports data was released and with relatively low shipments from Australia.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.48 per tonne, up by $0.63 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $221.46 per tonne, up by $0.86 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $178.66 per tonne, down by $2.73 pe...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices stayed large stable in both the cfr and fob markets on Tuesday July 13 because buying interest was weak in the face of elevated offer prices, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $210.27 per tonne, down by $0.26 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $307.98 per tonne, down by $0.82 per tonneHard coking coal, f...Read More
ArcelorMittal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Spanish government that will see a ?,?1 billion ($1.19 billion) investment in decarbonization technologies at the company's Asturias plant in Gij??n, it has announced.The investments in new direct-reduction iron (DRI) and electric-arc furnace (EAF) installations in Gij??n will reduce carbon emissions from the company's Spanish o...Read More
Hebei Iron & Steel Group (HBIS), China's second-largest steelmaker, lowered its purchase price for July-delivery silico-manganese to 7,500 yuan ($1,157) per tonne, the company said on Monday July 12.The latest price is 300 yuan lower than the mill's previous purchase price of 7,800 yuan per tonne for June-delivery cargoes.HBIS' price, which applies to cargoes delivered to warehouses, includes valu...Read More
The waiting time to deliver out aluminium at Istim's London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, was 168 days at the end of June, according to the LME's latest queue report.The queue has been declining very slowly over the past few months, down from 176 days at the end of May and 199 days at the end of April. The queue has been in place since a series of large cancell...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 12 that are worth another look.A group of Brazilian construction and real estate companies received a 20,000-tonne shipment of rebar from Turkey last week, national construction industry chamber CBIC said.The waiting time...Read More