Turkish long steel producer Ekinciler Demir ve ??elik San AS is one step closer to being a value-added steel producer with its new billet caster, the company told Fastmarkets on Tuesday July 6.The new billet casting line will enable the company to produce higher-quality billet to be used for high- and low-carbon wire rod, seamless pipe, angles, IPN- and HBN-grade sections production. These ar...Read More
Italian steelmaker AFV Beltrame will invest ?,?300 million ($355 million) in a greenfield steel rebar and wire rod facility in Romania that will focus on limiting the environmental impact of its steelmaking activities, the company said on Wednesday July 7.Specifically, the project is hoped to have the lowest emissions of any steel plant in the world in terms of greenhouse gases and suspended dust...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board this morning, Wednesday July 7, suggesting dip buying after Tuesday's weakness that saw copper, aluminium and nickel fall by 2%, or more.Tuesday's drop in the ISM services purchasing managers index (PMI) to 60.1, from 64, was partly blamed for the day's weaker markets......as was the jump in the US Dollar IndexBase metalsLME...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 7 that are worth another look.Automotive production in Brazil rose by 69.58% in June over the corresponding month in 2020, on the industry's recovery from stoppages called during the Covid-19 pandemic last year, automakers' association Anfavea said on July 7....Read More
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe and in Italy were largely stable on Wednesday July 7 at high levels, despite a market slowdown and increased availability of the material, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers have been holding back from making new deals, preferring instead to take the time to assess the price trend before making orders for material that would be delivered at...Read More
China's new trend pf setting out unwritten rules for its commodities industries and communicating them verbally will be a key method to watch out for in the future, market sources told Fastmarkets."Unofficial communications to steel mills are increasingly [coming] via provincial and township authorities [and are], not written out clearly as announcements," an iron ore trader in eastern China told...Read More
The strong ferro-chrome market in Asia and high consumption rates in Europe continued to support Europe's ferro-chrome markets in the week ending July 6.Indian ferro-chrome producers preferred to ramp up their offer prices into Europe rather than compete for sales, which supported prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 60-64.9% Cr, max 3% Si, cif Europe r...Read More
Xinfa group's alumina refinery in Xiaoyi city, Shanxi province closed an operation line with a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year last week due to a bauxite shortage, several sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 7.The refinery has a total capacity of 3.6 million tonnes and has run at full capacity since May.Xin'an Chemical alumina refinery, a subsidy of Hangzhou Jinjiang group located i...Read More
Prices in the China ferro-chrome market rose further during the week to Tuesday July 6, as a result of higher alloy tender prices being released and indications the market is tightening under electricity restrictions in key producing regions.Stainless steel producer Tsingshan Group raised its tender price for July-delivery high-carbon ferro-chrome by 950 yuan ($146.80) per tonne, or 12.76%, to 8,3...Read More
Spot prices for standard and alloy grade cobalt have continued to trend higher since the beginning of this week, driven by aggressive offers and a pickup in end-user demand in Europe and the United States, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday July 7.Available spot units remained in tight hands, with producers' availability low and traders holding back their offers in expectation of further price increas...Read More
Turkish steel mills returned to the deep-sea scrap import markets with a flurry of bookings from the Baltic Sea and the United States, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 7.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a cargo from the US, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $498 per tonne cfr.And in the Marmara region, a steel mill also booked a US cargo, comprising HMS 1&...Read More
China's new trend pf setting out unwritten rules for its commodities industries and communicating them verbally will be a key method to watch out for in the future, market sources told Fastmarkets."Unofficial communications to steel mills are increasingly [coming] via provincial and township authorities [and are], not written out clearly as announcements," an iron ore trader in eastern China told...Read More
Prices rose in the Commonwealth of Independent States' export billet market in the week to Wednesday July 7 on limited offers from major suppliers and high deals in the week, sources told Fastmarkets.Market participants reported offers from Ukrainian mills at $650 per tonne fob Black Sea, up from $630-640 per tonne one week previously.Russian mills, particularly large mills, held back on exporting...Read More
Trading activity in the Iranian export steel billet market was quiet in the week to Wednesday July 7 because most mills have not finalized their tenders yet.Several market participants confirmed that Sirjan Jahan Steel was selling 20,000 tonnes of billet at $609 per tonne fob southern Iranian ports late last week, $1 per tonne lower than was reported earlier.Other mills kept their tenders open, in...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat on Wednesday July 7 because stocks are replenished following the renewed import quota, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,370-1,420 ($1,631-1,690) per tonne on July 7, unchanged week on week.Hot rolled coil, the feedstock for hollow sections, remain...Read More
Europe's third-quarter steel import quotas opened on Thursday July 1, but already some suppliers have absorbed a large proportion of the long steel allocation, repeating a similar scenario from the previous quarter.As a result, European independent traders and downstream steel users are once again left with no alternative to domestically produced steel and surging prices, sources told Fastmarkets....Read More
Steel H-beam prices in Europe moved up on Wednesday July 7, with mills continuing to achieve higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,050-1,070 ($1,244-1,267)per tonne on July 7, up from ?,?1,030-1,050 per tonne on June 30.Some mills have now started their August bookings, while others were preparing...Read More
Mexican automotive production increased by 5.52% year on year in June, according to figures released by national automotive association Amia on Wednesday July 7. The country produced 263,955 light vehicles last month, compared with 250,158 units a year earlier. Still, June's output was 23.01% lower than the 342,854 units produced in the same month of 2019. "There is...Read More
Automotive production in Brazil rose by 69.58% in June over the corresponding month in 2020, on the industry's recovery from stoppages called during the Covid-19 pandemic last year, automakers' association Anfavea said on Wednesday July 7.The figure was lower month on month, however, and supply disruptions have led Anfavea to reduce its estimate for the sector's full-year 2021 performance.Vehicle...Read More
All the world's major coking coal importers reduced their purchases in 2020 amid steel production cuts and lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.China, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and India imported a total of 217.76 million tonnes of coking coal last year, down by 10.1% from 2019....Read More