The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has announced that John Glen MP, economic secretary to the UK Treasury, will be the guess speaker at the annual dinner during LME Week this year.Glen was first elected to parliament as MP for Salisbury in 2010 and has held his current position as economic secretary to the Treasury since January 2018.LME Week is due to take place face to face this year in London starting f...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
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
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: SHFE tailwind for LME pricesAs we are entering the traditional strong demand season, we expect Chinese aluminium demand to show further recovery, and we expect demand from existing end-user sectors, new infrastructure projects and the export sector to show some increases. As a result, we believe that S...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
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
Steel scrap import prices into China remained steady despite supplies of domestic scrap being tightened by the rainy season in the north and by high temperatures in the south, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 15.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China, which takes into account prices at ports in eastern China, was $530-540 per tonne o...Read More
Prices on the London Metal Exchange picked up on the morning of Thursday July 15, building on momentum from the early Asian trading session after the release of positive economic data out of China. Global investors remain confident that economic growth in China is relatively robust, even though its second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) showed signs of slowing with a 7.9% year-on-year uptick,...Read More
Packaging company Ball Corporation is planning to build new plants in western Russia and in the East Midlands region of the UK, adding billions more cans per year to existing capacity from 2023, the company has said.Ball is based in the US state of Colorado. It said that increasing consumer demand for more sustainable purchasing options, and the adoption of cans by a growing number of new brands a...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
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
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
Demand for steel rebar and billet in Egypt was subdued in the week to Thursday July 15 because buyers preferred to wait until after the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday before conducting new business, sources told Fastmarkets.Eid al-Adha is expected to take place next week and market participants did not want to make any bookings before the four-and-a-half-day religious holiday.At the same time, uncer...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 24.40-25.00 on...Read More
The European hot-rolled coil market remained quiet on Thursday July 15 on seasonally slow trading, with prices largely unchanged, supported by strong order books at steel mills and long lead times, sources told Fastmarkets.European buyers were still abstaining from making large bookings due to the still-high prices and sufficient stocks at most distributors. Exhausted credit lines were also limiti...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
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