Mining and metals companies say they're serious about transitioning to a sustainable economy, but whether they can afford to is another matter.Achieving decarbonization throughout the supply chain is going to require a huge amount of investment in technology to reimagine production processes and redesign existing sites.Last week, the International Aluminium Institute estimated that to decarbonize...Read More
Importers of ferrous scrap were lured back to market in the week ended Friday November 19 by lower prices, which were precipitated by a period of lackluster buying activity.?EUR?Turkish mills' import prices rebounded by the week's end after deals at lower prices?EUR?US sales halted with exporters reluctant to reduce their selling prices?EUR?Vietnamese buyers were actively seeking more material aft...Read More
Handan city, a major steelmaking hub in northern China's Hebei province, has issued production curbs on key sectors for the rest of 2021 to fight against air pollution during the smog-prone winter heating season. From Thursday November 18 until the end of the year, steel mills in the city are required to cut their blast furnace (BF) production by up to 100%, depending on the grades assigned to the...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday November 19.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed, but largely up at the 5pm close on Friday November 19, after a week of choppy trading."We seem to be following a similar pattern to last week," Marex LME desk analyst Alastair Munro said."Macro-inspired weakness during the first part of the week has given way to a bout of short-covering [activity] into the weekend," he added.The three-mon...Read More
Further deals for resale cargoes of 3sp blast furnace (BF) steel billet into the Southeast Asian markets have damped sentiment in the region for new production billet, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 19.Several hundred thousand tonnes of diverted cargo, some of which was already on the water and required very prompt shipment, have been offered into Southeast Asian countries in recent w...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and the latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila Ouerghi,...Read More
The seaborne low-volatility pulverized coal injection (PCI) cfr price fell further in the week to November 19 amid weak demand; seaborne coking coal prices in both the cfr and fob markets also inched down on Friday.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $422.68 per tonne, down $1.16 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $348.75 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, f...Read More
Brazilian aluminium maker Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) expects demand for extrusion billet, its most important primary product, to remain steady - at least - during 2022, after significant growth was reported in 2021, head of primary aluminium division Alexandre Vianna said on Friday November 19.A surge in the country's billet consumption came alongside heated construction market, which...Read More
Bulk freight rates for key steel products have receded over recent weeks amid shrinking port congestion in China and improved vessel availability, sources have told Fastmarkets.A slowdown in Chinese commodity imports, coming at a time of crashing steel prices in the country, has allowed congestion at the country's ports to unwind in recent weeks, markets participants said.Freight rates first dropp...Read More
Eastern China's rebar prices increased slightly on Friday November 19 following futures' gains due to heightened market expectations that banks will loosen loans to housing companies.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,670-4,710 yuan ($732-738) per tonne, up by 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 4,440-4,480 yuan per tonne, down by 80-120 yuan per tonneMarket participa...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China continued to edge lower on Friday November 19, while futures prices rose sharply in the last trading hour before the closing bell.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,630-4,680 yuan ($725-733) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan) weekly assessment: 4,600-4,650 yuan per tonne, down by 280-300 yuan per tonneSpot HRC prices in east...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and the latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila Ouerghi,...Read More
Sellers of physical copper are holding out for a higher premium for 2022 contracts in the United States.No major deals were reported by the end of the American Copper Council (ACC) fall meeting in Miami, Florida this past week, although there was talk of a US copper premium in the 10-cents-per-lb range.In the US, Fastmarkets assessed the copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US at 8-9 cents...Read More
The three-month copper contract is trading near record highs on the London Metal Exchange, cash prices are rising even faster, and inventories are descending toward zero. Try running a hedge book in those conditions.It's been a very real quandary facing the physical trade and industry, which awoke on Tuesday October 19 to find copper's cash to November spread had flared to a backwardation of more...Read More
Eastern China's rebar prices increased slightly on Friday November 19 following futures' gains due to heightened market expectations that banks will loosen loans to housing companies.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,670-4,710 yuan ($732-738) per tonne, up by 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 4,440-4,480 yuan per tonne, down by 80-120 yuan per tonneMarket participa...Read More
The price of secondary steel billet in the Indian domestic market fell by 1,500 rupees ($20) per tonne over the week ended Friday November 19, with demand for semi-finished materials slowing down in line with a sharp fall in demand and prices for finished steel products.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel billet, domestic, exw India, at 41,700-41,900 rupees ($562-565) per tonne on November 19...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Jessica Long, Zihao Li and...Read More
China's nickel pig iron (NPI) prices declined in the week to Friday November 19 amid bearish sentiment in the domestic stainless steel market, though those for nickel ore held steady.Fastmarkets assessed prices for nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China was 1,460-1,490 yuan ($229-233) per tonne on Friday, down by 10-20 yuan per tonne from 1,480-1,500 yuan per tonne a week...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed, but largely up at the 5pm close on Friday November 19, after a week of choppy trading."We seem to be following a similar pattern to last week," Marex LME desk analyst Alastair Munro said."Macro-inspired weakness during the first part of the week has given way to a bout of short-covering [activity] into the weekend," he added.The three-mon...Read More