Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More
Brazilian apparent steel consumption fell by 5.95% in October, from the same month in 2020, largely influenced by lower domestic shipments of flat steel from mills, according to data published by the steelmakers' association, Instituto A??o Brasil, on Friday November 19.Apparent consumption totaled 1.96 million tonnes during the month, down from 2.09 million tonnes a year before, A??o Brasil said....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
A large gap between bids and offers for deep-sea steel scrap imported into South Korea has blocked any chance of deals for the material in the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 19.South Korean mills reduce bid pricesTokyo Steel announces drop in domestic scrap buy pricesMajor steelmakers in China lower local scrap buy prices again; buyers' interest for imports minimalSouth Kor...Read More
The United Kingdom inter-merchant light iron steel scrap spot price was steady for the third consecutive week on Friday November 19, but strong demand is expected to push up prices by the end of the month against relatively tight supply, trade sources said.The UK market is at its highest level so far this year and any move up to ?200 ($270) per tonne would be the first time the British market has...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
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
Slab export prices from Brazil remained stable in the week to Friday November 19, amid an ongoing tug of war between producers and sellers on prices for January-shipment batches.Few volumes are available in the spot market, but uncertainty in most steel markets are leading negotiations to a deadlock.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil was $730-760 per...Read More
Crude steel output in Germany increased by 7% year on year in October, the German steel federation, WV Stahl, said on Friday November 19.German crude steel production totaled 3.66 million tonnes in October, up from 3.42 million tonnes in October last year.Steel output from Germany's basic oxygen furnaces - mainly used in the production of flat steel - rose by 13.2% year on year to...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
Production of key battery raw materials cobalt and nickel will remain tight and will pose challenges to the electrification of transport, panelists said on Monday November 15 during Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference in Prague."This year was really the first year that we saw a step change in nickel demand caused by demand from the electric vehicles (EV) sector and we saw nickel con...Read More
Italian domestic steel scrap prices increased in the month to Tuesday November 16, supported by a combination of reduced supply and strong demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Month-on-month comparison prices have recovered by about ?,?10 ($11) per tonne. But market sources said that, taking into account that scrap prices dropped in the second half of October, the recovery since the start of Nove...Read More
The logistics of a cluster of copper mines in western Canada have been disrupted by extreme weather conditions in the province of British Columbia (BC) this week, Fastmarkets has learnt."All transportation routes, rails and highways, to the interior of the province are closed due to washouts and [land]slides," one Canadian miner source said on Thursday November 18.The province declared a state of...Read More
Base metal futures prices on the London Metal Exchange were largely up at the 5pm close on Thursday November 18, with tin reaching a new all-time high.The three-month tin price closed at $38,453 per tonne, a rise of 1.2% from $37,975 per tonne at the 5pm close on Wednesday. This marks a new all-time high for the soldering metals three-month price, with the previous record being $38,330 on October...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More
Chinese exporters of ammonium paratungstate (APT) kept their spot offers unchanged in the week to Wednesday November 17 amid slow conditions after foreign buyers took to the sidelines upon noticing weakness in China's domestic market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for tungsten APT 88.5% WO3 min, fob main ports China was $313-319 per metric tonne unit (mtu) on Wednesday, unchanged from a week...Read More
Chinese nickel sulfate producers face difficult annual contract negotiations for 2022, with upstream miners taking an aggressive stance while downstream battery precursor material producers are hinting at lower demand amid plans to implement integrated operations.The Chinese nickel sulfate price has undergone considerable volatility in 2021, climbing in August to its highest since Fastmarkets bega...Read More
Production of key battery raw materials cobalt and nickel will remain tight and will pose challenges to the electrification of transport, panelists said on Monday November 15 during Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference in Prague."This year was really the first year that we saw a step change in nickel demand caused by demand from the electric vehicles (EV) sector and we saw nickel con...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More