South Korea's Public Procurement Service (PPS) has awarded six tenders in June totaling 12,000 tonnes, according to a notice from the state agency.The tonnage is the highest volume awarded in a single month according to Fastmarkets' records dating back to June 2018. The two most recent tenders for London Metal Exchange-registered brands of high-grade aluminium ingot were both awarded to Sorin Corp...Read More
Chinese battery materials producer GEM's subsidiary company will invest in a battery-grade high-purity nickel and cobalt salts project with an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes in Jinmen, Hubei province, the company announced on Wednesday June 30.Jinmen GEM High-purity Chemical Material, subsidiary of GEM, will invest 310 million yuan ($48 million) into the project to form production lines using r...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate moved down in Southern Europe in the week to Wednesday June 30, with buyers holding back from making deals for substantial volumes, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe was ?,?980-1,020 ($1,164-1,212) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?10-40 per tonne from ?,?1,020-1,030 per tonne a week e...Read More
Steel market participants in Europe expect the European Commission (EC) to begin an anti-dumping investigation into imports of hot-rolled coil from India now that a complaint has been filed, they told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 1.Two market sources said that European steel industry association Eurofer has lodged a complaint with the EC in order to start an anti-dumping investigation.Eurofer decl...Read More
The price of steel billet exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States via the Black Sea fell further on Thursday July 1, due to an ongoing lack of interest from buyers in most destinations.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was calculated at $625 per tonne on July 1, down by $5 per tonne day on day.An offer from one Ukrainian producer was heard...Read More
Domestic prices for steel wire rod stabilized at high levels in the week to Wednesday, despite softer buying, supported by limited availability, high scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets on June 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?840-870 ($998-1,033) per tonne on June 30, widening down from ?,?850-870 per tonne de...Read More
The Turkish long steel export market remained quiet this week, keeping prices stable, market participants said on Thursday July 1.Long steelmakers in the country continued to offer rebar for exports at $730-750 per tonne fob on actual weight basis.There was only one small export trade heard in the week to July 1. A...Read More
Following a three-month consultation, Fastmarkets has adjusted its iron ore index methodology to increase the transparency and predictability of its process for incorporating "floating price" information.This follows a proposal made in April for the refinement of the methodology to include data on floating prices - whereby the transaction price is determined by the index that a particular cargo is...Read More
The United Kingdom has extended safeguard measures against imported steel for three years - until June 30, 2024 - the UK Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) said on June 30."The tariff-rate quota is an extension of the tariff-rate quota imposed by the European Union on behalf of the United Kingdom and other countries or territories that had effect in the United...Read More
Turkish billet import prices fell slightly in the week to June 1 due to limited demand for the material, market sources said.Prices for steel billet exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) softened earlier in the week on lack of support from buyers.Suppliers in the CIS region were offering billet...Read More
Brazilian exports of iron ore rose by 12.19% in June this year compared with the corresponding month of 2020, despite Vale closing down part of a large complex in southeastern Brazil, according to data published by the country's economy ministry on Thursday July 1.Iron ore exports totaled 33.68 million tonnes in June, up from 30.02 million tonnes a year before, the data showed.Vale, which is Brazi...Read More
Turkish steel mills have continued their deep-sea scrap purchases at fairly stable prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 1.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 14,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (95:5) at $504.50 per tonne cfr. This was the third deep-sea deal heard so far this week, with another two...Read More
Coking coal prices diverged on Thursday July 1, with cfr prices reversing amid expectations of easing domestic supply tightness in July and fob prices continuing to increase due to restocking demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $191.80 per tonne, up $1.48 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $306.59 per tonne, down $0.94 per tonneHard...Read More
Iron ore prices went up on Thursday July 1 and there was market chatter about a crude steel production limit for 2021 in certain Chinese provinces, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $219.32 per tonne, up $5.24 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $221.75 per tonne, up $3.90 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $182.51 per...Read More
Chinese steel mills in several provinces have been instructed to lower their production rates this week for environmental reasons, thereby reducing demand for raw materials, sources said on Thursday July 1."The production cuts are not limited to the Tangshan area now. Mills in Anhui, Shandong, Zhejiang, Hunan, Shanxi, and Gansu provinces have all received instructions to keep their production rate...Read More
Indonesia - the world's biggest tin exporter - is imposing a partial lockdown from July 3 to July 20 due to the country's surge in Covid-19 infections.The lockdown will begin just days after neighboring Malaysia - the world's second-biggest tin exporter - extended its pandemic-related lockdown, which was supposed to end on June 28.Both lockdowns come during an acute global shortage of tin that has...Read More
Japanese scrap export prices continued to increase over the past week on strengthening demand for high-grade material in Japan and South Korea, sources told Fastmarkets."Korean and Japanese mills want the premier grades so the gap between H2 and Shindachi and heavy scrap (HS) keeps rising," a Japanese scrap trader said on Wednesday June 30.Offers for Shindachi busheling were heard at ?62,200-62,3...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China extended their gains on Thursday July 1, with sustained expectations of production curbs in the second half of 2021 sending HRC futures to their highest in two weeks.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,460-5,500 yuan ($845-851) per tonne, up by 40 yuan per tonne from 5,420-5,460 yuan. The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose to - 5...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices picked up on Thursday July 1 on early gains in the futures market, though market participants have expressed some pessimism following the release of data showing new orders in the construction industry falling in June. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,880-4,900 yuan ($755-758) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneWhile the purchasing managers' index for business activ...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 1 that are worth another look.Brazilian exports of iron ore rose by 12.19% in June this year compared with the corresponding month of 2020, despite Vale closing down part of a large complex in southeastern Brazil, according to...Read More