Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 30 that are worth another look.BHP announced in 2018 that the depletion of its 80-million-tonnes-per-year Yandi mine in its Western Australia iron ore operations would begin from the second half of 2021. Fastmarkets explores how the low-grade fines landscape...Read More
Copper stocks in Shanghai bonded warehouses rose to a 23-month high in the month of June as a result of a closed arbitrage window between London and Shanghai.During the same period, aluminium and zinc stocks in the bonded zone fell, while the stock level for nickel edged slightly higher.Copper inventories at 23-month highThe rise in Shanghai bonded copper stocks came despite a pick-up in spot acti...Read More
German steel maker Thyssenkrupp is to replace its four blast furnaces and switch to a system based on direct-reduction of raw material using hydrogen by 2025, the company announced on Tuesday June 29, following a visit by federal government ministers.The company confirmed that it will gradually replace the blast furnaces with direct-reduction plants fueled by green hydrogen, each able to melt soli...Read More
Antofagasta has agreed to supply four major Chinese smelters with copper concentrates in the first half of 2022, with a treatment charge in the mid-$50s, Fastmarkets understands.The Chilean copper miner and representatives from China Copper, Jiangxi Copper, Tongling Nonferrous and Jinchuan Group held meetings for three days since Monday, sources said, with an agreement finally reached on the eveni...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday June 30.Key drivers Trading activity is in stasis, with market participants considering the potential impact of the recently announced export duties on ferro-alloys from Russia, which are effective from August 1 until the end of the year. A few small deals were reported for both alloy and scrap within the current price ranges. Ferro...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices remained flat on Wednesday June 30 on weak demand while the futures price gained.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,860-4,880 yuan ($752-755) per tonne, unchanged day on dayThe purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the steel industry was 45.1 points in June, down by 1 point from May, according to the China Federation...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat on Wednesday June 30, with mills continuing to struggle to obtain feedstock material, sources have 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 June 30, unchanged week on week.Hot rolled coil, the feedstock for hollow sections,...Read More
European steel H-beam prices remained stable on Wednesday June 30, with mill-led price increases slowing ahead of the summer break, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,030-1,050 ($1,226-1,250) per tonne on June 30, unchanged week on week.This is the second week of price stability after a period of consistent w...Read More
A shipment of 4,000 tonnes of imported scrap booked by major Chinese steelmaker Hebei Iron & Steel (HBIS) cleared customs checks at Jingtang port in Tangshan, Hebei in early June, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 30. This is their second cargo of Japanese heavy scrap (HS) since China officially eased restrictions on scrap imports in January 2021. Their first cargo of 2,092 tonnes cleared...Read More
Australia-listed IGO Ltd has completed a transaction to form a new lithium joint venture with Chinese lithium producer Tianqi Lithium over the latter's Australian lithium assets, the company said on Wednesday June 30.In December 2020, the companies signed an initial investment agreement which saw Tianqi's wholly-owned subsidiary Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia Pty Ltd (TLEA) bring in IGO as a stra...Read More
With the Chinese government setting 2030 as the target for China's carbon emissions to peak and 2060 for it to achieve carbon neutrality, the country's steel sector will have to change the way it does business.Fastmarkets speaks to market participants for their views on what these changes might be, and what challenges lie ahead.1. Reduce hot metal productionReducing hot metal output - such as via...Read More
Seven creditors have sued a Chinese warehousing and logistics firm to claim a loss of copper concentrate worth 1.073 billion yuan ($166 million), according to several court documents, the latest of which was released on June 23. Dalian Container Terminal Co Ltd (DCTL) allegedly delivered a total 925,000 tonnes of copper concentrates without the consent of the seven companies that had provided cred...Read More
All prices on the London Metal Exchange except for copper finished the day on June 29 at higher prices than Monday, with lead showing the biggest gains and setting a new year-to-date high, and aluminium up by 2.5%.Copper was the only price to close lower on Tuesday, falling 0.6% to $9,334.50 per tonne from Monday's $9,388 per tonne. The three-month price of lead rose by 3.2% to $2,305 per ton...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday June 29 that are worth another look....Read More
Tin demand is likely to exceed 400,000 tonnes per year by 2025, while supplies from greenfield projects and recycled material are not expected to keep pace, leading to a deficit over the next decade, according to the International Tin Association (ITA).At an ITA seminar on Tuesday June 29, delegates heard that tin demand for 2020 was calculated at 355,200 tonnes, with more than 50% being used for...Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday June 29 and their latest price moves.China Several major producers in Inner Mongolia stopped offering ferro-chrome in the spot market due to supply tightness amid power restrictions adding to bullish sentiment. Domestic spot ferro-chrome offer prices surged prior to an expected increase in upcoming Jul...Read More
The European ferro-titanium and titanium scrap markets may be set to push higher in the coming months after news that Russia will impose an export tax on ferro-alloys between August 1 and December 31 this year, according to industry sources.Europe imported around 1,500 tonnes of ferro-titanium per month on average from Russia in the past three years, including Scandinavia and Turkey, with 1,700-1,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday June 29 that are worth another look....Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico's steelmaking regions of Monterrey and Baj?-o were mostly stable week on week while demand remained high, according to several sources.Few changes were reported during the past week, with prices appearing to stabilize at currently high levels. There were reports of some buyers adjusting their prices upward for some grades in the region near the northeastern Monterrey...Read More
Turkish steel mills picked up their activity in the deep-sea scrap markets with a fresh UK cargo sold at fairly stable prices, market participants said on Tuesday June 29.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked the UK cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 10,000 tonnes of shredded and 10,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $505.50 per tonne cfr. The cargo is scheduled to be...Read More