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
Russia's Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) is to commission a new blast furnace (BF) to produce additional pig iron volumes to be used in its own steelmaking operations, the company told Fastmarkets this week.No pig iron sales are planned.The project, at MMK's steelmaking complex at Magnitogorsk in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia, is expected to start in July 2021, with the start-up of the fu...Read More
Iron ore prices rose on Wednesday June 30 when concerns were raised about China's overall crude steel output for 2021, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.08 per tonne, up by $1.75 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $217.85 per tonne, up by $2.91 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $180.95 per tonne, up by $1.33 per t...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
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 will adapt to the loss of this key brand. 1. How will the market move forward? Some traders believe the depletion of the Yandi mine will most likely prompt market participa...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
Hot-rolled coil prices across China's domestic market moved higher on Wednesday June 30, supported by futures prices that are underpinned by expectations of lower production for the rest of this year. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,420-5,460 yuan ($839-845) per tonne, up by 10-30 yuan per tonne from 5,390-5,450 yuan. The most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange resumed its r...Read More
Prices were largely unchanged on the London Metal Exchange on the morning of Wednesday June 30, with the exception of lead which continued its steady rise, reaching a new year-to-date high of $2,340 per tonne during early trading."Today is the last trading day in June," Malcom Freeman, director at Kingdom Futures Limited, said. "So the question is will the funds and speculative players who appear...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
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade 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...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...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) 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 hydroxide p...Read More
The Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonne 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...Read More
News that several major producers had withdrawn from spot trading due to supply shortages has further strengthened China's spot ferro-chrome market, sending spot prices in the week to Tuesday June 29 to their highest point since April."With continuing energy controls in Inner Mongolia in June, our production has been increasingly disrupted due to tightened power restrictions," Jietie Ferroalloy sa...Read More
Asian steel scrap imports fluctuated wildly from territory to territory in 2020, with South Korea and Bangladesh reporting decreases while Taiwan and Vietnam recorded increases.Japan, Asia's largest steel scrap supplier, exported 9.39 million tonnes of the steelmaking raw material last year - over a fifth more than in 2019.Vietnam became the single largest importer of Japanese scrap last year; at...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
CANADA DAY Pre-opening Comments for Thursday July 1stU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 5 points in pre-opening trade.Johnson & Johnson added $0.67 to $165.41 after the U.S. Surgeon General said that Johnson & Johnson's COVID 19 vaccine may protect against the Delta variant.Micron slipped $1.24 to $83.74 despite reporting highe...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday June 29 that are worth another look....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
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