High freight rates are pushing prices along the aluminium supply chain to multi-year highs, but there is one area where it is having the opposite effect: alumina.Alumina prices have been under pressure because of oversupply and high freight costs deterring buyers in China from importing despite low prices.Fastmarkets assessed its daily benchmark alumina index, fob Australia at $274.15 per tonne on...Read More
Market chatter about China possibly imposing new export taxes for steel as part of commodity price cooling measures has been rampant in the past week, causing traders and market participants to re-think their trading strategies, and overseas buyers to consider a potential supply shortfall.The taxes are supposed to take place from June 1, but there has been no official statement by China's Ministry...Read More
The three-month prices of zinc and lead were the only ones to rise on Tuesday May 25, while other futures contracts on the London Metal Exchange ended the day lower, with consolidation continuing in the base-metals complex.The price of the galvanizing metal rose to $2,982.50 per tonne from Monday's 5pm price of $2,948.50 per tonne. One week earlier, zinc had reached its latest year-to-date high at...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Tuesday May 25, on support from a trading activity recovery in the physical market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $192.87 per tonne, up $0.45 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $194.49 per tonne, up $0.62 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $165.02 per tonne, up $1.55 per tonne65% Fe...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly positive on the morning of Tuesday May 25, with only SHFE lead showing significant weakness. Broader markets seem to have become more risk on again after US central bankers stuck to their dovish guidance.Asia-Pacific equities were firmer this morning, especially in China where government action has calmed inf...Read More
The price of containerized shredded steel scrap imported into India decreased this week on softer demand that was a result of the wave of Covid-19 cases sweeping much of the country, as well as weaker steel prices in China, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday May 25.Fastmarkets' steel scrap shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $510.93 per tonne on Tuesday, down from $517.88 per tonne in t...Read More
Fastmarkets has increased the frequency of its India steel scrap shredded index to twice-weekly from Tuesday May 25, 2021, following a consultation period which ended on May 20.The steel scrap shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, has been subject to continuous fluctuations in the market as a result of factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the global shipping crisis.This means that...Read More
The three-month prices of zinc and lead were the only ones to rise on Tuesday May 25, while other futures contracts on the London Metal Exchange ended the day lower, with consolidation continuing in the base-metals complex.The price of the galvanizing metal rose to $2,982.50 per tonne from Monday's 5pm price of $2,948.50 per tonne. One week earlier, zinc had reached its latest year-to-date high at...Read More
Chilean copper producer Codelco has agreed a 36-month labor deal with unions representing management and employees at its headquarters in Santiago the state-run company said on Monday May 24.The world's largest copper producing company had offered no pay rises, but a bonus of 1.5 million Chilean pesos ($2,068) for those agreeing to the labor deal."The successful negotiation adds to [other] deals r...Read More
"Pricing power" was again one of the hot topics at this year's LME Asia Metals Seminar on Tuesday May 25, with several panelists talking about China's position in the global base metals markets.The East Asian country is the world's major consumer of many commodities, notably base metals, and it should have more pricing power, panelists said, with the global commodity pricing center shifting gradua...Read More
Italian flat steel re-roller Marcegaglia is among a group of companies investing in a hydrogen-powered "green" flat steel plant in Boden, Sweden, to be by built by H2 Green Steel (H2GS), it was announced on Tuesday May 25.H2GS has successfully closed its Series A equity financing of $105 million from a select group of investors. These include Altor Fund V, Ane & Robert Maersk Uggla, Bilstein Group...Read More
Steel rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates continued to rise in the week to Tuesday, May 25 on improving demand, while imported steel billet prices fell due to a lack of interest, sources told Fastmarkets.After securing steel billet volumes in the week to May 18, rebar producers were said to have enough in stock to last for more than a month, so were no longer interested in making further book...Read More
The price of containerized shredded steel scrap imported into India decreased this week on softer demand that was a result of the wave of Covid-19 cases sweeping much of the country, as well as weaker steel prices in China, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday May 25.Fastmarkets' steel scrap shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, was $510.93 per tonne on Tuesday, down from $517.88 per tonne in t...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil export prices fell significantly on Tuesday May 25, following the recent sharp decline in domestic prices and the resulting uptick in sales.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,430-5,440 yuan ($848-850) per tonne,down by 10 yuan per tonneSellers cut domestic HRC prices slightly on Tuesday to encourage higher sales volumes following futures losses, sources said.Stockists plan...Read More
Fastmarkets has increased the frequency of its India steel scrap shredded index to twice-weekly from Tuesday May 25, 2021, following a consultation period which ended on May 20.The steel scrap shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, has been subject to continuous fluctuations in the market as a result of factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the global shipping crisis.This means that...Read More
Turkish steel mills skipped the second working day of the week with no deep-sea bookings amid negative signals from the Chinese steel industry, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 25.The most recent deep-sea transactions were done at the end of the last week, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a mixed cargo from the Europe at an average price of $516 per tonne cfr. T...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly positive on the morning of Tuesday May 25, with only SHFE lead showing significant weakness. Broader markets seem to have become more risk on again after US central bankers stuck to their dovish guidance.Asia-Pacific equities were firmer this morning, especially in China where government action has calmed inf...Read More
The United States is "deep in conversations" to determine how the federal government can support the growth of electric vehicles (EVs), the country's Secretary of Transportation said.The country's goal of reducing carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030 is helping to drive this collaboration, according to Secretary Pete Buttigieg."We're deep in conversations about how to support the EV revolution...Read More
A summary of Australian lithium miner Orocobre's results for the first quarter of 2021, released on Monday May 24.In briefSales of lithium carbonate salts from the Olaroz facility in Argentina totaled 3,032 tonnes during the January-March quarter, with the average realized price rising by more than 50% compared with...Read More
Rio Tinto and Slovakia-based battery company InoBat have signed a memorandum of understanding to accelerate the establishment of a battery manufacturing and recycling value chain in Serbia, the United Kingdom-listed miner said.The partnership will cover the full commodity life-cycle of lithium from mining through to recycling, it noted.The agreement comes at the same time as Rio Tinto is poised to...Read More