Ferro-vanadium and ferro-niobium prices both climbed by more than 4% in the week ended Friday May 21 due to tightening prompt supply in Europe at a time when spot market activity has started to increase. The availability of both the alloys in Europe has been tight since the second half of 2020 because China has been importing large volumes of material amid a better demand outlook than in Euro...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 24 that are worth another look.Demand for ferrous scrap imported to South Korea has shown a notable recovery in recent months amid healthy steel demand and rising steel output in the East Asian nation.Key Chinese commodities companies have been warned that they...Read More
Some base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange bounced back on Monday May 24 aided by elements of short-covering after the sell-off towards the end of last week that took copper and aluminium prices down by over 5%. The three-month nickel price had the biggest boost on Monday, of 1.9% to $17,118 per tonne, from Friday's $16,791 per tonne price. On Friday, the price had declined by 6% over th...Read More
The Chinese government held a meeting with the biggest iron ore, steel, copper and aluminium producers on Sunday May 23 to call for them to rein in commodity price hikes. Commodity leaders were told at the meeting to "proactively fulfill their social responsibilities" and make business decisions "for the benefit of the entire economy as a whole." "The key message is that we ought to obey our paren...Read More
Iron ore prices fell further on Monday May 24 amid weakening sentiment, after reports that Chinese officials had held further discussions on Sunday about how to curb high commodities prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $192.42 per tonne, down $8.30 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $193.87 per tonne, down $9.19 per tonne58% Fe fine...Read More
Domestic prices for flat steel in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow continue to rise, driven by strong demand, shortages, and rising export tags, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday May 24.Hot-rolled sheetMagnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) announced offers for June HR sheet at 105,000 ($1,426) roubles per tonne, while offers from Severstal were at 104,000 roubles per tonne, sources...Read More
Flat-rolled steel export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States increased again during the week to Monday May 24, but offer volumes of some products were limited, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $1,085-1,125 per tonne on May 24, rising from $1,055-1,075 per tonne on May 17.CIS-origin offers of...Read More
The Chinese government held a meeting with the biggest iron ore, steel, copper and aluminium producers on Sunday May 23 to call for them to rein in commodity price hikes. Commodity leaders were told at the meeting to "proactively fulfill their social responsibilities" and make business decisions "for the benefit of the entire economy as a whole." "The key message is that we ought to obey our paren...Read More
A summary of China's battery raw materials exports for April 2021In brief China's cobalt metal exports fell year on year but surged on monthly basis due to improved buying appetite from overseas buyers. Exports of cobalt tetroxide rose year on year in April amid the continuous recovery of demand...Read More
A summary of China's battery raw materials imports for April 2021.In brief Imports of cobalt metal fell in April after March - when shipments of the material hit a new historical monthly high - but the volume surged year-on-year against a much lower import volume amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.Imports of cobalt intermediates were up on both a monthly and yearly...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange recorded the biggest decrease on the morning of Monday May 24, with the rest of the base metals complex continuing to consolidate following last week's decline. The zinc price was down to $2,927 per tonne on Monday at 9am from Friday's closing price of $2,971 per tonne, when it rose by a slight $12. The galvanizing metal price fell by 1.4% o...Read More
Base metals prices on the LME were mainly weaker on the morning of Monday May 24, while those on the SHFE were down across the board in response to attempts by the Chinese authorities to inhibit price increases. Power shortages in China, brought on by drought and emissions controls, are forcing some metal producers to reduce output. Proposed infrastructure plans in the United States face having to...Read More
Chinese new energy battery materials producer Huayou Cobalt has signed a contract to set up a joint venture in Indonesia for hydrometallurgical process nickel laterite ore with other four partners, the company said on Sunday May 23.Under the contract, Huayou Cobalt will hold a 21% stake in the joint venture - which involves a total investment of $2.08 billion - while the remaining...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States broke a new record for the seventh time this month, surging above $80 per hundredweight ($1,600 per short ton) for the first time on Monday May 24, the highest since Fastmarkets started covering the market in 1960.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $80.02 per cwt ($1,600.40 per ton) on Monday, up by 1.88% from $...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its weekly steel wire rod export, fob Black Sea, CIS assessment, which was published erroneously on Monday May 24 due to an input data submitted by a data submitter by mistake. The data submitter subsequently corrected their submission, leading to Fastmarkets amending the price assessment. The steel wire rod export, fob Black Sea, CIS (MB-STE-0017) price should have...Read More
Material shortages and strong demand continued to support the increase in domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in northern Europe on Monday May 24, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works northern Europe at ?,?1,131.25 ($1,377.90) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?14.58 per tonne from ?,?1,116.67 per tonne on Friday.The index was up by ?...Read More
Steel rebar offer prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow increased sharply in the week to Monday May 24, supported by tight availability and pricey exports.Major steelmaker Severstal was offering material at higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets, but added that end users were insisting on discounts.Severstal was offering June-delivery rebar at 75,000 ($1,018) roubles...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap for July shipments at higher prices on Monday May 24 even as market sentiment turned negative, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo comprising 19,000 tonnes of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20), 11,000 tonnes of shredded, 8,000 tonnes of bonus and 2,000 tonnes of busheling at an average price o...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices continued to strengthen in the week to Monday May 24 on increasing imported scrap values, market sources said.Steel producers in Turkey booked at least four deep-sea cargoes during the past week. The most recent deal was done on Thursday May 20, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo at $507.50 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis.Fa...Read More
Iron ore prices fell further on Monday May 24 amid weakening sentiment, after reports that Chinese officials had held further discussions on Sunday about how to curb high commodities prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $192.42 per tonne, down $8.30 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $193.87 per tonne, down $9.19 per tonne58% Fe fine...Read More