Wayne Wang will join ThyssenKrupp in early June as senior base metal trader, with a focus on physical aluminium, he told Fastmarkets.He will join ThyssenKrupp's Asian desk in Singapore, which is currently led by Kevin Song.Read More
The near-term outlook for ferro-silicon looks set to climb higher to a near record-high since Fastmarkets started assessing the price more than 24 years ago due to firm fundamentals, industry sources said.The European spot delivered price is gripped between tight supply and strong demand from steelmakers, while market focus is on expectations of renewed demand from consumers in early June for thei...Read More
Sales of passenger cars in the European Union rocketed by 218.57% year on year in April 2021, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Wednesday May 19. New car sales in the region totaled 862,226 vehicles in April 2021, up from 270,651 units sold in the corresponding month of 2020. The massive rise is explained by a drop in car manufacturing a year earlier due to...Read More
Export prices for Chinese cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized coil were mixed in the past week amid a volatile market affected by fluctuating steel futures.Cold-rolled coilFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, export, fob China main port was $970-1,000 per tonne on Tuesday May 18, narrowing by $30-45 per tonne from $925-1,030 per tonne a week earlier.Some Chinese...Read More
A strategy to cool down commodity price spikes was top of the agenda China's weekly State Cabinet meeting on Wednesday May 19. Chaired by China's second most powerful politician, Premier Li Keqiang, the cabinet meeting discussed control measures to rein in the "unreasonable price rally", including ensuring sufficient supplies of main commodities. The aim is to prevent the rising costs pa...Read More
First Quantum Minerals has entered into a binding agreement to sell a 30% equity interest in the Ravensthorpe nickel-cobalt operation in Western Australia to South Korean steelmaker Posco for $240 million in cash, the company said on May 19.The Vancouver, Canada-headquartered company will retain a 70% interest in Ravensthorpe and continue to be the operator.Posco and First Quantum have also agreed...Read More
Steel wire rod producers in the north of Europe have largely sold outof June-rolling material and have yet to announce offers for July, while buyers expect prices to rise sharply due to persistent material shortage, limited and expensive imports, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday May 19Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe increased on Wednesday May 19, with some mills reportedly stepping out of the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,220-1,250 ($1,489-1,525) per tonne on May 19, up from ?,?1,190-1,220 per tonne on May 12.Market participants told Fastmarkets that severa...Read More
Steel rebar prices in the north of Europe continued to increase in the week to Wednesday May 19, aided by limited imports and increased scrap costs, while buying activity started to slow. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?740-780 ($903-952) per tonne on May 19, up by ?,?20-40 per tonne week on week from ?,?720-74...Read More
Tax stability agreements made between mining companies and the government of Chile are designed to be non-negotiable and are expected to be respected if proposed changes to the country's royalty system are made, the chief executive officer of Teck Resources said.Chile's Senate will this week discuss a proposal recently approved in its lower house to introduce a controversial mining royalty bill th...Read More
Soaring global deep-sea ferrous scrap export prices are stoking increasingly bullish sentiment for the United States' upcoming domestic June trade despite a recent lack of US export sales.Higher offers for heavy melting scrap from the US East and West Coasts, which have now hit $510 and $540-550 per tonne respectively, failed to tempt US exporters into the market this week.But significantly h...Read More
The near-term outlook for ferro-silicon looks set to climb higher to a near record-high since Fastmarkets started assessing the price more than 24 years ago due to firm fundamentals, industry sources said.The European spot delivered price is gripped between tight supply and strong demand from steelmakers, while market focus is on expectations of renewed demand from consumers in early June for thei...Read More
The stainless scrap market in the United States is sluggish, with prices registering little growth and in some cases falling back."Despite [London Metal Exchange] nickel hovering over the $8.00-per-lb mark, austenitic stainless scrap prices continue to struggle," one scrap dealer source said."There must be ample supply to meet the consuming [stainless] mills' needs for nickel discounts to remain s...Read More
Turkish steel mills resumed booking deep-sea scrap late on Tuesday, resulting in higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 19 - the start of a public holiday in the country.The Turkish import market had been quiet since the Eid al-Fitr holiday that began on Wednesday May 12. Monday and Tuesday May 17 and 18 were normal working days, but no bookings were done until late on Tuesday. A...Read More
Teck Resources plans to rebalance its portfolio to reduce its exposure to steelmaking coal and focus instead on growth in copper, the company's chief executive officer said. Don Lindsay told Bank of America's Global Metal, Mining & Steel conference that future growth in copper will come from a combination of organic growth at existing projects, exploration and strategic mergers and acquisitions. "...Read More
Galvalume prices in the United States surged to a record high for a fifth consecutive month, with buyer worries about finding material trumping concerns about cost. "Galvalume is probably backed up more than all coated products," one distributor source said. "Prices are crazy whenever supplies are available."Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel coil Galvalume, fob mill US was at $8...Read More
Prices for steel scrap cargoes exported from Japan rose again during the week to Wednesday May 19 amid a healthy appetite from both South Korea and domestic buyers, market participants told Fastmarkets.The sharp decline in Chinese ferrous futures and spot market prices this week has done nothing to stop the rise of the Japan scrap market, with a further increase in offer prices recorded across all...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply on Wednesday May 19, with low liquidity and sintering restrictions in Tangshan driving the downturn, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.16 per tonne, down $8.28 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $218.79 per tonne, down $8.98 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, ...Read More
Seaborne hard coking coal prices in the fob market gained support from restocking activity on Wednesday May 19, whereas major buyers in the cfr market stood on the sidelines, market sources said.Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $129.18 per tonne, up $5.50 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $269.78 per tonne, down $3.37 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $11...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices fell rapidly on Wednesday May 19 on softer demand as a result of rain.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,370-5,400 yuan ($836-840) per tonne, down by 180 yuan per tonneHeavy rain in many parts of eastern and southern China during the day affected both construction activity and transportation.With wet weather forecast to continue over the next day days, market partici...Read More