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
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
"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
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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 25 that are worth another look.Exports of iron ore from India's east coast could face minor disruptions after the key port of Paradip in the state of Odisha suspended operations on May 25...Read More
China must rely on innovation-driven technological growth to achieve high-quality development, Shusong Ba, managing director and chief China economist at Hong Kong Exchange & Clearing (HKEX), said during the London Metal Exchange Asia 2021 Metals Seminar on Tuesday May 25.During his speech, Ba pointed out that although China's gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2021 increased by...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
China-based Do-Fluoride Chemical Co will invest 300 million yuan ($46.67 million) to build a lithium-ion battery plant in the city of Nanning, Guangxi province, in southern China, it said on Tuesday May 25.The project will be led by Do-Fluoride, the Nanning municipal government, and the government of the Qingxiu district of Nanning, and will have an estimated annual production capacity of 20GWh.Th...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
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
The Shanghai Futures Exchange has allowed Glencore's Nikkelverk nickel brand to be physically deliverable as a registered brand against its nickel futures contracts as of May 21, the exchange said.Nikkelverk is a branded electrolytic nickel (Ni 99.80, electrowinning) produced by Glencore Nikkelverk, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore Canada, which has registered capacity of 80,000 tonnes, the S...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States over the week to Tuesday May 25.China UG2 sellers raised their offer prices to cover higher production costs and the appreciation of the rand, while most buyers took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the announcement of June's ferro-chrome tender price. Domestic spot ferro-chrome prices ticked up, while participants' near-term...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
Steel billet buyers in Southeast Asia are sat on the sidelines again amid further declines in the Chinese market, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 25.Continued declines in China's steel futures and physical markets this week, underpinned by the Chinese government's aim of cooling commodity prices, has led to radio silence in the China steel billet markets.Offers for Indonesian 3sp 150mm bla...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
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points in pre-opening trade. Urban Outfitters gained $1.64 to $36.60 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter sales and earnings. Toll Brother added $0.28 to $62.30 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal second quarter revenues and earnings. Nordstrom dropped $1.60 to $34.88 after reporting lower th...Read More
Import prices for steel scrap in China were unchanged on Tuesday May 25, with the country's finished steel market crashing in response to a meeting held by the Chinese government on Sunday May 23 that put more emphasis on stability in the commodities sector.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel scrap, heavy recycled steel materials, cfr China, which takes into account prices at ports in ea...Read More
Sellers in China's domestic rebar market stopped lowering prices on Tuesday May 25, which led to a pick-up in end-user demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,900-4,920 yuan ($762-765) per tonne, unchangedThe stable prices encouraged contractors in the construction sector to replenish their inventories during the day. But transacted tonnages were not large because these buyers are not too bulli...Read More
Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed during morning trading on Tuesday May 25 from Monday's closing prices, with the complex consolidating following a month of peaks and declines.Nickel's three-month price, which recorded the highest rise in percentage terms among the base metals on Monday of 1.9%, was down slightly to $17,095 per tonne from its previous close at $17,...Read More
A summary of China's minor metals exports for April 2021.In brief China's exports of antimony declined in April amid weak overseas demand; buyers abroad were hesitant to place orders amid a downtrend in the material's price, according to market sources. Chinese shipments of gallium surged in April...Read More