The London Metal Exchange tin cash price rose to an all-time high while a number of other milestones were set on the futures complex for copper, aluminium and lead on May 6. LME copper's three-month price was at $10,092 per tonne at Thursday's close, up by 1.4% from Wednesday's price and was above the $10,000-per-tonne mark for the first time since 2011 one week ago on April 29. LME copper hi...Read More
European steel association Eurofer believes that apparent steel consumption in the EU will increase by 11.7% year-on-year in 2021, it said on Thursday May 6.The association also forecast a more moderate rise of 4.9% year-on-year in 2022, to return "above 2017 levels thanks to continued improvement in demand from steel-using sectors."As a result, EU apparent steel consumption was expected to reach...Read More
Fresh political tensions between China and Australia, along with strong steel prices, lent support to the sharp increases in seaborne iron ore prices on Thursday May 6, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $201.88 per tonne, up $9.34 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $202.87 per tonne, up $8.66 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr...Read More
China's new tax regime for ferrous raw materials and steel exports will kick off a new era for the steel sector, one in which demand and supply will become more balanced and the country cuts its dependency on iron ore at a faster pace. Chinese authorities announced last week that, from May 1, import duties for metallics and semi-finished steel would be removed and that export duties for raw materi...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Michael Greenfield in...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR? Impressive advances in ore and alloy prices persisted in March, with most markets posting significant price gains. Strengthening demand from steelmakers along with supply shortages and depleted inventories in numerous markets, as well as freight and transportation...Read More
German steel companies Thyssenkrupp Steel and H? 1/4 ttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority are to jointly investigate setting up international supply chains for hydrogen. Thyssenkrupp Steel and HKM will require large and increasing quantities of hydrogen to produce steel without coal as part of their transformation paths towards climate-neutral steelmaking. Both comp...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in April 2021.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for January, February and...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
Trafigura is in talks with Cliveden Trading to acquire copper purchase and sale contracts from the Zug-based trading house, sources with knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets.Talks were held between the two companies this week, with Trafigura potentially taking on a portion of Cliveden's copper book, subject to conditions, two sources who declined to be named because the discussions were confid...Read More
High primary aluminium prices and premiums in Europe prevented market participants there from achieving a higher low-carbon aluminium differential throughout April, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 7.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium low-carbon differential value-added product (VAP), Europe at $10-15 per tonne Friday May 7, flat compared to the last assessment on April 1.Offers as high as $...Read More
Pig iron import prices in the United States increased during the week to Friday May 7, following the uptrend in the global market.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $620-635 per tonne on Friday, up from $585-595 per tonne the previous week.A cargo of Brazil-origin pig iron with 0.12% phosphorus content was bought at about $630-635 per tonne cfr for Augu...Read More
Prices for inter-merchant light iron scrap in the UK increased over the week ended Friday May 7, extending a general rally since late March, sources have told Fastmarkets.The market was likely to move higher, they added, given strong business conditions for European scrap exports into Turkey and the Indian subcontinent.UK monthly deliveries into domestic consumers in May were likely to be settled...Read More
Metal merchants for years ploughed credit into Liberty Commodities, the trading unit of GFG Alliance, even while banks quietly shunned the company.In separate instances related to nickel and copper deals dating to 2016, blue-chip banks including ICBC Standard Bank, Sberbank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) have abruptly halted financing of commodity trades made by Liberty after finding irr...Read More
Copper's futures price set a new all-time high in afternoon trading on the London Metal Exchange on Friday May 7, with the bullishness also extending to zinc, which rose above $3,000 per tonne for the first time since June 2018, and aluminium.Three-month copper reached a record high price of $10,435 per tonne on Friday, with volumes traded at over 22,300 lots by 5pm - the most since mid-April.The...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang, and Sybil...Read More
Spot trading of copper concentrate slowed in the week ending Friday May 7 with Chinese and Japanese market participants away for holidays. Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index rebounded, with deals to smelters reported at low-to-mid $30s. Spot buying interest was not particularly high because several major Chinese smelters are carrying out maintenance in May...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices rose during the week ended Friday May 7 as sellers seized the opportunity to raise prices given low supply and strong demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil was $900-940 per tonne on Friday, up by $20 per tonne on the high end from $900-920 per tonne the previous week. Early in the week, offers were reported between the...Read More
South American flat steel import prices rose during the week to Friday May 7 as Chinese mills were only beginning to return from the country's 5-day Labor holiday, and material from elsewhere was sold at higher levels.Only a few firm offers were provided to clients in South America, according to market participants. Most were price indications for residual June shipments and initial assessments fo...Read More
Coated coil prices in Turkey increased during the week to Friday May 7 on strong demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Most coated coil producers were fully booked until late August, with some accepting orders for September production.Demand was strong in domestic and export markets because of limited stock levels.Domestic pricesFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil...Read More