Strong interest in imports of steel billet among Chinese customers supported a further uptick in the CIS export billet price in the week to Wednesday April 28.A cargo of around 40,000 tonnes of Ukraine-origin billet was reported sold to China at $655-660 per tonne cfr early this week, Fastmarkets heard. Market participants said that the price would be equivalent to $605 per tonne fob Black Sea.Bul...Read More
Thawing permafrost linked to global warming is continuing to affect Teck Resources' Red Dog zinc mine in Alaska, with the company expecting its second-quarter sales of zinc in concentrate to be lower as a result, the company said.The Vancouver, Canada-based company said the thawing is affecting the mine's ability to discharge treated water, which is leading water levels at its tailings facility to...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 28. Please click...Read More
Domestic prices for European heavy steel plate increased further in the week to Wednesday April 28, supported by stronger demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?875-900 ($1,057-1,087) per tonne on April 28, up by ?,?35-50 per tonne from ?,?840-850 per tonne a week earlier.The assessment was based on transa...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices in the fob and cfr markets diverged on Wednesday April 28, with tight supply in the cfr market, especially for premium hard coking coal materials.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $112.21 per tonne, down by $1.25 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $225.00 per tonne, up by $2.28 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $104.62 per tonne, do...Read More
The Malaysian Smelting Corp (MSC) will only return to pre-pandemic smelting levels at the end of the year and will restrict its ore intake "both in respect of quantity and quality" in the coming months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company told suppliers this week.In a note to suppliers sent on Monday April 26, MSC said that the pandemic had "severely affected" its smelting capacity and that i...Read More
China will reduce the export rebate rates for some steel products from May 1, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday April 28.Steel products with HS codes 7205-7307 will be affected, which includes hot-rolled coil, rebar, wire rod, hot rolled and cold-rolled sheet, plate, H beams and stainless steel, the ministry said.Market chatter about the cancellation of steel export rebate rates have...Read More
The Cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China, yuan/tonne trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Read More
A recent downturn in the spot price for cobalt was not causing alarm among sellers because they were still seeing plenty of demand from customers with long-term contracts, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' latest price assessment for cobalt, standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, was $20.50-22.00 per lb on Monday April 26. This compared with $15.40-16.00 per lb a year earlier.Prices have risen...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt hydroxide p...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday April 28.Key drivers The ferro-titanium market is stabilizing after losses in the week prior amid renewed consumer demand while a steelmaker in Asia looks to settle a tender for several hundred tonnes of alloy, trade sources said. A persistent acute shortage of titanium scrap turnings underpins both scrap and...Read More
Demand for refined copper in China has now surpassed levels seen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Vancouver, Canada-based Teck Resources. The company said that demand in China has been increasing since the second quarter of 2020 and continued to increase into 2021, partly due to continued Chinese government stimulus measures, increased infrastructure spending and improved construction...Read More
Physical premiums for zinc and lead ingots were flat globally in the week to Tuesday April 27 after soaring outright prices for the sister metals limited appetite in all but the most tightly-supplied markets. Higher offers for zinc ingot premiums reported in Europe Lack of import arbitrage limits China business US market expectations for more spot buying to come US zinc, lead demand firm...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda...Read More
There may be significant swings in the prices and trade flows in the steelmaking raw materials market if the Covid-19 situation in India continues to worsen, sources told Fastmarkets.India has had a record-breaking number of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks - breaching the 300,000 mark several times over the week to April 27 - while vaccinations fail to stem the tide of infections.Higher pellet pric...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 28 that are worth another look.Latin American steelmaker Ternium plans to focus mainly on supplying its own slab needs in Mexico and selling any excess to the domestic market via its slab mill in Brazil, chief executive officer M??ximo Vedoya said on...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Dalila Ouerghi...Read More
Work to complete the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) copper project in northern Chile has gone past the halfway point and is on track for first production in the second half of 2022, majority owner Teck Resources has said.The project has been delayed after being temporarily suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but work has resumed and went beyond 50% complete this month, the company said.QB2 is e...Read More