Flat steel prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow continued to increase over the past seven days, supported by a strong export market and good demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 26.Hot-rolled sheetHot-rolled sheet offer prices for May from Severstal were heard at 92,000 roubles ($1,228) per tonne for stockists, the same as last week.Other key suppliers to the regio...Read More
The main union for metal workers in the Czech Republic has instigated industrial action at Liberty Steel's Ostrava steelworks, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 26.On Monday, the OS KOVO trade union called on workers at Liberty Ostrava to "work-to-rule", which means no additional shifts or overtime.The union also said employees should ignore work e-mails and phone calls outside working hour...Read More
The European Commission will set definitive duties on hot-rolled coil from Turkey at marginally lower levels than for preliminary duties, sources told Fastmarkets. The EC imposed provisional anti-dumping duties of 4.80-7.60% in early January 2021. Both European and Turkish market sources said that the EC has sent letter to the interested parties with definitive duties that have been calculate...Read More
The main union for metal workers in the Czech Republic has instigated industrial action at Liberty Steel's Ostrava steelworks, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 26.On Monday, the OS KOVO trade union called on workers at Liberty Ostrava to "work-to-rule", which means no additional shifts or overtime.The union also said employees should ignore work e-mails and phone calls outside working hour...Read More
Metal companies transporting material in containers are facing fresh disruption to shipping following the blockage of the Suez Canal last month, sources told Fastmarkets. The main immediate legacy of March's Suez Canal obstruction has been worsening congestion at several global ports following major disruptions to vessel scheduling. These delays to shipping times have also exacerbated shortag...Read More
The gap between the prices of rebar and hot-rolled coil exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States reached the highest since 2008 in the second half of April due to a combination of a flat steel products shortage in the global market and strong demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $639 per tonne fob at the midp...Read More
Copper's price reached $9,705 per tonne in the morning, while the rest of the London Metal Exchange base metals also started the week with higher prices on Monday April 26. Copper's price was up 1.6% on Monday morning to a new 2021 high - and its highest level since July 2011 - following a 1.9% rise over last week, when it closed at $9,551 per tonne on Friday. There were more than 11,000 lots...Read More
Copper is once again pushing ahead with its advance toward $10,000 per tonne this morning, Tuesday April 27, and such is the upward momentum now across most of the complex that it has woken nickel up from its two-month slumber in low ground.* Market focused on economies that are recovering...* ...less so on the areas where Covid-19 is ragingBase metalsMost of the LME three-month base metals prices...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday April 23 that are worth another look.Global aluminium manufacturer and recycler Novelis has achieved Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard certification at seven of its European sites, ASI reported on Thursday April 22.Brazil's...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday April 23 that are worth another look.Global aluminium manufacturer and recycler Novelis has achieved Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard certification at seven of its European sites, ASI reported on Thursday April 22.Brazil's...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday April 23 that are worth another look.Global aluminium manufacturer and recycler Novelis has achieved Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard certification at seven of its European sites, ASI reported on Thursday April 22.Brazil's...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday April 23 that are worth another look.Global aluminium manufacturer and recycler Novelis has achieved Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard certification at seven of its European sites, ASI reported on Thursday April 22.Brazil's...Read More
MasterCard (MA), an S&P 100 stock moved above $389.04 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Palladium ETN (PALL) moved above $273.16 to an all-time high extending a long term uptrend.Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $195.82 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Emerson Electric (EMR), an S&P 100 stock moved above $93.38 to an all-tim...Read More
Copper led the London Metal Exchange base metals higher this morning, Monday April 26, and most of the base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up too, while the market continued to benefit from the strong purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data that was out on Friday.US markets managed to shake-off concerns about US President Joe Biden’s tax plans.Base metalsLME three-month base...Read More
China's exports of major steel products rose significantly in March on a year-on-year basis due to the attractive prices for Chinese materials in January and February, when most March shipments were booked.For instance, exports of hot-rolled coil totaled 1.78 million tonnes last month, an increase of 92% year on year, according to Chinese customs data. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel hot-r...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RCs) index rebounded for the second consecutive week on April 23, while smelters' buying activity slowed down, sources said.Few buyers were active in the spot market this week with deals for concentrate shipped in June and July settling in the low $30s, Fastmarkets heard. Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' Friday April 23 pricing sessions in China, Europe, India and the United States.China The seaborne low-grade manganese ore market reversed some of its five-week downtrend with buyers showing renewed interest in material offered in line with or below port prices. Buyers confirmed fresh deals at the higher end of last week's offer spread after the cheapest offers dried up....Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou and Sybil Pan...Read More
Deliverable stocks of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses all declined in the week to Friday April 23, due to consumers trucking their cargoes out before the Labour Day holiday in China, sources said.SHFE nickel stocks totaled 8,560 tonnes this week, down by 994 tonnes or 10.4% from 9,554 tonnes last Friday, data shows.The largest outflow of nickel this week left Zhongch...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is suspending the trading of all prompt dates from December 2021 onwards on its cash-settled alumina futures contract with immediate effect, it said on Friday April 23. The LME alumina contract was launched on March 11, 2019 and settled against Fastmarkets MB's benchmark daily fob Australia alumina index in a basket alongside CRU's alumina index. Equal weighting was...Read More