Sir Brian Bender, chairman of the London Metal Exchange for almost a decade, has died at age 72.Bender joined the LME in 2010, fresh from a lifelong career in the British civil service, and described himself in an interview with Metal Market Magazine on his retirement in 2019 as a "slightly leftfield candidate" for the role.He presided over a transformative period of change at the exchange, includ...Read More
Turkey's domestic auto bundle scrap prices have increased due to a weakening lira, while ship scrap prices have been largely stable, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday November 15.The Turkish lira weakened further against the United States' dollar after the Turkish central bank cut the benchmark interest rate by 2% to 16% late in October.The central bank was expected to cut the interes...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange started the week in negative territory, despite further declines in stock levels.The three-month aluminium price dropped back below the $2,700-per-tonne barrier during morning trading on Monday November 15. It was most recently trading at $2,679 per tonne, down from $2,700 per tonne at the 5pm close on Friday.It has traded in a range of $2,641-2,714...Read More
The automotive industry's shift to electric vehicles (EVs) has put the sustainability efforts of its suppliers under scrutiny, Jean-Martin Van der Hoeven, chief marketing officer of ArcelorMittal's global automotive division, told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview.One outcome of the so-called Dieselgate scandal - in which German automaker Volkswagen, among others, admitted to manipulating the...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in China on Friday November 12.Key drivers Following a weeks-long decline in the Chinese silicon price that brought it close to production costs, producers refused to lower their offers further. Many...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 15 that are worth another look.Ferro-alloy supply-side disruptions will likely continue well into 2022 with production cuts in China and capacity in other regions insufficient to meet demand amid persistent logistics constraints, panelists said on Sunday November 14 during...Read More
Prices for billet originating from the Commonwealth of Independent States region rose over the weekend amid higher offers heard in the market.Offers from Russia and Ukraine increased to $650-655 per tonne fob Black Sea, according to a number of market participants, citing reduced availability of material.The decision of the Egyptian government to remove safeguard...Read More
This year's price rally in the European ferro-silicon market is showing increasing signs of weakness, with the market falling for the second consecutive week on Friday November 12, trade sources told Fastmarkets.Moreover, some traders and steelmakers said standard grade was being offered at well below ?,?4,000 ($4,577) per tonne for delivery in the first quarter amid persistently weaker prices in...Read More
Turkey's domestic auto bundle scrap prices have increased due to a weakening lira, while ship scrap prices have been largely stable, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday November 15.The Turkish lira weakened further against the United States' dollar after the Turkish central bank cut the benchmark interest rate by 2% to 16% late in October.The central bank was expected to cut the interes...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 15 that are worth another look.Ferro-alloy supply-side disruptions will likely continue well into 2022 with production cuts in China and capacity in other regions insufficient to meet demand amid persistent logistics constraints, panelists said on Sunday November 14 during...Read More
Prices for seaborne iron ore concentrate and pellets fell in the week ended Friday November 12, mainly due to decreasing steel mill margins, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $111.03 per tonne, down $6.70 per tonne.65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $164.14 per tonne, down $5.55 per tonne.Iron ore pellet premium over 65% Fe fines, cfr China: $52.30 p...Read More
The Egyptian Ministry of Industry and Trade has suspended safeguard duties on imported billet and rebar, effective Monday November 15.The measure suspends import duties that had been in effect in the country since October 2019 to help local industry combat the significant rise in energy and shipping costs.There had been expectations that the duties would be removed in June this year, but the...Read More
Revisions to the European Union's Waste Shipments Regulation (WSR) are intended to promote and encourage investment into the circular economy as well as to provide further protection to developing countries from the transfer of hazardous waste, executives from European Aluminium told Fastmarkets during an exclusive interview on last week.They said the regulations are not intended to ban the export...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe declined slightly in the week to Friday November 12 amid subdued trading activity in the spot market.HRC buyers across Europe were largely maintaining a wait-and-see attitude during the week.European mills were still able to offer fourth-quarter HRC to the spot market at lower prices due to slowed demand from the automotive industry. Notably, some volu...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...Read More
Operations at the Antamina copper-zinc-lead mine in Peru restarted last week, with talks between the local community and the mining entity continuing on Friday November 12, Fastmarkets heard. Two sources confirmed that mining resumed as of Monday at Antamina, where operations were stopped on October 31 due to roadblocks and protests. The mine is the biggest copper deposit in Peru, and is join...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday November 15 that are worth another look.Ferro-alloy supply-side disruptions will likely continue well into 2022 with production cuts in China and capacity in other regions insufficient to meet demand amid persistent logistics constraints, panelists said on Sunday November 14 during...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore were unchanged during the week to Monday November 15 amid thin spot negotiations in the market for January or February shipment material.Offers for rebar cargoes from the Middle East were at $740-745 per tonne cfr Singapore on a theoretical weight basis.Turkish steelmakers were heard to have increased their offers to $740-750 per tonne fob on an actual weight b...Read More
(Recasts, updates prices, adds market details) LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Copper fell on Monday as datashowed weakness in China's property sector, Chinese coal pricesplunged, the U.S. dollar strengthened to a 16-month high and asupply squeeze on the London Metal Exchange (LME) continued toease.China is the biggest consumer and producer of metals. Lesshomebuilding would reduce demand, and lower coa...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 12 that are worth another look....Read More