China imported 31,496 tonnes of steel scrap in March of 2021, with 20,493 tonnes, or 65.1% coming from Japan, according to the country's General Administration of Customs.South Korea was the second-largest scrap supplier to China in March, supplying 6,290 tonnes, about 20% of China's ferrous scrap imports in the month, with Hong Kong (6.9% of the total) and Malaysia (3.9%) the other significant so...Read More
Tata Steel has filed a lawsuit against Liberty Steel over its speciality steel business deal made in 2017, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday April 22.A Tata Steel spokesperson confirmed the company has filed a commercial court claim against Liberty Steel concerning the speciality steel division deal, however, the spokesperson declined to go into more details because this is an active case.Liberty Stee...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 3 points in pre-opening comments. American Express dropped $4.84 to $142.32 after reporting lower than consensus first quarter revenues. Intel dropped $1.10 to $61.47 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter earnings, but less than consensus first quarter revenues. The company also released lower than consen...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 21 that are worth another look.Over July 2020 to March 2021, BHP's metallurgical coal production volume came to 29 million tonnes, down by 2% year on year, BHP's latest quarterly report on April 21 shows.Bipartisan...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 21.Read More
Aluminium prices hit a new year-to-date high of $2,368 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday April 21, while most other base metals prices also closed higher, with stock markets in the United States rising, the Dollar Index falling, and speculative buyers taking advantage of Tuesday's dips.The three-month price of aluminium closed up by 1.6% to $2,364 per tonne from its Tuesday price...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 21 that are worth another look.Over July 2020 to March 2021, BHP's metallurgical coal production volume came to 29 million tonnes, down by 2% year on year, BHP's latest quarterly report on April 21 shows.Bipartisan...Read More
The spot ferro-chrome market in China continued its downward trend in the week to Tuesday April 20, despite some newly implemented production cuts in southern parts of the country.Following Inner Mongolia's energy cuts, a couple of other regions issued notices about dual control of energy consumption and intensity in the past week.Some smelters in Guangxi province were heard to have idled their fu...Read More
A summary of Antofagasta's production results for the first quarter of 2021, as stated in its quarterly production report published on Wednesday April 21.In brief Overall copper production fell in the first quarter of 2021, with the decline mainly driven by lower grades at the company's Los Pelambres mine. Los Pelambres produced 84,000 tonnes of copper in the first quarter, a drop of 9% year on ye...Read More
A summary of China's ores and alloys exports for March 2021.In brief China's ferro-silicon exports rose dramatically in March from the prior month given Malaysia, one of the three major ferro-silicon producers, has experienced an electricity shortage and production there has declined. Chinese ammonium paratungstate (APT) exports increased last month with most orders signed in...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have rebounded once again with fresh bookings done following successful Turkish export rebar and billet sales, market participants said on Wednesday April 21. A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 22,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) and 12,500 tonnes of a mixture of plate and structural (P&S) and HMS 1 at an average price of $42...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday April 21. Key driversThe ferro-titanium market drops to its lowest price level since early-January due to a slow demand, with some suppliers accepting weaker offer prices. Busier trading into the United States and Asia and firm scrap prices stemmed steeper losses, sources said.The market is seen finely...Read More
Offer prices for ferrous scrap imports into China increased sharply on Wednesday April 21 amid bullish sentiment in the key supplier, Japan.The highest offers heard were at $520-530 per tonne cfr north China, equivalent to $510-520 per tonne cfr east China.Bid prices were heard at $495-500 per tonne cfr north China, equivalent to $485-490 per tonne cfr east China.Sentiment in the Japanese market h...Read More
Base metals prices on London Metal Exchange were up across the board this morning, Wednesday April 21, but those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly weaker, as were broader markets, while haven assets were bid for.The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic is becoming polarized on a regional basis......this could threaten the global recovery and travelTension rises on Russia-Ukraine border Base...Read More
Mineral processing company Green Lithium announced on Tuesday April 20 that it has secured funding of ?631,000 ($880,000) from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to support the construction a large-scale lithium refinery in the UK."Currently, there is no commercial lithium refining capability of scale in Europe," a statement on...Read More
A summary of Australian spodumene concentrate miner Pilbara Minerals' results for the first quarter of 2021, released on Wednesday April 21.In brief Spodumene output for the quarter ended March increased by 22.14% from the December quarter, to serve increasing demands for spodumene concentrate from existing customers,...Read More
Domestic prices for European heavy steel plate increased again in the week to Wednesday April 21, supported by rising slab costs and a redirection of plate supplies from the spot market to projects, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?840-850 ($1,012-1,024) per tonne on April 21, up by ?,?30-40 per tonne from ?...Read More
Market sentiment in the European hot-rolled coil segment has remained bullish so far this week, with buyers struggling to secure volumes from both domestic and overseas suppliers, sources told Fastmarkets in Wednesday April 21. Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?956.25 ($1,151.90) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?2.50 per tonne fr...Read More
Sentiment in the European cold-rolled coil market has remained bullish due to material shortages at domestic mills and limited oversea alternatives, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 21.As a result of the tight supply, buyers have been ready to accept higher prices for CRC materials, but the number of deals has been nominal because mills were either holding back from offering in the spot...Read More