The rapid increase in Covid-19 infections in Brazil, a shortage of auto parts and the decision by authorities to bring holidays forward prompted at least four more Brazilian automakers to suspend their production sites in the week to Friday March 26, Fastmarkets understands. Renault, Daimler under its Mercedes-Benz brand, Nissan and Toyota are the latest manufacturers to announce a suspension of a...Read More
The Hybrit joint venture in Scandinavia is to build the world's first production plant for fossil-free direct-reduced iron (DRI) in G??llivare, Sweden.Set up by Swedish steelmaker SSAB, and two state-owned entities - iron ore producer LKAB and energy group Vattenfall - Hybrit's demonstration plant will be ready to produce 1.3 million tonnes of fossil-free DRI in 2026, the companies said this...Read More
China exported 1.81 million tonnes of hot-rolled coil in the first two months of 2021, an increase of 150% from the same year-earlier period, according to the country's customs data.Vietnam was the biggest buyer of Chinese HRC in January and February with 709,228 tonnes, accounting for 39% of China's total exports. China's exports of hot-dipped galvanized flat steel also exceeded one million tonne...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin steel slab remained stable in the week ended Friday March 26, with demand steady and clients booking fresh deals.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, was $780-810 per tonne fob on Friday, unchanged from the previous week.Deals were reported within the range of $800-810 per tonne fob to clients in the United States, with...Read More
Import prices for flat-rolled steel went up in South America during the week ended Friday March 26, with resilient demand but China out of the export market, leaving only higher priced material from traders and Japanese mills to be bought.The vast majority of Chinese steelmakers decided to hold back from the market since their government had not yet decided on a cut in the export tax rebate for st...Read More
The cargo ship traffic jam on the Suez Canal in Egypt is exacerbating the shortage of primary aluminium billet supplies in Europe, resulting in higher premiums on Friday, March 26. The canal, which is the key route for shipments between Europe and Asia, has been blocked by the large containership Ever Given since late on Tuesday, resulting in a floating traffic jam of more than 100 vessels. "...Read More
The price of austenitic stainless steel scrap in the UK and Europe moved higher over the past seven days on the back of rising nickel costs in first half of the week, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 26.Nickel prices retreated in the second half of the week, however, wiping out most of the gains and halting the upward momentum in the stainless scrap market. Nonetheless, Fastmarkets' weekly...Read More
Chinese copper and zinc smelters are now finding the sulfuric-acid price hike had provided some breathing room as a key source of income while processing fees for concentrate both sank to multi-year low levels, Fastmarkets understands.The sale of sulfuric acid - a major by-product of copper and zinc smelting - has been generating more cash for smelters, with acid prices increasing substantially in...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price reached a new year-to-date high of $2,301 per tonne shortly before 5pm on Friday March 26 and was the only metal to record an increase from the start of the week. A surge in aluminium trading on Friday afternoon took the price to its highest since June 12, 2018, at the height of the US trade tensions. The price hit a peak of $2,353 per tonne in...Read More
The waiting time for deliveries of aluminium from London Metal Exchange warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, is estimated to be as far out as to September or October after a series of large cancellations, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 26. Over the past two weeks, 513,000 tonnes of aluminium have been canceled at warehouses in Port Klang. including over 190,000 tonnes on single day o...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal price reversed down in the cfr market and inched higher in the fob market on Friday March 26 amid a positive outlook on the demand side in the fob market, sources said.The seaborne low-volatility pulverized coal injection price increased in the fob market amid more procurement activity while falling down in the cfr market due to weak demand and sufficient local su...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were up day on day on Friday March 26, with ArcelorMittal further increasing its offer prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at ?,?835.00 ($985.09) per tonne on Friday March 26, up by ?,?13.33 per tonne from ?,?821.67 per tonne on March 25.The index was also up...Read More
The spot price for light iron steel scrap in the United Kingdom was steady during the week to Friday March 26, stabilizing losses from last week amid firm fundamentals in the domestic market, sources told Fastmarkets.A sharp fall in European steel scrap export prices seen on Thursday may be short-lived, according to sources, with a pick-up seen the next day in steel rebar buying inquiries into Sou...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price reached a new year-to-date high of $2,301 per tonne shortly before 5pm on Friday March 26 and was the only metal to record an increase from the start of the week. A surge in aluminium trading on Friday afternoon took the price to its highest since June 12, 2018, at the height of the US trade tensions. The price hit a peak of $2,353 per tonne in...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
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions on Friday March 26 in the Asia-Pacific region.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) index, cif Asia-Pacific, resumed its downtrend this week after a slight rebound in mid-March.This was the third week the TC index has remained below the level of $30 per tonne.Smelters were less...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis declined to their lowest level since November 2020 on Friday March 26, with oversupply of units continuing to stoke bearishness.Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia was calculated at $274.50 per tonne on Friday, down by $5.57 from $280.07 per tonne the previous day. The index has dropped 5.1% since the start of the week when the index was at $289.09 pe...Read More
The waiting time for deliveries of aluminium from London Metal Exchange warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, is estimated to be as far out as to September or October after a series of large cancellations, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 26. Over the past two weeks, 513,000 tonnes of aluminium have been canceled at warehouses in Port Klang. including over 190,000 tonnes on single day o...Read More
Chinese copper and zinc smelters are now finding the sulfuric-acid price hike had provided some breathing room as a key source of income while processing fees for concentrate both sank to multi-year low levels, Fastmarkets understands.The sale of sulfuric acid - a major by-product of copper and zinc smelting - has been generating more cash for smelters, with acid prices increasing substantially in...Read More
Deliverable lead stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses fell by 15.8% during the week to Friday March 26, while inventories of other base metals showed minimal movement, according to the exchange's latest stocks report.Lead stocks dropped by 7,984 tonnes to 42,672 tonnes, compared with 50,656 tonnes the previous week.The largest outflow was recorded at warehouses run by Zhejiang...Read More