Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
High demand for bulk vessel space for mineral raw materials exported from China is driving costs for this transport option higher, with market participants reporting an array of factors that are affecting trading conditions and delivery timelines.Container freight costs for China's seaborne route have remained high well into March, with ongoing disruptions reported by participants active in m...Read More
Crude steel output in Germany dropped by 10.4% year on year in February 2021 after four consecutive months of recovery, German steel federation WV Stahl said on Monday March 22.German crude steel production totaled more than 3.09 million tonnes in February, down from 3.46 million tonnes in the corresponding period of 2020."The cautious upward trend of the past few months has ended. The recove...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 22 that are worth another look.Crude steel output in Germany dropped by 10.4% year on year in February 2021 after four consecutive months of recovery, German steel federation WV Stahl said on March 22.The process at...Read More
Usually after a London Metal Exchange discussion paper there is a decent idea of what the outcome is likely to be. But this time around, it seems much harder to tell which path the LME will take. The proposals under debate include the permanent closure of the exchange's open outcry trading floor, known as the ring, which dates back to 1877. They also include the incentivization of electronic trade...Read More
Fluctuating global prices and erratic downstream secondary aluminium consumption have market participants in Europe wondering how to manage risk through periods of volatility. Fastmarkets' assessment of the aluminium pressure die-casting ingot DIN226/A380, delivered Europe was at ?,?2,010-2,040 ($2,391.04-2,426.72) per tonne Friday March 19, down from ?,?2,040-2,090 per tonne the week before....Read More
Initial deals for second-quarter supply of aluminium to Japan have settled at levels that would mark six-year highs, boosted by demand from other key importer regions. Since the beginning of March, international producers have locked deals with Japanese buyers at $148-149 per tonne cif main Japanese ports (MJP), the highest since the second quarter of 2015, when the settlement was at $380 per...Read More
Aluminium's futures price reached yet another year-to-date high at $2,289.50 per tonne during trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday March 22, with supply concerns for the metal continuing, and with all base metals prices up day-on-day at the close.The price of aluminium closed at $2,272 per tonne, $7 per tonne higher than on Friday, while its intraday high point on Monday was its highest...Read More
The process at the heart of proposals to overhaul the London Metal Exchange's market structure is problematic and suggests the exchange is not putting its users first, the president of the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said. In an interview with Fastmarkets, Mark Loveitt said that it was not clear to the IWCC and its members why the exchange was revisiting plans to change its margin...Read More
The proposals included in the London Metal Exchange's discussion paper would not serve the needs of the physical market and could have a negative impact on copper and copper alloy semis-fabricators, the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said.Mark Loveitt, IWCC president and director, said the association is not opposed to change but believed the proposals would not achieve the LME's stat...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.In both Europe and the United States, the prices of most flat steel products have pushed to record highs in the weeks to Monday March 22. They remain slightly below their mid-2008 peaks in China, but are at multi-year highs there too.This illustrates in part the heavier consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for steelmakers in...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil substantially increased across Europe over the week to Friday March 19, driven by a material shortage and strong demand.At the end of last week, ArcelorMittal increased its offer prices further, up by ?,?50 per tonne in Northern Europe to ?,?850 ($1,012) per tonne ex-works, and up by about ?,?30-40 per tonne to ?,?820 per tonne ex-works in Italy.Fastmarket...Read More
Aluminium's futures price reached yet another year-to-date high at $2,289.50 per tonne during trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday March 22, with supply concerns for the metal continuing, and with all base metals prices up day-on-day at the close.The price of aluminium closed at $2,272 per tonne, $7 per tonne higher than on Friday, while its intraday high point on Monday was its highest...Read More
The process at the heart of proposals to overhaul the London Metal Exchange's market structure is problematic and suggests the exchange is not putting its users first, the president of the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said. In an interview with Fastmarkets, Mark Loveitt said that it was not clear to the IWCC and its members why the exchange was revisiting plans to change its margin...Read More
The proposals included in the London Metal Exchange's discussion paper would not serve the needs of the physical market and could have a negative impact on copper and copper alloy semis-fabricators, the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said.Mark Loveitt, IWCC president and director, said the association is not opposed to change but believed the proposals would not achieve the LME's stat...Read More
The Defense Logistics Agency will potentially offer at least 400 tonnes of tin to the United States market through to September, starting with 40 tonnes in April, a DLA spokeswoman told Fastmarkets.The DLA has authorization to sell about 4,000 tonnes of tin from the US government stockpile this fiscal year (FY21), which, for the federal government ends, on September 30.Tin is in acutely short supp...Read More
Brazil-headquartered Nexa Resources has suspended operations at its Extremo Norte underground mine in the Vazante unit, due to the identification of ground displacements on the site, the base metals producer said on Friday March 19.The downtime is not expected to significantly affect production in the first quarter, however, Nexa said. Throughput of the second mine in the division, also called Vaz...Read More
Initial deals for second-quarter supply of aluminium to Japan have settled at levels that would mark six-year highs, boosted by demand from other key importer regions. Since the beginning of March, international producers have locked deals with Japanese buyers at $148-149 per tonne cif main Japanese ports (MJP), the highest since the second quarter of 2015, when the settlement was at $380 per...Read More
The European Commission has published proposed provisional anti-dumping duties on certain flat rolled products originating in China. Industry association European Aluminium called the announcement an important step forward in the fight against "China's unfair trade practices." The duty rates may vary from 19.60% to 47.30% and come after an anti-dumping investigation opened on August 14, 2020,...Read More