Falling Japanese scrap prices have led to a resurgence in interest for such cargoes, with multiple transactions heard concluded in the week ended Friday March 12. A transaction was concluded at $440 per tonne cfr Vietnam for a bulk Japanese H2 cargo, while another transaction was heard concluded at $445 per tonne cfr northern Vietnam for the same grade of material.Offer for bulk Japanese H2 cargoe...Read More
An abrupt downturn in sentiment and the resulting bearish effect on demand have caused spot prices for containerized ferrous scrap in the key import market of Taiwan to fall, with traders attempting to liquidate positions quickly, sources told Fastmarkets during the week to Friday March 12.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for containerized steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), United States material im...Read More
Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrates index continued its downward momentum in the week to Friday March 12, reflecting buying from traders and smelters at progressively lower levels. Fastmarkets' copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index, cif Asia Pacific fell to $26 per tonne / 2.6 cents per lb on Friday, down by 14% from a week prior. Chinese smelters are...Read More
Copper prices may be soaring, but the market is not yet factoring in key future demand from decarbonization and the new energy transition, the chairman and chief executive of Freeport-McMoRan said. Richard Adkerson, who has been at Freeport since 1989 and watched multiple pricing cycles evolve, said the natural comparative period for the currently soaring copper price is 2010-11, when the market p...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 11 that are worth another look.Europe's proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has been approved by a firm majority in the European Parliament and is expected to help to preserve the region's steel supply chain, industry...Read More
Small and medium-size recycling companies would lose their ability to hedge if the London Metal Exchange changes its margin methodology, an executive at metal recycling company European Metal Recycling (EMR) said. According to Murat Bayram, EMR managing director for non-ferrous Europe, the proposed change from a Discounted Contingent Variation Margin (DCVM), which realizes forward profits on the s...Read More
Key proposals in the London Metal Exchange's discussion paper will likely weaken the link between metals pricing and the physical market and lead to price distortions, the president of Hong Kong-based trader Global Metals Network Ltd said. These proposals include the permanent closure of the LME ring, the incentivization of electronic trading and a switch in margin methodology, Mark Sellier&n...Read More
Metal markets are still yet to see the major flows of institutional capital into commodities that characterized past "super-cycles", fund managers told attendees of the virtual Fastmarkets Copper Seminar on Thursday March 11.Commodities from oil to grains and metals have seen prices rise sharply since the start of the year, with bank analysts and executives like Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein call...Read More
The premium on alumina cargoes in Brazil compared to Australian units is at its highest in more than two years on Thursday March 11 due to continued lack of balance in supply between the Pacific and the Atlantic, sources said.Fastmarkets' alumina index adjustment to fob Australia index, Brazil was at a premium of $7.83 per tonne on Thursday, widening from $0.90 per tonne on February 23."It's no su...Read More
"Information gaps" caused by the shift to virtual events for major copper gatherings last year made annual negotiation of key copper contracts unprecedentedly challenging, industry executives said on a panel at Fastmarkets' Copper Seminar on Thursday March 11. Key events including LME Week 2020, Asia Copper Week and Cesco Santiago were all held virtually last year due to travel restrictions to pre...Read More
Stakeholders across the copper value chain need to collaborate to drive widespread adoption of responsible production and consumption, participants at a panel discussion said at the Fastmarkets Copper Seminar on Thursday March 11.Speakers at "The green transition: Responsible copper production" panel on Thursday highlighted the great strides made in consumer and investor interest in responsible pr...Read More
Key proposals in the London Metal Exchange's discussion paper will likely weaken the link between metals pricing and the physical market and lead to price distortions, the president of Hong Kong-based trader Global Metals Network Ltd said. These proposals include the permanent closure of the LME ring, the incentivization of electronic trading and a switch in margin methodology, Mark Sellier&n...Read More
Turkish steelmakers continued to stay back from the deep-sea scrap markets because of falling prices and increasing supply, market sources said on Thursday March 11.Two Turkish steelmakers booked US cargoes last Saturday and late on Monday at $453-456 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis, sending the daily scrap indices down by $5.79 per tonne on March 9.But booking activity did not continue,...Read More
Momentum has faded in the Japanese steel scrap export market following six straight weeks of increases, with buyers stepping away from closing sales, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Japan scrap export prices fell over the last week in the markets for H2 heavy scrap and Shindachi busheling, while tags for shredded and heavy scrap or plate and structural (P&S) material remained more stable.Fastma...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday March 10 pricing session in London and Shanghai.Key drivers Cobalt hydroxide payables edged slightly lower in the first half of this week with consumers either on the sidelines, wary of recent turns in the downstream...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 11 that are worth another look.Europe's proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has been approved by a firm majority in the European Parliament and is expected to help to preserve the region's steel supply chain, industry...Read More
Latin American apparent steel consumption rose 15.87% year on year during December, while full-year 2020 figures fell 9.57% from 2019, the region's steel association, Alacero, said on Thursday March 11.Rolled steel consumption reached 6.03 million tonnes in December, up from 5.2 million tonnes a year before, according to the data published by Alacero. During 2020 as a whole, consumption totaled 58...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil in Europe increased again over the week to Wednesday March 10, due to a material shortage combined with good demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?890-900 ($1,061-1,073) per tonne on March 10, compared with ?,?870-900 per tonne a week earlier.The...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 11 that are worth another look.Europe's proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has been approved by a firm majority in the European Parliament and is expected to help to preserve the region's steel supply chain, industry...Read More
Europe's proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has been approved by a firm majority in the European Parliament and is expected to help to preserve the region's steel supply chain, industry association Eurofer has said.On Wednesday March 10, the European Parliament voted on the CBAM resolution, prior to a legislative proposal expected to be published by the European Commission (EC) in...Read More