Cobalt hydroxide suppliers and buyers are in a stalemate after the cobalt futures price on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange tumbled late last week. Fastmarkets' assessment of the cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China was flat week on week at 93-94% of standard-grade cobalt (low end) on Friday March 5. The indicator is assessed twice weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays. Risk-...Read More
Turkish steel producers skipped the first working day of the week with no deep-sea bookings, keeping their focus on finished steel sales, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday March 8.The steelmakers had booked a number of scrap cargoes late last week, resulting a more than $6-per-tonne increase in the daily scrap indices.A scrap supplier in the Baltic Sea region sold two cargoes at the e...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were weaker this morning, Monday March 8, but prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly stronger while they caught up with the gains on the LME on Friday. Brent crude oil prices over $70 per barrel following missile attack in Saudi ArabiaUnited States Senate passes $1.9 trillion stimulus billBase metals LME three-month base metals prices we...Read More
With demand for lithium continuing to recover in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chile's Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) and other major lithium miners have announced plans to expand production while highlighting their commitments to sustainable lithium extraction.SQM recently announced that it was the first lithium mining company to join the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA),...Read More
A sharp increase in cobalt prices, coupled with a clearer medium-term demand outlook for the market, has given sellers the upper hand in metal contract discussions - a distinct change since the start of the year - according to sources that spoke to Fastmarkets.The demand picture has been brightened by strong demand from the electric vehicle (EV) market, complemented by the consumer electronics sec...Read More
Cobalt hydroxide suppliers and buyers are in a stalemate after the cobalt futures price on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange tumbled late last week. Fastmarkets' assessment of the cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China was flat week on week at 93-94% of standard-grade cobalt (low end) on Friday March 5. The indicator is assessed twice weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays. Risk-...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 8 that are worth another look.The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.With...Read More
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil increased across Europe over the week to Friday March 5, supported by long lead times from domestic mills and good demand.The steelmakers pushed offers upward again to achieve further rises in transaction prices.ArcelorMittal raised its official offer for HRC to ?,?800 ($953) per tonne ex-works on Friday, up by ?,?50 per tonne, following the recovery in do...Read More
The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.Finished steel distributors have said they have been struggling to get the necessary volumes of finished steel from either domestic or overseas suppliers, adding that they do not expect the situation...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 8 that are worth another look.The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.With...Read More
The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.Finished steel distributors have said they have been struggling to get the necessary volumes of finished steel from either domestic or overseas suppliers, adding that they do not expect the situation...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices increased sharply on Monday March 8 following futures gains and amid expectations that rebar demand from the housing sector will benefit from an expansion of the country's high-speed railway.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,740-4,760 yuan ($728-731) per tonne, up by 90-100 yuan per tonne China aims to extend the total length of its high-speed railway to around 50,0...Read More
Turkish steel producers skipped the first working day of the week with no deep-sea bookings, keeping their focus on finished steel sales, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday March 8.The steelmakers had booked a number of scrap cargoes late last week, resulting a more than $6-per-tonne increase in the daily scrap indices.A scrap supplier in the Baltic Sea region sold two cargoes at the e...Read More
Iron ore prices were largely rangebound on Monday March 8 after fresh restrictions were announced for the steelmaking hub of Tangshan on Sunday evening, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $174.34 per tonne, up $0.23 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $174.63 per tonne, down $0.03 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $162....Read More
China's iron ore imports in January and February 2021 increased by 2.8% from 2020, data released on Monday March 8 from the General Administration of Customs of China shows.In the first two months of 2021, China's imports of iron ore totalled 181.51 million tonnes, up by 2.8% year on year from 176.6 million tonnes in 2020, customs data showed.The increase in iron ore imports...Read More
China's billet imports increased by 541% in 2020 from a year earlier while those for slab rose at a higher rate of 668% last year, according to the country's customs data. The big increases for these semi-finished steel products - which are rerolled into finished steel products - came amid year-long steelmaking restrictions to improve air quality in the country's production hub of Tangshan.Last ye...Read More
The Indian silico-manganese export market should cement recent price gains that have pushed up the high end of the range to a level last seen in April 2018 on firm domestic fundamentals that are influencing exporter offer prices, industry sources told Fastmarkets. Indian trade sources said firm domestic demand has encouraged higher export offer prices to customers in Southeast Asia, the Middle Eas...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 8 that are worth another look.The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.With...Read More
The supply shortage in the European steel market, which has been driving up domestic prices since late 2020, will persist until the end of this year at the very least, market sources told Fastmarkets.Finished steel distributors have said they have been struggling to get the necessary volumes of finished steel from either domestic or overseas suppliers, adding that they do not expect the situation...Read More
The Indian silico-manganese export market should cement recent price gains that have pushed up the high end of the range to a level last seen in April 2018 on firm domestic fundamentals that are influencing exporter offer prices, industry sources told Fastmarkets. Indian trade sources said firm domestic demand has encouraged higher export offer prices to customers in Southeast Asia, the Middle Eas...Read More