Turkey's domestic auto bundle scrap prices have increased due to a weakening lira, while ship scrap prices have been largely stable, market participants told Fastmarkets on Monday November 15.The Turkish lira weakened further against the United States' dollar after the Turkish central bank cut the benchmark interest rate by 2% to 16% late in October.The central bank was expected to cut the interes...Read More
Base metals prices closed lower on the London Metal Exchange on Monday November 15, extending a downward consolidation amid an uncertain macroeconomic picture and a strong United States dollar index.Nickel's three-month price registered the largest fall on Monday, with a drop of $19 per tonne from $19,979 per tonne at the close on Friday. The metal traded as high as $20,030 per tonne - its highest...Read More
China's widespread power availability issues, which have been crippling industrial operators for months, highlight what could be a fundamental shift in the ferro-chrome smelting capacity coming out of the country, sources have said.China's ferro-chrome production has been stalled by electricity restrictions because power providers have had to cut back output in response to the soaring price of coa...Read More
Turkish steel producers made three deep-sea scrap cargo bookings for December shipment on Monday November 15, market participants told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a United Kingdom cargo at $490 per tonne cfr for heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20).The same mill also booked a Baltic Sea cargo consisting of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $494.50 per tonne cfr.Another steel mill...Read More
Sir Brian Bender, chairman of the London Metal Exchange for almost a decade, has died at age 72.Bender joined the LME in 2010, fresh from a lifelong career in the British civil service, and described himself in an interview with Metal Market Magazine on his retirement in 2019 as a "slightly leftfield candidate" for the role.He presided over a transformative period of change at the exchange, includ...Read More
(Recasts, updates prices, adds market details) LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Copper fell on Monday as datashowed weakness in China's property sector, Chinese coal pricesplunged, the U.S. dollar strengthened to a 16-month high and asupply squeeze on the London Metal Exchange (LME) continued toease.China is the biggest consumer and producer of metals. Lesshomebuilding would reduce demand, and lower coa...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US prices for hot-rolled coil moved in line with our forecasts in August, averaging $1,910 per ton, within 1% accuracy of our forecast of $1,925 per ton. The market has achieved much-needed stability in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating in the range of $1,900-1,94...Read More
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) will offer cheaper funding to financial institutions which provide green loans, according to a statement released by the Chinese central bank on Monday November 8.The central bank will lend money to financial institutions to help them support firms which are working toward China's energy transition goals, the statement read.Financial institutions can borrow from P...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 18 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the November Empire State Manufacturing Survey at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase to 20.50 from 19.80 in October. Actual was 30.9Dollar Tree advanced $8.57 to $121.65 on news that an activist investor has taken a $1.8 bil...Read More
Stainless steel prices continue to register new highs around the end of the first half of 2021 and steelmakers continue to enjoy outsized margins.They have responded in recent months by increasing their output, which has now pushed above pre-pandemic levels and will eventually restore balance to the market.For now, though, supply gaps are still being filled and buyers find themselves competing aga...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 12 that are worth another look....Read More
European steel companies must scale up their decarbonization technologies within the coming decade or risk exhausting their allocated emissions allowances early, according to a report released on Tuesday September 14.The report, "Steeling for Net Zero," by climate researcher Industry Tracker, found that selected European steel companies have less than 26% of their carbon budget remaining and must...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 12 that are worth another look....Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 12 that are worth another look....Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...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
The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Fastmarkets analysts were invited to present our outlook for the coking coal market at Coaltrans Asia, held online on November 23-25. One of the key topics at the event was the trade tensions between China and Australia, which overtook Mongolia to become the largest coking coal exporter to China this year...Read More
Automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler has signed an off-take agreement with Sweden's H2 Green Steel (H2GS) to purchase 100,000 tonnes of its near-zero CO2- free steel on an annual basis from 2025, the company announced earlier in the week.The steel will be produced via direct reduction with hydrogen from renewable energy, replacing coking coal and reducing emissions by 95% in comparison wi...Read More