A summary of aluminium producer Rusal's results for the year ended December 31, 2020.SummaryRusal's aluminium sales fell 6.0% year on year in 2020 to 3.93 million tonnes. The drop in sales is attributable mostly to a higher base in 2019, when sales volumes were above normal levels due to the partial sell down of surplus inventories of primary aluminium...Read More
Copper mine workers in Myanmar have joined a nationwide protest that broke out in response to a military coup early this month, but production in the country has experienced minimal impact so far, Fastmarkets has learned.Some 300 out of a total of 2,000 workers at the Kyisintaung copper mines in Sagaing region stopped work last Friday February 5 to join a civil disobedience movement against Myanma...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price gained the most on the morning of Monday February 8 with the rest of the base metals complex trading sideways from their prices on Friday, when a dip in the dollar led to an upsurge in futures prices. The three-month copper price was up 0.9% at $7,984.50 per tonne at 9am, after a rise of 1.1% on Friday's 5pm close to $7,912.50 per tonne. There was...Read More
European steel association Eurofer is concerned that the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will result in a substantial rise in the costs of steel production, it said on Friday February 5.The European Parliament's environment committee (ENVI) voted on Friday in favour of adopting the CBAM by a margin of 58 votes for, 8 against and 10 abstentions, Eurofer said."The consequences of the...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil across Europe were stable on Monday February 8 despite attempts by mills to achieve price increases, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe unchanged at ?,?710 ($855.36) per tonne on Monday.The index was down by ?,?3.33 per tonne week on week but up by ?,?42.50 per tonne month on month...Read More
CIS rebar and wire rod prices fell in the week to Monday February 8, with mills reducing their offers after Turkish suppliers did the same in an attempt to attract customers.Ukraine-origin rebar was available at $600-615 per tonne fob, compared with $640 per tonne fob a week earlier.And Russia-origin material was offered at $600 per tonne fob Black Sea, sources told Fastmarkets.Several m...Read More
Turkish steel producers were quiet on the first working day of the week with no deep-sea trade reported, but demand is recovering slightly, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 8.Mills resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases at the end of last week and achieved lower prices. The most recent bookings put the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price at $380 per tonne cfr for Baltic Sea-origin material and $387 p...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices continued their decline in the week to Monday February 8 amid weakening imported scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets.Steel mills in Turkey have slowed their deep-sea scrap purchases in recent weeks to put prices under pressure due to weak rebar and billet demand.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey was $386.21 per ton...Read More
Iron ore prices went up on Monday February 8, with growing steel mill interest in mid-grade fines at ports, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $160.50 per tonne, up $3.49 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $160.80 per tonne, up $3.27 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $146.45 per tonne, up $2.16 per tonn...Read More
The seaborne fob coking coal market trended down on Monday February 8 amid weakened market sentiment and limited trading activity, sources said. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $154.04 per tonne, down $2.49 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $217.23 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $133.57 per tonne, down $1.63 per tonne Hard coking coal, cfr...Read More
Seaborne prices for iron ore concentrate and pellets continued to decline last week on softening demand and limited liquidity ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday in China, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices66% Fe concentrate, cfr Qingdao: $176.57 per tonne, down $8.68 per tonne.65% Fe blast furnace pellet, cfr Qingdao: $212.27 per tonne, down $13.22 per tonne.Key driversWeak d...Read More
Fastmarkets is launching a new daily China ferrous scrap import price assessment on Monday February 8 after a month-long consultation.The new assessment will be for heavy scrap classified under the Chinese standard HRS101. This is a grade of cut structural and plate scrap which - outside of China - fits under the category of plate and structural (P&S) scrap, or in Japan, HS scrap.The price will be...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker this morning, Monday February 8, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly firmer, but this comes after a strong performance on the LME on Friday, when prices closed up by an average of 1.7%. Poor US employment report may help rescue package pass through CongressUS Treasury secretary Janet Yellen predicts the United...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in London on Friday February 5.Key drivers The downward correction in prices has continued over the past week, with the market dropping to a one-month low on profit-taking amid an active spot market, and expectations of more material arriving in European...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt...Read More
The tantalum concentrate market continued to move higher at the beginning of February, following a slow start to the year, amid supply worries caused by lockdowns in Rwanda and renewed end-user demand, market sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets assessed the price of tantalite, basis 25% min Ta2O5, cif China at $63-65 per lb on Friday February 5, unchanged from the previous week's assessment...Read More
Polish ferro-silicon producer Huta Laziska is producing standard grade ferro-silicon (Si 75%) at close to full capacity, extending its rate of output from late last year, amid a rally in European prices that started in August, an industry source has told Fastmarkets. Huta Laziska has an annual production capacity of close to 80,000-90,000 tonnes per year of the grade, and made only minor adjustmen...Read More
Seaborne low-grade manganese ore prices dropped for the second consecutive week on Friday February 5 on weakening demand and high Chinese port stocks, which outweighed logistical disruptions. Fastmarkets' manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin dropped 6 cents week on week to $4.62 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on February 5. Fastmarkets' manganese ore 44% Mn, cif Tianjin edged up 2 c...Read More
With the exception of tin, base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were firmer this morning, Tuesday February 9, as were the precious metals and oil, while the US dollar continued with its recent pullback.* Oil prices hits $61 per barrel, highest since January 2020, on production cuts* Bitcoin surges as Tesla shows support for the cryptocurrency* United S...Read More