Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday February 4 that are worth another look.Brazil-based miner Vale has reached a settlement with local prosecutors to pay 37.7 billion Reais ($7.03 billion) in reparations for the deadly disaster that hit the city of Brumadinho in January 2019, it said...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have reached an all-time high, supported by strong demand and extremely tight supply, Fastmarkets has learned.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $59.23 per hundredweight ($1,184.60 per short ton) on Thursday February 4, up by 2.69% from $57.68 per cwt the previous day and more than double $29.57 per cwt on...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanizing coil have been stable in Northern Europe over the week to Wednesday February 3, supported by tight supply, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil domestic, exw Northern Europe was unchanged over the week at ?,?820-840 ($987-1,011) per tonne on February 3.The assessment was based on achievable pri...Read More
The attraction of high sales volumes and good netbacks in China continued to tighten supply and supported prices for ferro-chrome in Europe in the week to Tuesday February 2.Ferro-chrome producers have targeted China, attracted by the high demand, rather than Europe. This has reduced the volumes available in Europe, which in turn has increased prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday February 4 that are worth another look.Brazil-based miner Vale has reached a settlement with local prosecutors to pay 37.7 billion Reais ($7.03 billion) in reparations for the deadly disaster that hit the city of Brumadinho in January 2019, it said...Read More
The Biden administration's focus on US manufacturing and domestic supply chains will benefit established and developing minerals and metals sectors, including steel, rare earths, graphite and lithium.US President Joe Biden's executive order on the strengthening of American manufacturing, which he signed during his first week in office, is expected to have a direct effect on demand for US-produced...Read More
Iron ore prices increased across the board on Thursday February 4, after sharp gains in futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) and in swaps contracts on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $158.03 per tonne, up $5.38 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $158.61 per tonne, up $5.71 per tonne58% F...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer this morning, Thursday February 4, with the weaker dollar likely weighing on dollar-denominated prices.Along with a stronger US Dollar Index, US 10-year treasuries yields are stronger too......suggesting risk-on, but broader markets not reflecting that this morningAsi...Read More
Ball Corp expects investment in beverage packaging to continue to grow as demand for sustainable aluminium cans for traditional and non-traditional beverages continues to accelerate, the Colorado, United States-based company said in its 2020 earnings report. After delays to some projects last year for health and safety reasons due to the Covid-19 pandemic, additional beverage can line investments...Read More
Turkish prices for hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil both fell in January 2021, with the market slow to moderate because of decreasing prices globally, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday February 4.The country's HRC producers were fully booked until late April, so most market participants expected prices to show more correction, after the sharp increases in November and December 2020."There was a shortag...Read More
Forward prices on the London Metal Exchange made luckluster moves on Thursday February 4, with the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday and a high US dollar index leading to consolidation.Copper was part of the stable LME cohort, staying broadly unchanged at $7,823 per tonne on Thursday compared with $7,842.50 per tonne at Wednesday's close, albeit on low volumes of just over 10,400 lots exchang...Read More
General Motors (GM) has become the latest automaker hit by the global shortage of computer chips and has been forced to temporarily stop production in North America and South Korea, it said on Wednesday February 3.The US automaker will cut production entirely at three of its factories in North America and will halt production at one assembly plant in South Korea during the week of February 8. The...Read More
Automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) do not agree that there should be an additional premium for "green" aluminium, Mark White, industry consultant and innovation director at DSW Automotive, told Fastmarkets. White spoke about the automotive industry's stance on a green aluminium premium during a Fastmarkets webinar titled "Empowering Consumers: The Future of Responsible Materials &...Read More
The prospective owners of KAZ Minerals have increased their offer to buy the copper miner to $3.7 billion in their effort to take the London Stock Exchange-listed entity private, Fastmarkets understands.The rise in the consortium's offer comes at a time when the London Metal Exchange copper price has increased by nearly $1,000 per tonne since the first bid for the company was made, together with t...Read More
Start, Rio Tinto's new digital sustainability label, uses blockchain technology to encrypt key information about the company's aluminium, functioning like a "digital filing cabinet," vice president of sales marketing at Rio Tinto Aluminium Tolga Egrilmezer told Fastmarkets. Egilmezer lauded the advantages of using blockchain for its Start label during Fastmarkets' webinar "Empowering Consumer...Read More
Glencore and Century Aluminum Co have agreed a deal for the sale of 150,000 tonnes of Natur-Al brand aluminium to Austria-based Hammerer Aluminium Industries (HAI). Glencore will supply the aluminium to HAI over five years, Glencore said in a press release on Thursday February 4. Natur-Al products are made using energy from 100% renewable sources at Century's Nor??ur??l Grundartangi aluminum plant...Read More
Prices for imported hot-rolled coil in the United States fell from the highest in more than 12 years, with buyers looking for deals amid speculation that prices will drop by the time cargoes arrive at American ports."A lot of consumers are shopping for their best deals, but the problem is inventory availability in some cases," a West Coast distributor said. Fastmarkets' assessment for s...Read More
Steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States are steady this week, with market participants closely watching the monthly domestic ferrous scrap trade for signs of how it will impact the spot rebar market.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US was at $39.75 per hundredweight ($795 per short ton) on Wednesday February 3, unchanged from January 27...Read More
Brazilian vehicle production climbed by 4.2% year on year in January, with the industry slowly recovering from Covid-related restrictions imposed in the second quarter of 2020, trade association Anfavea said on Thursday February 4.Output totaled 199,707 units in the first month of 2021, rising from 191,731 units in the same month last year. But the total was down by 4.6% from 209,296 units in...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe inched down over the week to Wednesday February 3, but buyers declined the lower offers, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?800-810 ($962-974) per tonne on February 3, compared with ?,?800-820 per tonne a week earlier.The assessment was based on achievable prices hear...Read More