Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday February 3 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal Italia has resumed operations at blast furnace (BF) No2 and coke battery No9 at its Taranto steel plant in the south of Italy, the producer said on February 3.Rio Tinto...Read More
The frenzy of buying activity in silver, attributed to a group of retail investors using the Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets and other social media sites, is waning.The silver surge - which began on January 27 and saw the price of the industrial metal soar to an eight-year high of more than $30 per oz before slipping to just below $27 per oz by Tuesday January 2 - followed a phenomenal upswell in th...Read More
A global reshuffling of metallurgical coal trade flows and a limited supply of the steelmaking raw material have caused seaborne prices to spike in recent weeks.Global reshuffleIn the seaborne market, coking coal cargoes from the United States and Canada flowed to China after the East Asian country imposed a ban on the import of Australian coal in October 2020.Chinese steelmakers who could no long...Read More
A hazy outlook for China's ferrous sector after the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday is overwhelming the Asian steel industry, resulting in a market divided on prices and purchasing decisions, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Steel demand"The situation for the Chinese steel market is unclear now. It's not clear whether demand will rebound after the Chinese New Year. Many market participants in...Read More
Zinc's price was nearly 2% higher on the London Metal Exchange with dip-buying having started and futures prices edging upward on Wednesday February 3, following two days of decreases, with the easing of the Dollar Index helping to support metal prices.Zinc's three-month price closed 1.8% higher at $2,615 per tonne on Wednesday at 5pm, the first time it has closed above the $2,600 per tonne mark s...Read More
The fob seaborne premium hard coking coal price edged up on Wednesday February 3 after a transaction for premium low-volatility hard coking coal was sealed at a higher price, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $157.53 per tonne, up $0.74 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $217.23 per tonne, down $0.50 per tonneHard coking coal, f...Read More
Iron ore prices edged up on Wednesday February 3, supported by an increase in inquiries from steel mills intending purchase, although trading activity was still limited, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $152.65 per tonne, up $2.85 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $152.90 per tonne, up $2.53 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade p...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR?In a strong start to the year, January saw ore and alloy pricing gains across all markets priced by Fastmarkets - with the exception of Chinese silicon metal export prices, which retreated slightly last month after posting impressive gains in December 2020.The combination...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.We spoke in our previous tracker of stainless steel prices ending 2020 on a high. That trend has continued during early 2021 and, in fact, the upward rally in prices has increased its momentum.Compared with the monthly price increase of some 5% seen at the end of 2020, prices for grade-304 stainless steel in al...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil across Europe were fairly stable over the week to Wednesday February 3, supported by good order books among EU steelmakers, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?710.00 ($855.54) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?1.00 per tonne from ?,?709.00 per tonne on February 2.The ind...Read More
Steel rebar prices in Northern Europe have declined slightly over the past seven days amid a slowdown in buying and a softer scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday February 3.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?640-660 ($771-795) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?10 per tonne from ?,?650-670 per tonne sev...Read More
After rising steadily since mid-October 2020, most stainless steel scrap prices in the United States held steady or inched lower over the past week, while dealers said sales negotiations with consumers for the month of February were under way."With steel prices dropping and nickel slipping today, I would assume stainless is giving back recent gains with interest this week," one dealer said.The&nbs...Read More
Mining revenues soared in Brazil during 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, led mainly by higher iron ore prices and an increase in total production, Brazilian mining institute lbram said on Tuesday February 2.Revenues totaled 209 billion Reais ($38.7 billion) for the mining industry last year, up by 36% from 153 billion Reais in 2019, lbram reported. Iron ore contributed the most to that number,...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday February 3.Please click...Read More
Zinc's price was nearly 2% higher on the London Metal Exchange with dip-buying having started and futures prices edging upward on Wednesday February 3, following two days of decreases, with the easing of the Dollar Index helping to support metal prices.Zinc's three-month price closed 1.8% higher at $2,615 per tonne on Wednesday at 5pm, the first time it has closed above the $2,600 per tonne mark s...Read More
Rio Tinto has launched Start, the equivalent of a nutrition label for responsible aluminium, while the company continues its push to increase transparency and traceability in the industry.Using blockchain technology, Start will give customers a digital sustainability label containing key information about the site where the aluminium was produced.It will cover ten criteria: carbon footprint, water...Read More
The prices of all base metals, with the exception of zinc, on the London Metal Exchange eased on Wednesday February 3, with the rising dollar index continuing to cap futures prices on the exchange. Zinc's three-month price was the only one to see a small rise on Wednesday morning to $2,581.50 per tonne from Tuesday's 5pm closing price of $2,569.50 per tonne. Nevertheless, the galvanizing metal's...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy plate in Northern Europe and Southern Europe increased during the week to Wednesday February 3, sources told Fastmarkets, though market participants are questioning the sustainability of higher prices and stronger demand. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe was ?,?660-680 ($795-819) per tonne ex-works on February 3, up by ?,...Read More
ArcelorMittal Italia has resumed operations at blast furnace (BF) No2 and coke battery No9 at its Taranto steel plant in the south of Italy, the producer said on Wednesday February 3.BF No2 was restarted on February 1. It had been closed in March 2020.Currently, the producer is running furnaces No1, No2 and No4, and two steel mills are also operating.On February 2, the producer also resumed operat...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Southern Europe declined in the week to Wednesday February 3 under the pressure of slow buying activity and weaker scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?600-620 ($723-747) per tonne on Wednesday, down from ?,?610-635 per tonne last week.ItalyRebar...Read More