China will ban the creation of additional capacity for some energy-intensive industries - including for steel, coke, alumina and aluminium - in a bid to control pollution, the state council said in a guideline issued on Sunday November 7.The guideline did not specify the areas to be subject to the ban or the date that the measures will take effect.This comes alongside the statement that the supply...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
Alumina export volumes from Brazil increased by 84.73% in October 2021 compared with the corresponding month in 2020, with both the Alunorte and Alumar refineries shipping more material, according to data published by the coutnry's ministry of economy on Monday November 8.Brazilian alumina exports totaled 901,012 tonnes in October, a significant rise from 487,742 tonnes a year before.Cargoes shipp...Read More
Flat steel import prices to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia decreased during the week ended Tuesday November 9, and the market direction was still uncertain because of different price moves from different regions, sources told Fastmarkets.Hot-rolled coil prices have been decreasing recently in China, but increasing in Europe.On the other hand, Indian flat steel exporters are offering lim...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were largely stable during the seven days up to Monday November 8, because of slow activity after a national holiday and Covid-19 restriction measures.Market participants continued to report that the available volumes of rebar were limited. This was mostly due to mills giving priority to replenishing their trade houses'...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Tuesday November 9 amid weak demand for steel in northern China (due to the colder weather) and rising inventories at Chinese ports, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.30 per tonne, down $1.52 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.46 per tonne, down $1.09 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qi...Read More
Prices for flat steel products continued to increase in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow during the quiet holiday week ended Monday November 8, on limited offers from the mills, sources have told Fastmarkets.Some believed that prices have reached their peak and would remain flat until the end of the year, due to rumors about planned short-term maintenance stoppages at mills and the...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 recent downward correction in aluminium prices and premiums was expected after a strong uptrend in 2021, but tighter supply from China is set to continue supporting high prices, Brazilian aluminium producer Companhia Brasileira do Alum?-nio (CBA) said on Tuesday November 9.Chinese aluminium output cuts, meant to reduce carbon emissions, deepened a global supply deficit in the third quarter. Es...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...Read More
Prices for steel rebar and billet imports into the United Arab Emirates increased during the week ended Tuesday November 9, although offer prices for billet were higher than the rebar deal prices because of a shortage of the semi-finished material, sources have told Fastmarkets.The reason for the high billet price, compared with rebar, was that most billet producers in Oman have sold large quantit...Read More
Mexican ferrous scrap prices were little changed in the week ended Friday November 5, with buyers passing on minor price adjustments to certain grades.Scrap sellers were putting strong pressure on clients, trying to apply price increases after the United States market reached settlements for November with increases of $20 per gross ton in prime scrap grades, and $40-60 per gross ton on most obsole...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Bulk and noble alloys both moved largely in line with our price forecasts globally over the past month, though several markets surprised to the upside, exceeding our forecast gains. Stronger-than-forecast pricing momentum was primarily triggered by supply shortages in numerous...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday November 9 that are worth another look.Carbon offsets and trading are an effective and quick way to contend with a future global ecosystem of green taxes, or the "green taxonomy," a sustainability consultancy said.Growing consumer appetite for sustainable products...Read More
Mexican ferrous scrap prices were little changed in the week ended Friday November 5, with buyers passing on minor price adjustments to certain grades.Scrap sellers were putting strong pressure on clients, trying to apply price increases after the United States market reached settlements for November with increases of $20 per gross ton in prime scrap grades, and $40-60 per gross ton on most obsole...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
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
Growing consumer appetite for sustainable products and tighter regulations on carbon-intensive primary aluminium production, such as the EU's recent proposal for a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), have seen greater investment in scrap-processing facilities across Europe, providing long-term support for scrap prices as a result.CBAM calls for EU importers of steel and aluminium to pay for...Read More
Domestic demand for rebar in China weakened further on Tuesday November 9, causing prices to narrow downward. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,900-4,940 yuan ($766-773) per tonne, narrowing downward by 40 yuan per tonneMany traders lowered their rebar offers on losses in the futures market with the exception of a few, who maintained theirs.But both approaches failed to generate interest among...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