The price of tin on the London Metal Exchange rose to a new 2021 high on Thursday January 28, while the rest of the base-metals complex showed mixed results at the 5pm close.Zinc, notably, was holding its ground after a 2.7% decline on Wednesday, but the prices of nickel and aluminium drifted lower.Tin's continued rise on Thursday led it to a new year-to-date high of $23,075 per tonne during the d...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday January 28 that are worth another look.Rio Tinto has created a new executive team and organizational structure to strengthen its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) credentials and rebuild trust, "particularly in Australia", following the destruction...Read More
The European titanium scrap market, which was steady in the week to Wednesday January 27, looks set to resume its price rally that started in September 2020 in the near term, market sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' titanium scrap turnings, unprocessed type 90/6/4, 0.5% Sn max, cif Europe price stood at $1.60-1.75 per lb in the latest assessment on Wednesday, while titanium scrap tu...Read More
The price of tin on the London Metal Exchange rose to a new 2021 high on Thursday January 28, while the rest of the base-metals complex showed mixed results at the 5pm close.Zinc, notably, was holding its ground after a 2.7% decline on Wednesday, but the prices of nickel and aluminium drifted lower.Tin's continued rise on Thursday led it to a new year-to-date high of $23,075 per tonne during the d...Read More
Iron ore prices fell on Thursday January 28, with weak mill margins and expected crude steel production cuts weighing on market sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $157.42 per tonne, down $9.17 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $158 per tonne, down $8.65 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $143.81 pe...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part weaker this morning, Thursday January 28, after market sentiment across the board has turned more cautious. Asian-Pacific equities and major western pre-market equity index futures were weaker this morningUS Dollar Index firmed on Wednesday while equities sold-offBase metals There were more fallers...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.It was only a couple of months ago that contract buyers of coated steels - represented in large part by market participants from the automotive sector - were grudgingly resigned to paying as much as ?,?100 ($120) per tonne more for their contracted shipments in 2021 compared with in 2020. Increases in contract prices of...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in London on Wednesday January 27.Key drivers The European ferro-tungsten market recovered in the first half of the week following the sharp downward moves of the past few weeks, with sellers starting to refuse lower bids. The market had been on a downtrend for the past two weeks with prices dropping by almost 8% amid profit taking and expectations of mo...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes at steady prices on Thursday January 27, after reviving their interest in imports on Wednesday following a sharp downturn in scrap values, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a cargo from the United States, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $416 per tonne, shredded at $421 per tonne and bonus scrap at $4...Read More
The shortage of container shipping is a "snowballing problem" that is impeding exports of scrap products from the United States, according to industry participants at a recent virtual meeting of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI).The global tightness in containers supply, combined with the confusion surrounding China's implementation of their new policy for copper scrap imports, is...Read More
A summary of Anglo American's output figures for the fourth quarter and full-year 2020, according to its production report released on Thursday January 28.In brief Copper output in the fourth quarter jumped year on year amid a material increase at the Los Bronces mine in Chile, the company said. A planned downtime at Collahuasi, also in Chile, hindered further copper production growth during...Read More
Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Wednesday January 27.Fastmarkets' Alumina index adjustment to fob Australia index, Brazil differential compared to Australian units was at a narrow discount of $0.23 per tonne on Thursday January 28 - the narrowest discount since it was trading at a premium of $2.61 per tonne in September 2020.Key driversA de...Read More
The winners of Fastmarkets' Apex 2020 price forecast contest set out their projections for factors that will most influence base metals, precious metals and steel raw material prices in 2021, with Covid-19 vaccinations a constant. Base metals ED&F Man's Edward Meir, who took the top price for base metals predictions in 2020, sees firm base metals prices in 2021. "The reason we're not super bullish...Read More
Trading company Glencore has joined the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) as a production and transformation member, ASI said on January 27. "Responsibility is one of Glencore's values. We are committed to extracting and producing metals, minerals and energy products that meet our stakeholders' social, ethical, environmental and human rights expectations," Robin Scheiner, head of the aluminiu...Read More
Rio Tinto has created a new executive team and organizational structure to strengthen its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) credentials and rebuild trust, "particularly in Australia", following the destruction of one of the country's oldest Aboriginal heritage sites last year. "To achieve these goals, Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm has appointed a permanent chief exec...Read More
While steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States have held steady over the past week, market participants were leery of procuring more material given expectations that ferrous scrap costs may decline during next month's domestic trade. Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US held at $39.75 per hundredweight ($795 per short ton) on Wednesday January 27....Read More
Demand for steel rebar was very weak in Egypt in the week to Thursday January 28, with buyers expecting producers to reduce their prices.The rebar producers, however, had not changed their prices at the time Fastmarkets made its price assessment.One of the main reasons for weak rebar demand was the construction ban in the country. Egypt imposed a ban on construction in May 2020, although it eased...Read More
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has increased its official spot offer prices for coil products across Europe by ?,?20-30 ($24-36) per tonne with immediate effect, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday January 28.New offers for hot-rolled coil have increased to ?,?750 per tonne ex-works, up by ?,?20 per tonne, while new offers for hot-dipped galvanized coil moved up by ?,?30 per tonne to ?,?880 per tonne e...Read More
Turkish prices for steel billet have continued to soften over the past week because of limited demand and falling scrap costs, market sources said on Thursday January 28.Imported scrap prices have been falling in the country, with mills slowing their bookings due to the weak demand for billet and finished steel.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey, w...Read More
Domestic steel rebar and wire rod prices in Turkey have gone down over the past week in response to falling scrap costs and soft demand in the local market, sources said on Thursday January 28.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Turkey, was 5,200-5,300 lira ($705-718) per tonne on Thursday, down from last week's 5,450-5,550 lira per tonne.The steel...Read More