Downstream aluminium producers Constellium and Novelis have formed a non-profit called Alumobility, to advance the use of automotive body sheet."This global ecosystem of the leading aluminum producers and downstream technology partners will drive value for automakers and consumers by helping to fulfill the promise of a lighter, more efficient, more sustainable mobility future," the companies said...Read More
Zinc and copper's forward prices shrunk over 2% on the afternoon of Wednesday January 27 on the London Metal Exchange, with anxiety over the Covid-19 situation around the world expanding and the dollar rising ahead of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's remarks this evening. Zinc's three-month price fell for a fourth day in a row on Wednesday to $2,583.50 per tonne. The galvanizing metal's pr...Read More
The Rotterdam duty-unpaid aluminium premium hit a three-month high on Tuesday January 26, with a shortage of spot material offsetting market participants' concerns about a widening backwardation in London Metal Exchange spreads.Elsewhere, the cif Taiwan premium rose to an all-time high on the back of strong restocking appetite in the run-up to the Lunar New Year (February 12). Rotterdam duty-unpai...Read More
Limited metal supply and steady demand have combined to push lead premiums in the United States higher in the week to Tuesday January 26, while expectations in China of plentiful domestic supply and a closed arbitrage window have capped interest for spot and long-term business. US lead premiums at highest levels since launch in 2017. Premiums unchanged in Shanghai and Northern Europe. ...Read More
The base metals complex on the London Metal Exchange drifted lower in morning trading on Wednesday January 27, with lead and tin experiencing the biggest declines at 9am, and zinc also trending downwards following a sizable increase in LME warehouse stocks the previous day. Lead's three-month price shed 1.1% on Wednesday morning to trade at $2,054.50 per tonne, compared with its closing price on T...Read More
The domestic market for steel mesh-quality wire rod in Southern Europe moved up in the week to Wednesday January 27 on bullish offers from mills, but buying activity has slowed because of the scrap market downturn, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was ?,?650-680 ($789-826) per tonne on Wednesd...Read More
Stability in the domestic market for steel mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe has continued in the week to Wednesday January 27, with prices being supported by tight availability and good order books at mills, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, remained at ?,?670-700 ($814-850) per tonne o...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Northern Europe were broadly stable in the week to Wednesday January 27 despite slower buying activity, while market participants are cautious of the future trend and expect a downward correction on weaker scrap, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was at ?,?650-670...Read More
Export prices for steel billet and slab from Iran continued to decrease in the week ended Wednesday January 27, following the global downtrend.Fresh billet contracts were signed within the range of $532-540 per tonne fob southern ports of Iran, against $549-565 per tonne fob a week earlier.One of the country's major billet exporters sold 30,000 tonnes to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region a...Read More
The stainless steel scrap market in the United States seems to have finally hit a cooling-off period; prices have slowed their upward movement amid expectations that the ferrous scrap market will fall in February while the London Metal Exchange nickel cash contract has held above the $8-per-lb mark."A lot of scrap has come out of the woodwork in the last three weeks," one processor said."It's star...Read More
Turkish steel scrap prices fell sharply again as expected on Wednesday January 27, after a newbooking from the UK, sources told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a UK cargo, comprising 9,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $408 per tonne and 14,000 tonnes of shredded at $419 per tonne cfr late on Tuesday January 26.The most recent previous booking to Turkey was from the Ba...Read More
A summary of the operational results for Russia's Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK), for the fourth quarter of 2020. In brief MMK attributed a 14.9% quarterly increase in steel output to the launch of the company's hot-rolling Mill-2500 project in July. The mill was stopped for scheduled reconstruction in March, which took until the end of the second quarter. The company said there was s...Read More
Sentiment in the seaborne iron ore market improved on Wednesday January 27 because of an uptick in prices for steel products, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $166.59 per tonne, up $1.52 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $166.65 per tonne, up $0.46 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $152.22 per tonne, down $0.92 p...Read More
The seaborne premium coking coal fob price jumped on Wednesday January 27 following two transactions done at over $150 per tonne fob Australia due to weather concerns, market sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $155.10 per tonne, up $4.89 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $217.24 per tonne, up $0.08 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $124.74 per ton...Read More
US steel scrap sellers have been locked in negotiations for sales to China this week amid a continued drop in global prices, industry sources told Fastmarkets. At least three major scrapyards in the US have been offering bulk shredded and plate & structural (P&S) scrap to China in the spot market this week, sources said. A US trading source told Fastmarkets that Chinese traders have been asking fo...Read More
Chinese demand for ferrous scrap is rising and imports are unlikely to meet the supply shortage in 2021, market participants told Fastmarkets this week. Sources say China could import up to 10 million tonnes of scrap in 2021 if prices are favorable. Overseas scrap prices had increased gradually to overtake China's domestic prices in the last quarter of 2020 due to sharply rising demand and short s...Read More
China's Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT) last week approved an eighth batch of 101 ferrous scrap processing centers to boost domestic supply of the steelmaking raw material.The addition takes the total number of companies that are permitted to supply...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose on Wednesday January 27 on rising futures following news that the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology would require mills to cut their crude steel output in 2021.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,280-4,310 yuan ($661-666) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonne The news coupled with the fact that a few mills already cutting production on their own accord d...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part weaker while the market waits for direction from the US Federal Reserve when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) concludes its meeting this evening. Zinc prices extend lower after Tuesday's rise in LME stocks Base metals Three-month base metals prices on the LME were mostly down this morning;...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey, Dalila Ouerghi and...Read More