Elysis has completed construction of its Qu?(C)bec, Canada research and development facility, taking the joint-venture between Alcoa and Rio Tinto one step closer to commercializing carbon-free aluminium. The technology, which was first developed at the Alcoa Technical Center near Pittsburgh in the United States, eliminates all direct greenhouse gases from the aluminium smelting process, instead p...Read More
Global nickel premiums were largely unchanged in the week to Tuesday December 16, while in China, prices for nickel pig iron (NPI) and nickel sulfate responded positively to improved buying interest and strong nickel prices on the LME. European and US premiums both steady in thin marketChina's NPI and nickel sulfate prices up; plate premiums static LME price spike keeps European premiums firm desp...Read More
Wire rod prices in the United States have jumped higher in response to significant scrap price increases, with mills passing those costs along to consumers, as well as a falling dollar, which has pushed import prices even higher - making them less competitive against domestic supply, Fastmarkets has learned.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, f...Read More
Galvalume prices in the United States have climbed to their highest in more than two years due to demand outstripping supply - a situation that likely will not be remedied in early 2021, market participants said."Not everyone who buys Galvalume can get what they need," a producer said. "I see Galvalume rising further."Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel coil Galvalume, fob mill US at $48 per...Read More
Domestic European prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil increased over the week to Wednesday December 16 due to low availability and an increase in feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?730-750 ($887-911) per tonne on December 16, up by ?,?20-50 per tonne from ?,?680-730 per tonne a week earlier.The assess...Read More
Domestic cold-rolled coil prices in Europe jumped in the week to Wednesday December 16 due to a shortage of material and a rise in feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?720-750 ($875-911) per tonne on December 16 compared with ?,?650-680 per tonne a week earlier.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment fo...Read More
Rising hollow section prices in Europe this week reflected the struggle mills are facing to source feedstock material amid an ongoing shortage, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 16. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?740-750 ($899-911) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?700-720 per tonne a week earlier. The availa...Read More
Brazilian pellet producer Samarco, a 50:50 joint venture between Vale and BHP, resumed some of its operations on Friday December 11 after being halted for more than five years due to a deadly tailings dam disaster.Samarco has started operations at one of its three iron ore concentrating plants and at its new waste processing facility, both at its Germano complex in Mariana city, in the country's s...Read More
International ferrous scrap sales to Turkey have hit $435 per tonne, but export deals from the United States' East Coast remain closely guarded secrets.The US export market is very opaque at the moment. One export source reported that sales were being conducted, but the destinations and prices were protected by confidentiality agreements to prevent export dock prices from overheating.The export so...Read More
The stainless steel scrap market in the United States has strengthened as the year-end approaches, with market participants noting that the stainless and ferrous scrap price jumps this month are very unusual for this time of year, when consuming mills usually reduce their inventories for year-end financials. "I am shocked with all the pricing. This has been one crazy year!" one large dealer said."...Read More
Renewed buying interest from consumers in South Korea and Taiwan has allowed another increase in Japanese export scrap prices over the past week, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 16. Prices had already surged last week on the back of a leap in December's Kanto steel scrap auction and robust domestic buy prices, but greater demand from key Asian buyers allowed another...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Wednesday December 16 after the most-traded May iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) crossed the 1,000 yuan-mark ($153) to close the afternoon trading session, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $156.45 per tonne, up $1.38 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $156.71 per tonne, up...Read More
Premium hard coking coal cfr and fob prices diverged further on Wednesday December 16, with the latest transaction for premium low-volatility hard coking coal sealed at $101.50 per tonne fob Australia, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $101.46 per tonne, down $1.30 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $182.64 per tonne, up $0.17 per tonneHard coking co...Read More
Global steel prices - which have been surging in recent weeks - will experience some correction in the first half of 2021, according to United Arab Emirates-based galvanized coil producer Al Ghurair Iron & Steel.The question is whether this correction will happen before or after the Chinese New Year, its chief executive officer, Abu Bucker Husain, said at Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron & Steel virt...Read More
LMEpassport, a new digital register for physical metals data, is to be rolled out by the London Metal Exchange in 2021, starting with aluminium and gradually phasing in other metals over the next three years.The digital register - part of a sustainability package that includes a spot trading platform and new contracts - is designed to provide a centralized transparency source, the data from which...Read More
The London Metal Exchange's latest off-warrant stock data showed a month-on-month net rise of 78,092 tonnes of material held outside the LME network over October.Data collected by the LME showed that at the end of October there was 1.83 million tonnes of metal held off-warrant, up 4.3% from 1.81 million tonnes the previous month. This includes 1.6 million tonnes of aluminium, accounting for 85% of...Read More
China's rebar market recovered some losses on Wednesday December 16 amid reports that suppliers in the country were resuming the export of billet amid high international prices for the semi-finished product, though no transactions have emerged yet.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,160-4,190 yuan ($636-641) per tonne, up by 30 yuan per tonneEnd-user demand was stable during the day like on Monday...Read More
LME nickel was the only metal to see its three-month price fall on the morning of Wednesday December 16, with the other base metals climbing on the prospect of a new Covid-19 stimulus package in the United States.Nickel's price edged down to $17,525 per tonne from Tuesday's closing price of $17,557 per tonne. The metal did reach its year-to-date high of $17,880 per tonne during trad...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey, Dalila Ouerghi and Michael Greenfield in London, Susan Zou...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda and Declan Conway contributed...Read More