Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States jumped after buyers realized that they will need to wait until later in the first quarter of 2021 for spot material. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US climbed to $36.50 per hundredweight ($730 per short ton) on Friday December 11 from $35 per cwt on December 4. The assessment has now gaine...Read More
The domestic price for rebar in Brazil increased for the sixth month in a row in December, with limited supply and persistently increasing demand continuing to support this year's price uptrend.Fastmarkets' price assessment of steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, monthly, delivered Brazil, was 3,800-3,945 Reais ($750-778) per tonne on Friday December 11, a 7.6% increase from 3,515-3,680 Reais...Read More
Nickel's three-month price was the star performer on Monday December 14 on the London Metal Exchange, rising by 1.7% at the 5pm close compared with Friday, on a day when the majority of the base-metals complex showed price rises of more than 1%.Nickel rose by 1.7% on Monday, the highest among the complex, to $17,590 per tonne from Friday's closing price of $17,278 per tonne.The metal also once mor...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday December 14 that are worth another look.Prices for flat steel products in the Brazilian domestic market have continued to increase, going up for the sixth month in a row in December amid material scarcity and a recovery in...Read More
Several minor metals prices have increased sharply in the week ended Friday December 11 following rising offers from China and higher transportation costs while uncertainty about logistics and demand in the near term are preventing some traders from taking long positions, Fastmarkets learned. "Price increases are massive... Almost all materials are currently strongly moving higher," a minor metals...Read More
Nickel's three-month price was the star performer on Monday December 14 on the London Metal Exchange, rising by 1.7% at the 5pm close compared with Friday, on a day when the majority of the base-metals complex showed price rises of more than 1%.Nickel rose by 1.7% on Monday, the highest among the complex, to $17,590 per tonne from Friday's closing price of $17,278 per tonne.The metal also once mor...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices fell on Monday December 14 after steelmakers in China called on authorities to clamp down on price speculation after it led iron ore prices to surge to multi-year highs last week, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $154.37 per tonne, down $5.76 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $154.71 per tonne, down $5.70 per to...Read More
The nickel price rallied to a new year-to-date high in the morning of Monday December 14 on the London Metals Exchange, spurred by positive forecasts for electric vehicle sales in China and the approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the United States. Nickel's three-month price touched a new 2020 high during early trading of $17,780 per tonne, overtaking the previous year-to-date high...Read More
Transaction prices for domestic steel hot-rolled coil continued to rise across Europe in the week to Friday December 11, due to tight supply from both domestic and overseas suppliers and solid demand.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?606.25 ($734.19) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?31.25 per tonne week on week and by ?,?81.75 per tonne...Read More
Several minor metals prices have increased sharply in the week ended Friday December 11 following rising offers from China and higher transportation costs while uncertainty about logistics and demand in the near term are preventing some traders from taking long positions, Fastmarkets learned. "Price increases are massive... Almost all materials are currently strongly moving higher," a minor metals...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan Inc has completed the sale of its stake in the undeveloped Kisanfu copper-cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Molybdenum Co (CMOC), the company said. The project, which was discovered by Freeport's exploration team, was no longer deemed to be strategic to the company's long-term strategy after it sold its stake in the adjace...Read More
US copper miner Freeport-McMoRan and Chinese smelters including China Copper, Jiangxi Copper and Tongling Nonferrous have agreed annual copper concentrate supply contracts with terms set at their lowest levels in a decade. Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs), discounts on exchange prices that compensate smelters processing concentrates into commodity-grade metal, were set at $59.50 per tonne /...Read More
UC Rusal has become the first aluminium producer to receive an 'A' level rating from CDP, parent company En+ Group said on Monday December 14. CDP is an international non-profit organization that supports companies and cities to disclose the environmental impact of major corporations. En+ Group said its metals segment Rusal was rated 'A' due to the work it had done to address climate risks ac...Read More
Chinese automotive production rose by 9.6% year on year in November, supporting prices of upstream materials such as steel and aluminium. Carmakers in the country produced 2.85 million units in November, up by 9.6% from a year ago and up by 11.5% from the month prior, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said (CAAM) on Friday December 11. Auto sales totaled 2.77 million units, up by 12.6%...Read More
US mining company Freeport-McMoRan has agreed 2021 copper concentrate treatment and refining charges with Chinese smelter counterparts at $59.50 per tonne / 5.95 cents per lb, the lowest since 2011, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets. Freeport first locked a deal with China Copper, making it the first time the Chinalco subsidiary has secured an annual contract on beha...Read More
The nickel price rallied to a new year-to-date high in the morning of Monday December 14 on the London Metals Exchange, spurred by positive forecasts for electric vehicle sales in China and the approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the United States. Nickel's three-month price touched a new 2020 high during early trading of $17,780 per tonne, overtaking the previous year-to-date high...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased day on day in Northern Europe on Monday December 14 due to a materials shortage in the market, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?623.33 ($754.87) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?17.08 per tonne day on day from ?,?606.25 per tonne on December 11.The index was al...Read More
Prices for flat steel products in the Brazilian domestic market have continued to increase, going up for the sixth month in a row in December amid material scarcity and a recovery in demand, Fastmarkets has heard.Flat steel makers have successfully applied the price increases announced late in November.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, monthly, exw Brazil,...Read More
Egyptian rebar producers added E ?100-154 ($6.35-9.78) per tonne to their prices - in effect from Monday December 14 - sources told Fastmarkets.Producers are now offering rebar at E ?12,450-12,465 ($791-804) per tonne ex-works including 14% VAT, rising from E ?11,450-11,600 per tonne including VAT previously, market participants said.The last time prices changed was on December 7, while the latest...Read More
Steel billet exporters from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have largely stayed out of the market, are holding back volumes and waiting for a clearer picture in the scrap segment, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday December 14.Most CIS producers were still out of the market and withholding steel billet offers because they are waiting for prices to rise further, sources said."We're tak...Read More