A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday November 10. Please click...Read More
Tin was the LME outlier on Tuesday November 10, with its price down 0.02% from Monday's close - when markets were boosted by Joe Biden's success in the US election and news of an effective vaccine against Covid-19 emerged. All other LME base metals closed up on the previous day's afternoon kerb on Tuesday, with most prices across the complex rangebound following a rally the previous day.But the ca...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions on Tuesday November 10 in China, Europe and the United States.China The UG2 chrome ore market retreated with damped sentiment after leading Chinese stainless steelmakers lowered their November ferro-chrome tender prices by $15 per tonne month-on-month. Some liquidity was reported, with buyers looking for material, but the main sellers were absent from th...Read More
Seaborne prices for high-grade manganese ore were unlikely to spend much time at levels below $4 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) based on today's cost curve, an analyst said on Tuesday November 10.Speaking during Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference, when asked about the floor price for manganese ore, Kevin Fowkes of AlloyConsult said that high stocks could continue to put pressure...Read More
Huasheng alumina refinery in Guangxi province, southern China, has started operations on its second production line that will add 1 million tonnes per year of alumina capacity to an already oversupplied market, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday November 9. "I heard their second operation line was ready for production and they began putting raw material into the newly-built operation line in late...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday November 10 that are worth another look.Prices for steel billet imported to Southeast Asia have been heavily inflated amid bullish Chinese steel markets this week, market participants told Fastmarkets on November 10.The licenses for an additional 30,000...Read More
The European titanium markets look set to remain buoyant through 2021 and well into 2022, with a shortage of titanium scrap underpinning both feedstock and alloy prices, according to industry sources.The titanium scrap market may be in deficit until at least early 2022, sources said, and aerospace - a key supply sector - is expected to struggle to recover output after the Covid-19 p...Read More
Steel scrap prices in Mexico rose again in all regions of the country during the week ended Friday November 6 amid strong demand and limited supply, with special interest from buyers in the obsolete grades like plate and structural scrap, turnings and shredded scrap.Prices were stronger in Mexico's central Baj?-o region, where buyers in San Luis Potos?- state were avidly seeking material and payin...Read More
The European titanium markets look set to remain buoyant through 2021 and well into 2022, with a shortage of titanium scrap underpinning both feedstock and alloy prices, according to industry sources.The titanium scrap market may be in deficit until at least early 2022, sources said, and aerospace - a key supply sector - is expected to struggle to recover output after the Covid-19 p...Read More
The Turkish steel mills remained out of the deep-sea scrap markets on the second working day of the current week, but were expected to resume their bookings with support from fresh rebar export sales, sources said on Tuesday November 10.Turkish steelmakers booked 11 deep-sea cargoes last week but stepped away from the market at the beginning of this week, when the exchange-rate value of the countr...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly lower this morning, Tuesday November 10, while prices consolidated after Monday's double dose of positive news - that of Joe Biden winning the US presidential election and Pfizer announcing progress toward a potential Covid-19 vaccine. Asian Pacific equities mainly higher on the back of the vaccine news....Read More
First Cobalt Corp and Glencore have agreed to discuss a long-term feed purchase contract instead of the tolling arrangement originally contemplated. The Canada-headquartered company, which is working to recommission and expand a currently idled cobalt refinery in Canada, said it had decided to be a market purchaser of feedstock, rather than a toll refiner.The change in approach towards feed purcha...Read More
There are tremendous opportunities for manganese and vanadium in the global trend of electrifications, and the battery sector will outpace the steel industry in terms of boosting demand growth for those materials, delegates heard at Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys virtual conference on Tuesday November 10. Competitive cost and comparatively diverse supply are likely to dictate the shift in...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? Flat steel product prices in the United States moved largely in line with our expectations in October, although the increases slightly outpaced our projections. US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $655 per ton in October, exceeding our forecast price of $640 per...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe increased day on day on Tuesday November 10, due to long lead times for domestic material and lack of import offers, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?521.67 ($618.77) per tonne on Tuesday, up by ?,?8.54 per tonne from ?,?513.13 per tonne on Monday.The in...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have increased over the past week because of a shortage of hot-rolled coil, sources said on Tuesday November 10.Local demand was strong for flat steel in India and China, the main exporters of flat steel to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, so only China made a limited quantity of offers at high prices.UAEOffer prices for HRC from Chinese supplier...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? Flat steel product prices in the United States moved largely in line with our expectations in October, although the increases slightly outpaced our projections. US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $655 per ton in October, exceeding our forecast price of $640 per...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates remained stable while demand was weak, sources said on Tuesday November 10.Domestic rebarThe country's steel producers were offering rebar at 1,936 dirhams ($527) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in November, unchanged since September 15.Deal prices were reported to Fastmarkets at around...Read More
A summary of the financial results for Turkey's largest integrated long steel producer, Kardemir, for the first three quarters of 2020, covering the period January 1-September 30.In briefThe company managed to increase its earnings, as well as its steel output, despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the steel market.Kardemir also increased its sales...Read More
Steel scrap prices in Mexico rose again in all regions of the country during the week ended Friday November 6 amid strong demand and limited supply, with special interest from buyers in the obsolete grades like plate and structural scrap, turnings and shredded scrap.Prices were stronger in Mexico's central Baj?-o region, where buyers in San Luis Potos?- state were avidly seeking material and payin...Read More