Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market European equity index futures were weaker this morning, Monday June 29, but base metals prices were for the most part firmer. Nikkei led on the downside this morning with losses of 2.21%.Covid-19 surges in some southern US states, with 2.5 million confirmed cases reported in the country.Profits in China's industrial sector showed growth of 6% year on year in M...Read More
A summary of Australian lithium-spodumene producer Altura's operational results for the second quarter of 2020, released by the company on Monday June 29.In briefThe company achieved record total sales and shipments of 58,208 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of lithium concentrate in the second quarter of 2020, up around 23% from the previous quarter and the best quarterly sales result since the company st...Read More
Canada-based Sigma Lithium Resources has secured the last tranche of the funds needed to begin construction of its commercial spodumene carbonate plant in Brazil, expected to start producing in 2022, chief strategy officer Ana Cabral-Gardner told Fastmarkets on Friday June 26.The company has signed an agreement for a $45-million project finance facility led by French bank Soci?(C)t?(C) G?(C)n?(C)r...Read More
Covid-19 has exposed the overdependence and vulnerability in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, which supports the development of other regional battery production hubs in the coming years, panellists said in a Fastmarkets webinar last week."There is growing nationalism and regionalism [and] coronavirus has been a wake-up call for how dependent industries are on China," Emily Hersh, managing...Read More
European producers of hot-rolled coil have increased their offer prices despite low trading activity in the week ended Friday June 26.Fastmarkets' daily steel HRC index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?393.75 ($441.67) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?3.75 per tonne from ?,?394.38 per tonne week on week, but down by ?,?13.75 per tonne month on month.Friday's index was based on workable prices a...Read More
European steelmakers have been insisting on price rises for domestic hot-rolled coil despite demand remaining low, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 29.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?395.00 ($443.07) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?1.25 per tonne from ?,?393.75 per tonne on June 26.Monday's index was...Read More
Prices for domestic and imported merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel in the United States again remained flat this month while market participants reported that demand was rising, although only modestly in some locations. Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel bar 2 x 2 x 1/4 -inch angle merchant products, fob mill US was $33.80 per hundredweight ($676 per short ton) on Friday June 26, unc...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow increased over the past week, supported by demand exceeding supply, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday June 29.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, was 34,000 roubles ($487) per tonne on June 29. This was up by 1,000-1,500 roubles per tonne week on...Read More
Egypt consumed 312,000 tonnes of rebar in May 2020, 35.36% less than the 482,700 tonnes consumed in May 2019, Egyptian sources told Fastmarkets.This is the lowest rebar consumption figure for the last ten years, sources noted. Comparatively, Egypt consumed 452,800 tonnes of rebar in April 2020, sources said.If consumption continues to fall at this rate, market sources expect the country's annual r...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 29 that are worth another look.Mining company BHP Group and steel producer China Baowu Steel Group have completed their first iron ore trade on MineHub Technologies Inc's blockchain-based platform.Poor physical aluminium market conditions have forced people to store excess metal, pushing total aluminium stocks on the London Met...Read More
The mining industry does a huge amount of good for local communities, to say nothing of its essential contribution to society through the materials it produces. Unfortunately, it all too often manages to give itself a bad name, worsening negative perceptions of the sector through accidents, spills and a failure to act as a steward of the environments in which it operates. In the past month alone,...Read More
The Turkish steel mills continued to shy away from deep-sea scrap purchases at the beginning of this week, expecting lower prices soon, sources said on Monday June 29.The mills in Turkey booked only two deep-sea cargoes last week, which totaled 67,500 tonnes.Producers have been keeping their deep-sea scrap purchases at a low level because of the limited demand and, therefore, falling prices for lo...Read More
Vietnam's steelmakers exported huge volumes of steel to China in the first five months of 2020, according to statistics from the Southeast Asian country's customs agency.A total of 570,410 tonnes of Vietnamese iron and steel products were shipped to China in the January-May period, more than eight-and-a-half times of just 66,069 tonnes in the same period of 2019, the data shows.Steel billet produc...Read More
Mining company BHP Group and steel producer China Baowu Steel Group have completed their first iron ore trade on MineHub Technologies Inc's blockchain-based platform. The platform, which was launched in October 2019, aims to improve efficiency in trading operations and in environmental and social governance (ESG) compliance in the mining and metals supply chains.MineHub said the trade marks the fi...Read More
European prices for vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) and ferro-vanadium continued to fall in the week ended Friday June 26 under pressure from weak end-user demand, with V2O5 prices dropping by 7%.Fastmarkets assessed the price of vanadium pentoxide, 98% V2O5 min, in-whs Rotterdam, at $5.10-5.50 per lb on Friday, down from $5.15-6.25 per lb in the previous week. The market was now at its lowest for three...Read More
Striking workers have put all industrial action at Tata Steel IJmuiden on hold until Friday June 26 to negotiate with management, Dutch trade union FNV Metaal said this week. All industrial action at Tata Steel IJmuiden has been temporarily stopped until Friday 1 pm local time after the company invited unions to the negotiation table, FNV said on Wednesday. "Due to the pressure of the strikes, the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday June 23 that are worth another look.A recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections in Beijing led to some jitters in China's steel sector in the initial stages of the outbreak, but market participants do not expect this second wave to leave much of an impact on the industry.The aluminium duty-paid market in Europe is set to come under...Read More
Sales of passenger cars in the EU will fall by 25% year on year in the full 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Tuesday June 23.The major economic crisis facing the auto industry will see car sales in the European Union tumble by more than 3 million units, with only 9.6 million units expected to be sold this year, compar...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 29 that are worth another look.Mining company BHP Group and steel producer China Baowu Steel Group have completed their first iron ore trade on MineHub Technologies Inc's blockchain-based platform.Poor physical aluminium market conditions have forced people to store excess metal, pushing total aluminium stocks on the London Met...Read More
The mining industry does a huge amount of good for local communities, to say nothing of its essential contribution to society through the materials it produces. Unfortunately, it all too often manages to give itself a bad name, worsening negative perceptions of the sector through accidents, spills and a failure to act as a steward of the environments in which it operates. In the past month alone,...Read More