Vehicle production increased in Latin America during May, when compared with the all-time lows reported in April, but continued to represent a sharp year-on-year decrease while most plants remained closed or are just starting to reopen following Covid-related halts.Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are the region's top auto producing countries, Fastmarkets understands.MexicoMexican light vehicle output...Read More
The metals were mixed this morning, Friday June 5, but Asian-Pacific equities were mainly stronger, as were pre-market major western equity index futures. The unemployment rate in the United States is expected to climb to 19.4%. Equities have followed history by focusing on governments' monetary/fiscal actions... ...but can money alone right the impact of the virus, or can only a vaccine do that -...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of regional supply chain security for critical materials like cobalt, the president and chief executive officer of First Cobalt said. According to Trent Mell, the increasing trend toward electric vehicles (EVs) has added to the impetus to ensure that a reliable and ethical supply of refined cobalt is available for use in batteries. "If the Covid...Read More
The uptake of batteries for energy storage is expected to soar between 2020 and 2030 in Europe, supporting the growth of flexible electricity assets while new renewable capacity ramps up in its key economies.Investments in green mobility and renewable sources of electricity are high on the agenda of the EU member states, to comply with energy transition targets.With sales of electric vehicles (EV)...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and color-coated coil increased in the week to Friday June 5 and some producers have stopped accepting new orders because of increasing production costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand is strong due to restocking and expectations that prices will rise further.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Turkey was $430-440 p...Read More
Vehicle production increased in Latin America during May, when compared with the all-time lows reported in April, but continued to represent a sharp year-on-year decrease while most plants remained closed or are just starting to reopen following Covid-related halts.Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are the region's top auto producing countries, Fastmarkets understands.MexicoMexican light vehicle output...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe declined slightly day on day on Friday June 5 due to low demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?398.75 ($449.19) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?1.33 per tonne from ?,?400.08 per tonne on Thursday.Friday's index was calculated based on deals and "workable...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Poland resumed their decline over the week to Friday June 5 on pressure from buyers with Covid-19-related uncertainty restraining their trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Sources noted a minor increase in trading activity over the assessment week but this was largely from attempts to destock."Stockists are lowering prices just to get rid of the old stock...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 50.8% year-on-year drop in shipment volumes in April, Eurometal said on Thursday June 4.In first four months of 2020, shipments of flat steel products by European steel service centers decreased by 18.5% year on year. Eurometal does not disclose product volumes.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe ...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices snapped over a week of increases on Friday June 5 due to heavy rain in the country's southern region and high temperatures in the north sapping demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,600-3,630 yuan ($508-512) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,700-3,730 yuan per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonneAdverse weather condi...Read More
China continued to show strong demand for pig iron in the week ended Friday June 5, supporting a global uptrend in prices for the raw material.Four cargoes of pig iron with a total volume of at least 180,000 tonnes were bought for the Chinese market from Brazil and the Commonwealth of Independent States during the week.One booking of Russia-origin material was heard at $334 per tonne cfr. Another...Read More
Pig iron exporters in Brazil achieved higher prices in the week to Friday June 5 in deals to China, market sources said. Fastmarkets' assessment of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was unchanged at $295-300 per tonne on Friday, but this week the top end of the range reflects a deal achieved at this price rather than offers last...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom moved up for the second consecutive week on Friday June 5, driving by ongoing tight material availability. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK was ?65-80 ($82-100) per tonne on Friday, up from ?60-70 per tonne on May 29. This is the second wee...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices snapped over a week of increases on Friday June 5 due to heavy rain in the country's southern region and high temperatures in the north sapping demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,600-3,630 yuan ($508-512) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,700-3,730 yuan per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonneAdverse weather condi...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market climbed over the past week due to robust demand from Chinese importers.Market participants said China's appetite for imported billet returned after domestic steel prices increased in response to costlier iron ore and production cuts in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast...Read More
Import prices of steel billet in China have risen to the $400-per-tonne-cfr mark this week on steady demand amid a domestic market strengthened by restrictions imposed on blast furnaces in the country's steelmaking hub of Tangshan.Local authorities in Tangshan, in northern China's Hebei province, have instructed mills to cut their blast furnace production rates by 20-50% in June to improve air qua...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday June 5.China The domestic market has stabilized while immediate availability of material has continued to be tight. The export market was unchanged, with an absence of trading activity....Read More
European monthly stainless steel alloy surcharges have increased significantly for June but there has been no corresponding increase in transaction prices following their fall at the end of May, Fastmarkets heard on Friday June 5.Fastmarkets' calculation for June of the stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm grade 304, alloy surcharge domestic, Europe, was ?,?1,329-1,363 ($1,497-1,535) per tonne,...Read More
Vehicle production increased in Latin America during May, when compared with the all-time lows reported in April, but continued to represent a sharp year-on-year decrease while most plants remained closed or are just starting to reopen following Covid-related halts.Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are the region's top auto producing countries, Fastmarkets understands.MexicoMexican light vehicle output...Read More