Steel wire rod prices in Northern Europe were broadly flat in the week to Wednesday October 13, with trading activity limited, but demand is expected to recover soon, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?800-820 ($924-948) per tonne on Wednesday, same as seven days earlier.Daily demand for wire r...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday October 13.Key drivers The European ferro-titanium price range widened higher in the week to Wednesday October 13 after new deals were reported, although overall trading activity was slow amid muted consumer buying interest. There was industry talk of some lower-priced deals, although sources said these were outliers to typical trad...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to pay higher prices for deep-sea scrap cargoes on Wednesday October 13, market participants told Fastmarkets.Late on Tuesday October 12, a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $470 per tonne and 18,000 tonnes of shredded at $490 per tonne cfr.On Wednesday, a steel mill in the Izmir region paid $...Read More
Domestic and imported steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States were sideways on Wednesday October 13, and market participants expect it to stay that way for a few more weeks at least.Fastmarkets' assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US was $49.25 per hundredweight ($985 per short ton) on Wednesday October 13, unchanged since August 11 but up by 65.55% from $29.75 per cwt...Read More
Higher or more volatile prices for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earth elements could slow global progress toward a clean-energy future or make it more costly, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).In its World Energy Outlook report released on Wednesday October 13, the IEA said that price rallies for key minerals in 2021 could increase the costs o...Read More
The spikes in electricity and natural gas prices have forced some European long steel producers to make output adjustments to be able to manage surging costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Spot prices for electricity and natural gas across Europe have increased sharply in October and are expected to remain volatile until the end of the year at least.Notably, steelmakers claim that electricity prices in...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil decreased across Europe in the week ended Wednesday October 13 due to weaker demand from distributors and the automotive sector, sources told Fastmarkets.Sources expect distributors to return to the market in November. While the majority of European distributors have sufficient stocks to last until the year-end, they will need to restock for the first...Read More
Europe now has the world's most expensive silicon, with prices there and in the United States reaching new all-time highs just as prices have begun to trend down in China - where a silicon shortage started the global uptrend.The West and China moved in opposite directions in Fastmarkets assessments for the week to Friday October 8, with Europe's price for standard silicon at its highest level sinc...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices continued to fall on Wednesday October 13, after a formal announcement on upcoming winter restrictions by China's Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT).Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.17 per tonne, down $4.83 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.09 per tonne, down $5.08 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr...Read More
Higher electricity prices have added to the production costs of chrome alloy, especially low-carbon ferro-chrome, during the week to Tuesday October 12, at a time when the market was already short of material with prices at multi-year highs.Fastmarkets assessed ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe at $3.05-3.25 per lb Cr on Tuesday, up 7-15 cents (+3.6%) from $2.90-3.18 per lb...Read More
Fastmarkets published its Commonwealth of Independent States export billet index later than scheduled on Wednesday October 13 due to a technical error, but it is now appearing as normal.Fastmarkets calculated the steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, at $621 per tonne on October 13. The index was published in Fastmarkets' pricing database, MInD, later than scheduled due to a technical er...Read More
Market participants are gathering in London this week while some minor metals with energy-intensive manufacturing processes and a reliance on China for supply have surged to multi-year highs.The sharp price increases in the Chinese market are rapidly filtering across Europe, resulting in the depletion of silicon and magnesium inventories in Rotterdam."This LME Week is different, totally different,...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat in the week to Wednesday October 12, despite pressure from falling feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium) domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,275-1,330 ($1,472-1,535) per tonne on October 13, unchanged week on week.Domestic hollow section prices were under pressure...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices in the cfr China market were broadly stable on Wednesday October 13, while fob prices inched lower amid limited buying interest due to high offers, market sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $608.85 per tonne, down $0.10 per tonne Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $559.46 per tonne, up $1.16 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT:...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the 5pm close on Wednesday October 13, with zinc performing particularly well during the day's trading.The LME three-month price of zinc led the complex on Wednesday; it was up by 4.4% to $3,401.50 per tonne from $3,263 per tonne at Tuesday's close, after hitting an intraday high of $3,440 per tonne."LME fund managers turned bullish tow...Read More
The Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt hydroxide p...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to pay higher prices for deep-sea scrap cargoes on Wednesday October 13, market participants told Fastmarkets.Late on Tuesday October 12, a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $470 per tonne and 18,000 tonnes of shredded at $490 per tonne cfr.On Wednesday, a steel mill in the Izmir region paid $...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States dipped slightly once again - remaining under $97 per hundredweight ($1,940 per short ton) for the fourth consecutive business day - while spot tonnages remained scarce and contract negotiations for 2022 supply were said to be in the final stretch.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $96.79 per cwt ($1,935.80 per t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 13 that are worth another look.Pipe producer Vallourec and Brazilian tube, bar and stainless steel distributor Grupo A??otubo announced a joint venture to supply steel tubes and pipes to industrial clients.Major zinc producer Nyrstar will cut production...Read More
Decarbonization is expected to increase base-metal costs in the coming years, panelists said at the LME Week seminar in London.Initial investments in new technology and infrastructure to produce more sustainable metals will push production costs higher, said Geordie Wilkes, head of research at Sucden Financial."We'll go through a period of high cost which will increase the cost curve," Wilkes said...Read More