Rio Tinto will test the use of biomass in place of coking coal in the steelmaking process in a small-scale pilot plant, in an attempt to cut the industry's carbon emissions through the use of innovative technologies, it announced on Thursday October 14.Over the past decade, the company has developed a laboratory-proven process that combines the use of raw, sustainable biomass with microwave techno...Read More
Rio Tinto will test the use of biomass in place of coking coal in the steelmaking process in a small-scale pilot plant, in an attempt to cut the industry's carbon emissions through the use of innovative technologies, it announced on Thursday October 14.Over the past decade, the company has developed a laboratory-proven process that combines the use of raw, sustainable biomass with microwave techno...Read More
Prices for imported basic pig iron into China increased over the past fortnight amid a shortage of material available from sellers, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 14. Significant volumes of pig iron sold from the CIS to China in recent months have led to reduced availability for fresh cargoes from the region.A limited number of offers for CIS-origin pig iron were heard in the...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up at the 5pm close of trading on Thursday October 14 on a weaker US Dollar Index, and continuing power supply issues that were squeezing metal supply."Chinese factory-gate pricing in September may have grown at its fastest pace in 26 years, adding to the 'stagflation' growth threats moving down the line. But in the here and now, power and suppl...Read More
There was a mixed outcome in settlement negotiations for domestic steel scrap deliveries to UK steelmakers in October, with suppliers resisting downward pressure from consumers because of firm export markets, trade sources said on Thursday October 14.Scrap suppliers won increases across the board for low residual and clean grades of scrap, with rollovers agreed in contracts for other grades assess...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Fola Malomo and Janie...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Alex Cooks...Read More
Bullish sentiment on Thursday October 14, driven by Nyrstar's announcement of production cuts, has pushed the zinc price on the Shanghai Futures Exchange to its highest level since 2019.The SHFE November zinc price surged to its daily upward limit (4%) and finally closed at 25,700 yuan ($3,994) per tonne on Thursday.The surge came after the major zinc producer Nyrstar announced that it would be cu...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade 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.Read More
LME base metals prices were little changed early on Friday October 15, but the strong gains seen during this LME Week support our long-held view that we are in a supercycle, with other factors, such as power cuts in China, high energy costs and logistics issues, also having an impact.* LME metals up by an average of 6.6% this week, with zinc up by 14%* Brent crude oil approaching $85 per barrel* E...Read More
Imported billet prices into Egypt increased in the week to Thursday October 14, but appetite for imports was still weak because of the "Advance Cargo Information" system (ACI), sources told Fastmarkets.The ACI system has been in effect since October 1 for all imports to Egyptian seaports. ACI is a World Customs Organization protocol that provides real-time information on transactions and operation...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices in the cfr China market increased on Thursday October 14 due to necessary restocking activities from Chinese steel mills; fob prices remained largely flat, market sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $610.15 per tonne, up $1.30 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $562.53 per tonne, up $3.07 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob D...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices rose on Thursday October 14 amid active trading activity in the spot market and at Chinese ports because of a slight increase in buying interest, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $125.91 per tonne, up by $1.74 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $127.60 per tonne, up by $2.51 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premiu...Read More
Turkish steel mills are continuing to book deep-sea scrap at higher prices, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 14.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo at $486 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis. However, the cargo composition was not clear at the time of publication.The previous deep-sea transactions, on Wednesday October 13, were concluded at $480 p...Read More
Spot premiums for P1020 aluminium ingot into main Japanese Ports (MJP) have struggled to find clear direction since the settlement of fourth-quarter MJP premiums on Tuesday October 5, despite quarterly negotiations ending on a strong note.A combination of slow buying, poor LME spreads and a closed arbitrage into China capped the rise in spot premiums since the settlement.Fastmarkets reported a fou...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
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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday October 11 that are worth another look.Global cobalt supply can't keep pace with surging cobalt consumption because its production is tied to copper and nickel mining rather than underlying demand, the chief executive officer of diversified mining company Eurasian Resources Group...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
Steel mills announced price increases for November-delivery hot-rolled sheet and heavy plate in Russia's Central District around Moscow on Monday October 11, but are likely to face stiff opposition from buyers, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Market participants said they doubted that such fast rates of increase could be absorbed by the market, especially considering the onset of the off season...Read More