Iron ore prices were largely stable on Monday October 4, with limited liquidity during the Chinese National Day holiday, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.12 per tonne, up $1.33 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.75 per tonne, up $1.21 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $90.73 per tonne, up $2.67 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-o...Read More
European non-ferrous metals industry association Eurometaux has warned the European Commission that surging power prices may cause metal producers to leave Europe and erode plans to cut carbon emissions."Rising electricity prices have already led to curtailments and could lead to further relocation of our sector outside Europe if not addressed," Eurometaux said in a letter co-signed by director ge...Read More
The Commonwealth of Independent States' billet export market softened somewhat after the Chinese market, which has been rendering most of the support to billet sellers, left for a weeklong national holiday that ends on Thursday October 7.China's interest in imported billet started to fall by the end of last week.The latest sale of a Ukraine-origin cargo was heard done in the middle of th...Read More
Honda's August production and sales of new vehicles in Japan slumped on a monthly basis, by 62.4% and 22.7% respectively.Production of new vehicles fell to 23,790 vehicles in August, while sales fell to 40,656 vehicles.The production statistics are in line with the carmaker's expectations - Honda had earlier reported Japan-based factories to be running at 40% capacity in August-September amid a sh...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in September 2021.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for January, February,...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board during trading on Monday October 4, pushed upward by ongoing power-rationing policies in China and surging energy costs affecting production in the physical market.Nickel was the only exception, with the three-month nickel price down by 0.3% on Monday to $17,924 per tonne from $17,971 per tonne at Friday's 5pm close. "Th...Read More
Honda's August production and sales of new vehicles in Japan slumped on a monthly basis, by 62.4% and 22.7% respectively.Production of new vehicles fell to 23,790 vehicles in August, while sales fell to 40,656 vehicles.The production statistics are in line with the carmaker's expectations - Honda had earlier reported Japan-based factories to be running at 40% capacity in August-September amid a sh...Read More
Brazilian mining company Vale has halted operations at its On??a Puma ferro-nickel unit, in the country's northern Par?? state, following the suspension of a license, it said on Monday October 4.Par??'s environmental and sustainability secretariat, Semas, suspended On??a Puma's operating license, saying Vale did not meet some of its conditions, the company said.Vale was in contact with Semas to un...Read More
Rebar import prices in Singapore dipped in the week to Monday October 4 amid weak raw materials prices in key exporter Turkey, market sources told Fastmarkets.There were a number of offers for Turkish rebar in the Singaporean spot market.A major Singaporean buyer was offered 50,000 tonnes of Turkish rebar at $720-725 per tonne cfr Singapore on a theoretical weight basis, while other buyers and tra...Read More
Aluminium producer Alcoa aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its global operations by 2050, it said on Monday October 4.The goal is for both direct (scope 1) and indirect (scope 2) emissions. It aligns with existing targets of reducing emissions from aluminium smelting and alumina refining operations by 30% by 2025, and 50% by 2030 from 2015 baselines."We're proud of our...Read More
European non-ferrous metals industry association Eurometaux has warned the European Commission that surging power prices may cause metal producers to leave Europe and erode plans to cut carbon emissions."Rising electricity prices have already led to curtailments and could lead to further relocation of our sector outside Europe if not addressed," Eurometaux said in a letter co-signed by director ge...Read More
Turkey exported 615,575 tonnes of flat steel products in August 2021, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), up by 46.87% year on year from 419,139 tonnes in August 2020.Most of the orders shipped in August were booked in April, when demand was very strong in all global markets.In addition, these bookings were made before the European Commission set definitive anti-dumping duties o...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to amend the index specifications of its 62% Fe iron ore index to more closely reflect the chemical composition of mainstream mid-grade ores produced from Australia's Pilbara region.Fastmarkets proposes to amend the silica and alumina base specifications of its index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao, $/tonne [MB-IRO-0008]. The current chemical specifications of this...Read More
Chilean copper production fell by 4.59% in August compared with the corresponding month in 2020 amid decreases in Codelco's and BHP's operations, the country's copper commission (Cochilco) said on Monday October 4.Copper output totaled 461,900 tonnes in Chile during August, down from 484,100 tonnes a year earlier. In the first eight months of 2021, production was 3.73 million tonnes, a 1.47% year-...Read More
Export rebar prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to decrease in the week to Monday October 4 after mills reduced offers again due to demand pressure and competition with Turkish suppliers.ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR), Ukraine's main long steel supplier, offered rebar at $680-710 per tonne fob, widening downward by $10 per tonne from a week ago."We reduced prices f...Read More
Activity in the European hot-rolled coil segment remained slow on Monday October 4 with both buyers and sellers holding back from trading, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers paused their purchases in anticipation that European mills will accept lower prices in the near future. In addition, importers need time to consider the situation with the fourth-quarter safeguard quotas.A new quota period starte...Read More
Turkey imported 844,898 tonnes of flat steel in August, a 30.98% increase from 645,115 tonnes in the corresponding period of 2020, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) said. Demand for flat steel was strong in May and June, when orders for August deliveries were placed. India sold large quantities of hot-rolled coil to Turkey in June.Current demand for flat steel in the Turkish...Read More
European non-ferrous metals industry association Eurometaux has warned the European Commission that surging power prices may cause metal producers to leave Europe and erode plans to cut carbon emissions."Rising electricity prices have already led to curtailments and could lead to further relocation of our sector outside Europe if not addressed," Eurometaux said in a letter co-signed by director ge...Read More
Australia expects the iron ore price to stay at around $150 per tonne until late 2021, before falling to $93 per tonne by the end of 2022, according to a report released on Thursday September 30.The figure for 2022 has been revised downwards from $109 per tonne, as stated in a previous report published in June.Falling domestic demand for steel in China due to slower construction activity and the i...Read More
Supply disruptions, which have hit commodity markets in recent months, are among the "structural" factors that have prompted the recent 3.4% rise in euro zone inflation, the European Central Bank (ECB) vice president Luis de Guindos said on Monday October 4.In September, ECB estimated the annual inflation rate at 3.4% year on year, up from 3% in August.De Guindos said that some of the drivers of t...Read More