China is stepping up measures to ensure there is enough electricity supply for heavy industries amid ongoing power restrictions in various parts of the country.The National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) will look into allowing more thermal coal imports and higher domestic production of the raw material to increase electricity generation rates, a spokesman for the commission said at a pres...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb 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 standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb at 25.75-26.00...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 29 that are worth another look....Read More
London Metal Exchange prices were largely unchanged on the morning of Thursday September 30, with tin and aluminium the standout performers for the month. A strong US Dollar Index, which was at its highest level since September 2020 on Wednesday at 94.43 and just slightly lower on Thursday morning, has been one of the factors keeping metal prices steady. "And increased uncertainty in China ab...Read More
The European market for steel hot-rolled coil remained quiet on Thursday September 30, with buyers continuing to hold back from trading in expectation of more substantial price declines amid slower end-user demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers in Europe have been waiting for the new quota period to begin on October 1before assessing the "real volumes that will enter the market," they said."The...Read More
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investors should be reducing exposure to plug-in hybrid- and fuel cell-weighted automotive supply chains and focusing instead on battery electric vehicles (BEV), according to a report by Jefferies. Ford's recent announcement of record-setting investment in electric vehicles (EVs) gives a clear signal to the market: BEVs are the future, with hybrids a...Read More
Further deals for steel billet booked by Chinese buyers earlier this week came to light on Thursday September 30, the day before the country began its National Holiday, sources told Fastmarkets.Power shortage issues, together with concerns over the debts incurred by property giant Evergrande, reduced billet market sentiment in China at the beginning of this week, but some deals were booked to the...Read More
A drop in Comex copper prices has led to a slight lowering of discounts for some copper scrap items, while brass scrap prices fell. Demand for copper scrap was said to be steady, however, with buyers not overly concerned about supply at the moment despite a recent resurgence in export demand - especially from China."There is a lot of scrap available, more than enough to get through what we need to...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China moved within a tight range on Thursday September 30 on thin trading ahead of a week-long holiday to mark the country's National Day.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,740-5,770 yuan ($888-893) per tonne, narrowed by 10 yuan per tonne from 5,730-5,780 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): weekly assessment: 5,720-5,740 yuan per tonne, narrowed upward by...Read More
Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has confirmed that the death of one of its employees had resulted in a suspension of its 75-million-tonnes-per year Solomon Hub iron ore mine in Western Australia, according to the company.The fatality resulted from a ground collapse at the mining site,...Read More
Production halts in China, the world's largest producer of silicon and magnesium, saw prices for the chemical elements surge in the week to Wednesday September 29, with ripples felt across the aluminium industry, where elements such as silicon can comprise up to 13% of alloy production. Power supply problems in many of China's key industrial and manufacturing hubs have intensified while the nation...Read More
Turkish steel mills returned to the deep-sea scrap market on Thursday September 30 for November shipment cargoes, market participants told Fastmarkets.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $435 per tonne, along with 8,000 tonnes of shredded and 12,000 tonnes of bonus at $450 per tonne cfr.A mill in the Izmir region also book...Read More
Low generation of Shindachi busheling is forcing some Japanese blast furnace (BF)-based mills to procure more shredded scrap instead of the high-grade new production material, sources told Fastmarkets.Japanese BF steelmakers have ramped up their intake of steel scrap this year in line with stronger production levels and ambitious targets on CO2 reduction.Japanese steel production totaled 7.9 milli...Read More
Seaborne cfr prices increased on a new deal on Thursday September 30; sources expect seaborne coking coal prices in the cfr market to edge up after China's National Day holiday, partly due to the ongoing power shortage.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $603.28 per tonne, up $10.39 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $565.14 per tonne, up $30.28 per tonnePremium hard c...Read More
* Rare earth mine output quota for 2021 at 168,000 T vs 140,000 T in 2020 * Full-year smelting and separation quota at 162,000 T vs 135,000 T in2020 * Tight heavy rare earth supply to persist while Myanmar border shut-analyst (Adds analyst comment) By Tom Daly Sept 30 (Reuters) - China hiked its annual rare earth output quotas onThursday by 20% year-on-year to their highest levels on record, as it...Read More
China's power-cut policy has caused disruption in the battery raw materials supply chain and has brought uncertainty to the price of materials like nickel and cobalt, sources told Fastmarkets.The country started introducing power-consumption limits in some provinces in July 2021 due to power shortages following its carbon-reduction policy, and the curbs have been extended into more provinces and h...Read More
Chinese copper smelters are looking to buy concentrates for the fourth quarter of this year, citing better availability of spot materials. China's Copper Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) set the fourth-quarter base price for treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $70 per tonne/ 7 cents per lb on Wednesday September 29, sources told Fastmarkets. The price floor...Read More
China's spot domestic ferro-chrome market jumped in the week ending Tuesday September 28 due to a supply shortage amid production disruptions.Fastmarkets assessed ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China at 11,100-11,500 yuan per tonne on Tuesday, up 1,100-1,200 yuan from 10,000-10,300 yuan per tonne on September 21. Last week, the assessment was rolled over from the previous week due t...Read More
China's power-cut policy has caused disruption in the battery raw materials supply chain and has brought uncertainty to the price of materials like nickel and cobalt, sources told Fastmarkets.The country started introducing power-consumption limits in some provinces in July 2021 due to power shortages following its carbon-reduction policy, and the curbs have been extended into more provinces and h...Read More
The US nickel briquette price hit a new all-time high; premiums in Asia and Europe remain unchanged. China premiums stable ahead of Chinese National Holidays US briquette hits new all-time high amid extreme shortage European premiums remain flat Shanghai premiums stable ahead of holidays The premiums on nickel cathodes imported into China remained stable in the week to Tuesday September 28,...Read More