An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Jon Stibbs...Read More
The export billet price from the Commonwealth of Independent States strengthened on Wednesday September 29 with a fresh Black Sea cargo reported sold to China.A 40,000-tonne lot of Ukraine-origin billet was sold to China at $705 per tonne cfr on Wednesday, a source on the seller side told Fastmarkets. Market participants estimate that the price nets back to $600-605 per tonne fob Black Sea, consid...Read More
Steel rebar prices in Southern Europe continued to slide during the week to Wednesday September 29 amid slow buying activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' assessment of steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?725-740 ($841-865) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?5-30 per tonne from ?,?730-770 per tonne last week.ItalyRebar demand in Italy has been weak du...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 Brazilian steel industry intends to contribute to a reduction in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in order to lower the country's carbon footprint, the steelmakers' association, Instituto A??o Brasil, said on Wednesday September 29.The methods to cut emission will include developing a strong local carbon credit market and moving forward with higher scrap and charcoal usage, as well as improving...Read More
Japan's August production and sales of Toyota's new vehicles, including those of its subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino Motors, fell on a monthly basis amid the severe shortage of semiconductor chips and raw materials, which have disrupted supply chains this year.Toyota's Japan August production of new vehicles fell by 39.3% and 11.4% on a monthly and yearly basis respectively, to 244,342 vehicles. To...Read More
Turkish steel mills stepped away from the deep-sea scrap import market after booking a number of cargoes earlier in the week, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 29.Steelmakers booked at least three deep-sea cargoes earlier this week. A steel mill paid $426 per tonne cfr for Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), while another steel mill paid $434 per tonne for the same material from Venezuela...Read More
Automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Co plans to spend $11.4 billion on new production sites in the United States for electric vehicles (EVs) and their batteries as part of its push to bring zero-emission auto production to the country.One site will be in Stanton, Tennessee, where the company will build electric versions of its F-Series pickup truck as well as advanced batteries. To be known as Blue...Read More
Copper concentrates shipment from MMG's Las Bambas mine in Peru will be delayed after operations were disrupted by a community blockade, the company said at a regulatory filing on Monday September 27.The Australian-Chinese miner said in a notice to Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its mining supply could not be transported due to community protests in...Read More
Copper concentrates shipment from MMG's Las Bambas mine in Peru will be delayed after operations were disrupted by a community blockade, the company said at a regulatory filing on Monday September 27.The Australian-Chinese miner said in a notice to Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its mining supply could not be transported due to community protests in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 28 that are worth another look.The Brazilian steel and aluminium sectors are preparing for a period of short electricity supply in the coming months due to a persistent drought in a...Read More
The Brazilian steel and aluminium sectors are preparing for a period of short electricity supply in the coming months due to a persistent drought in a country heavily reliant on hydroelectric power generation.A drought has reduced water reservoirs in Brazil, mainly in southeastern and midwestern states, leading to an electricity cost spike and fears of blackouts or even mandatory power rationing t...Read More
Swedish special steel producer Ovako is to introduce a "climate surcharge" to support initiatives and new technology investments as its production goes carbon-neutral from January 2022, the producer announced on Tuesday September 28.The company says it has reduced carbon emissions significantly through efficient processes, the use of fossil-free electricity and dedicated investments such as conver...Read More
Further reductions in Chinese steel mill operations due to ongoing power shortages are likely to hamper demand for imported semi-finished steel and steel scrap in the country, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Draconian restrictions on power supplies in China have led to a raft of electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers and re-rollers in key provinces such as Jiangsu, Yunnan and Zhejiang to either...Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets in Asia, Europe and the United States on Tuesday September 28 and their latest price moves.China Imported charge chrome prices continued to rise strongly; consumers who needed spot material in the tight market accepted higher offers.Spot ferro-chrome prices surged in the past week amid strict electricity controls in major production hubs, which tight...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to liberalize the criteria for deals to be included in the calculations for the steel scrap month-to-date deal weighted average price, cfr Turkey.Currently, Fastmarkets' steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), month-to-date deal-weighted average, North Europe origin, cfr Turkey only includes deals that are classified as confirmed, which means that at least the buyer or the sell...Read More
Base metals prices were mainly lower across both the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange on Tuesday September 28, the exception was LME copper. Oil prices extend gains; spot Brent crude approaching $80 per barrel. US 10-year treasuries yields push through 1.5%.Base metalsThe three-month copper price on the LME was up by 0.3% at $9,376.50 per tonne and seemed buoyant this morni...Read More
Automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Co plans to spend $11.4 billion on new production sites in the United States for electric vehicles (EVs) and their batteries as part of its push to bring zero-emission auto production to the country.One site will be in Stanton, Tennessee, where the company will build electric versions of its F-Series pickup truck as well as advanced batteries. To be known as Blue...Read More
Fastmarkets is planning to delay the starting date of proposed amendments of its lithium price assessments, including the frequency of two battery-grade seaborne Asian lithium prices and amendments to the names and specifications of all its lithium hydroxide prices.In a Pricing Notice on Tuesday July 27, Fastmarkets proposed to increase the frequency of its battery-grade seaborne Asian lithium car...Read More
After a one-month consultation that ended on Sunday September 26, Fastmarkets will increase the pricing frequency for its spodumene assessment to fortnightly from monthly on Thursday September 30.The first fortnightly price assessment for spodumene 6% Li2O min, cif China, which was priced at a monthly basis, will take place on September 30, followed by October 14, October 28, and so on. The increa...Read More