Following a flip in global steel and ferrous trade flow trends last year caused by economic jitters in Turkey, trade defenses by the United States and production cuts in China, this year it is steel prices that are turning upside down. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices are now below rebar prices in a phenomenon rarely seen outside of the Chinese domestic markets. HRC import prices in Vietnam have...Read More
The whole battery supply chain will benefit from lithium benchmark pricing, Fastmarkets head of battery raw materials research William Adams says as he explores what is driving auto manufacturers to support this pricing mechanism. The auto industry is going through a period of unprecedented change due to companies introducing electric vehicles (EV) into their portfolios alongside internal combusti...Read More
The Jakarta Futures Exchange (JFX) has launched a physical tin contract in an effort to gain precedence as a global price reference in Indonesia, which - combined with the backing of the country's trade ministry and largest state-owned tin producer - could mark a significant change in tin business out of the region. JFX launched its physical tin contract officially on August 21, exporting 1,410 to...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 0.5% at the close of trading on Tuesday September 17 but held above nearby support levels, while aluminium futures were the only positive mover in a predominantly weaker base metals complex. Copper traded volumes were relatively low over the day at 14,000 lots by the close. Although the red metal's closing price was lower than Monda...Read More
China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) has formally launched the brand delivery mechanism for its iron ore futures to replace the current delivery threshold of specifications. The new rules - aimed to cater to market demand and better serve the industry - will take effect from the September 2020 iron ore futures contract, DCE said on its website late last week. For the new physical delivery rules...Read More
Offers for premium mid-vol hard coking coal plunged in the seaborne market on Tuesday September 17 after several days of inactivity.Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $144.08 per tonne, down $4.07 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $160.63 per tonne, down $7.13 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $131.75 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $150.26 per tonne, unchan...Read More
China's month-on-month new electric vehicles (NEV) sales rebounded in August after month-on-month declines in June and July. The drop in sales between May and June was the first drop since September 2016, but Fastmarkets MB had expected Chinese NEV sales to dip temporarily after the June subsidy changes came into effect because consumers and NEV manufacturers would have to adjust to the new subsid...Read More
The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More
Iron ore prices fell sharply in the second half of November after climbing through October, with prices for higher-grade material pioneering the decline.Fastmarkets MB daily benchmark for 65% Fe fines dropped by 22% by Monday November 26 after peaking on October 29. The 62% Fe iron ore index declined by 16% over the period, as some Chinese steelmakers started to seek larger volumes of cheaper ores...Read More
The steel scrap sector in the United States still depends on exports to Turkey, a member of the Fastmarkets research team said during the ferrous session at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in London.This dependence persists despite the changes in the international markets created by the US' imposition of its Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel products, metals analyst Le...Read More
Masan Tungsten, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vietnam's Masan Resources Corp, has signed an agreement to buy the tungsten business of Germany's HC Starck Group.The tungsten business purchase is a strategic step for Masan Resources in its drive to become a world-leading high-tech industrial materials manufacturer, the miner said on Tuesday, September 17.HC Starck is a leading manufact...Read More
Fastmarkets looks at the key takeaways from the seventh Fastmarkets Asian Nickel conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 11-12, from who will fill the Asian supply gap from 2020 to emerging demand for nickel from the electric vehicle battery sector. Indonesian nickel ore export ban will create Chinese nickel ore shortfall China is heavily reliant on nickel ore imports from Indonesia and Phi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 17 that are worth another look.Fastmarkets looks at the key takeaways from the seventh Fastmarkets Asian Nickel conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 11-12, from who will fill the Asian supply gap from 2020 to emerging demand for nickel from the electric vehicle battery sector.Import prices for steel slab in S...Read More
Rising oil prices driven by shutdowns in Saudi Arabia have had a negative effect on outright copper prices, analysts told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 17. The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price is down by 2.1% at $5,826 per tonne compared with $5,954 per tonne at the start of the week, following a 9% jump in the Brent crude oil price in the same time frame. The Brent crude oil pric...Read More
The Jakarta Futures Exchange (JFX) has launched a physical tin contract in an effort to gain precedence as a global price reference in Indonesia, which - combined with the backing of the country's trade ministry and largest state-owned tin producer - could mark a significant change in tin business out of the region. JFX launched its physical tin contract officially on August 21, exporting 1,410 to...Read More
Nickel fell on the London Metal Exchange during morning trading on Tuesday September 17 to below nearby support levels while the other base metals drifted lower in low-liquidity conditions.The three-month nickel price recently traded at $16,970 per tonne, a drop of around 1.8% from Monday's closing price of $17,370 per tonne and the steepest fall across the complex this morning.Volumes were modera...Read More
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) import prices into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia fell this week, on continuing limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 17. Buyers do not want to book big tonnages before prices hit bottom, they said. UAE Offer prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) from China came in at $495 per tonne cfr this week, with offers for for India-origin m...Read More
Import prices for steel billet in the United Arab Emirates fell this week because of weak demand, and rebar prices were also expected to decline, sources said on Tuesday September 17. Market participants expect new domestic rebar prices to be announced in the near future, Fastmarkets understands. Billet imports Billet was on offer from Oman at about $405-410 per tonne cpt, but no si...Read More
Buying activity softened further in the export markets for hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil (HRC, CRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States during the week ended Monday September 16, because prices have been falling too fast.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel HRC, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $420-435 per tonne on September 16, down from $430-438 per tonne a week earlier."There...Read More
Desheng Stainless Steel, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned Baowu Steel, plans to start construction of a series of facilities for making crude stainless steel in eastern China's Fujian province, according to a notice released by the Fujian Industry & Information Bureau on September 12.The units will be intended to replace some capacity in Shanghai and in central China's Hubei province.Facilities...Read More