Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.It is to collaborate on the research and development of fossil-free steel with automotive safety supplier Autoliv for use in products such as airbags and seatbelts, it said on November 15."We are looking forward to working...Read More
Handan city, a major steelmaking hub in northern China's Hebei province, has issued production curbs on key sectors for the rest of 2021 to fight against air pollution during the smog-prone winter heating season. From Thursday November 18 until the end of the year, steel mills in the city are required to cut their blast furnace (BF) production by up to 100%, depending on the grades assigned to the...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China continued to move lower on Thursday November 18, while futures prices resumed their decline amid increasing demand concerns.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,650-4,700 yuan ($729-736) per tonne, down by 30-40 yuan per tonneThe most-traded HRC contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange resumed its decline on Thursday, reversing gains from the previous day's...Read More
Fastmarkets has summarized mining-related policy proposals for the key candidates ahead of Chile's presidential election as presented on their political programs, with the population of the world's biggest copper producing country set to cast their vote on Sunday November 21.What is at stake? Chile produced a third of the world's copper in 2020, in the form of concentrates, anodes and cathode...Read More
Production of key battery raw materials cobalt and nickel will remain tight and will pose challenges to the electrification of transport, panelists said on Monday November 15 during Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference in Prague."This year was really the first year that we saw a step change in nickel demand caused by demand from the electric vehicles (EV) sector and we saw nickel con...Read More
Passenger car sales in the EU declined month-on-month in October 2021 due to the continuing global shortage of semiconductors for use in onboard electronics, making it the fourth consecutive month to show a double-digit percentage decrease.In October, EU passenger car sales decreased by 30.26% year-on-year to 665,001 units, the lowest October volume since 1995, the European Automotive Manufacturer...Read More
The logistics of a cluster of copper mines in western Canada have been disrupted by extreme weather conditions in the province of British Columbia (BC) this week, Fastmarkets has learnt."All transportation routes, rails and highways, to the interior of the province are closed due to washouts and [land]slides," one Canadian miner source said on Thursday November 18.The province declared a state of...Read More
Domestic steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States increased slightly to a 13-year high, with many market participants expecting it to go up again before long.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US was $50.50 per hundredweight ($1,010 per short ton) on Wednesday November 18, up by 0.50% from the week before and at its highest point since the assessment...Read More
Production of key battery raw materials cobalt and nickel will remain tight and will pose challenges to the electrification of transport, panelists said on Monday November 15 during Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference in Prague."This year was really the first year that we saw a step change in nickel demand caused by demand from the electric vehicles (EV) sector and we saw nickel con...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.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb...Read More
Production of key battery raw materials cobalt and nickel will remain tight and will pose challenges to the electrification of transport, panelists said on Monday November 15 during Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference in Prague."This year was really the first year that we saw a step change in nickel demand caused by demand from the electric vehicles (EV) sector and we saw nickel con...Read More
Turkish long steel export prices have gone down over the past week amid poor demand from the country's major overseas destinations, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 18.Turkish steelmakers have lowered their export offers for rebar to $730-735 per tonne, down from last week's $740-745 per tonne fob on an actual-weight basis.However, the workable price...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More
Restocking demand kept China's domestic rebar prices from falling further on Thursday November 18.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,660-4,690 yuan ($731-735) per tonne, unchangedSeveral trading companies raised their procurement rates during the day to build up their inventories, market sources said.After weeks of destocking, traders do not have a lot...Read More
Base metals futures on the London Metal Exchange were largely lower at the 5pm close on Wednesday November 17, succumbing to a strong US dollar index and other headwinds.The US dollar index remained at its highest since July 2020, touching 96.27 during early trading before stepping back to 95.83 at the close."It seems that the upside momentum has stalled in several markets over the last 24 ho...Read More
Chinese metals production and processing group Daye Nonferrous will postpone the start of operations at its new double-flash copper smelter for six months because of a lack of essential buiding components that have been sourced from overseas, Fastmarkets has learnt.The 400,000 tonnes per year project in Huangshi, close to Wuhan, was scheduled to come online by the end of this year, but commissioni...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Alex Cook in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday November 17 that are worth another look.Regional cooperation, public planning and funding capacity for new technologies will be key for the Latin American steel industry to deliver reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the long term, top executives and experts...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums for the week to Wednesday November 17.Please click...Read More
The spot ferro-chrome market in China continued to weaken on Tuesday November 16 amid suppliers' efforts to destock, with prices now back to a level last seen in mid-July.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of ferro-chrome spot 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China was 9,600-10,200 yuan ($1,503-1,597) per tonne on Tuesday, down by 400-700 yuan per tonne from 10,300-10,600 yuan per tonne a week earlier. The l...Read More