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
The United States ferrous scrap export market remains on an even, if somewhat subdued, keel in the wake of three US cargoes reportedly sold to Turkey at stable prices.A mixed deep-sea cargo priced at $523 per tonne cfr comprising a 90:10 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap and bonus-grade material was heard offered to a Turkish mill out of Houston on Wednesday November 17. It is understood that...Read More
Aluminium market participants in Europe have reported growing concerns over the possible implications for the production of secondary aluminium ingot DIN226 after a recent fire at the Befesa salt slag treatment plant in Hanover, Germany, on November 5.A fire broke out at the plant in Brinker Hafen on that date, and was reported to have caused millions of euros-worth of damage."We are working acros...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums for the week to Wednesday November 17.Please click...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
Exports of finished steel from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) rose by 20.4% year-on-year in January-June 2021 amid rising demand in both Asia and Europe, according to the latest statistics from the South East Asia Iron & Steel Institute (Seaisi).Both long and flat steel exports flourished in the first half of the year, against a backdrop of rising prices and improved demand in...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were fairly stable in Northern Europe and Italy on Wednesday November 17; buyers and sellers both remained in "wait-and-see" mode, sources told Fastmarkets.Spot buyers preferred to hold back from booking any significant volumes for next year before the steelmakers settled their long-term contracts with end consumers. Some sources said that negotiations are likel...Read More
The price of Galvalume in the United States fell for the second month in a row in November - this time sharply - with competitively priced imports being felt in the market."Due to the massive volume of imported Galvalume and the low pricing for that material, we were successful the last two months in having our domestic prices come down fairly significantly," one distributor said. Galvalume "trave...Read More
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 said in an event on Wednesday November 17.Steel companies have accepted the need to change their production models, but several challenges are in the way of reducing the indus...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday November 17.Key drivers European ferro-titanium spot prices were unchanged for the fifth week in a row after a tender for annual delivery in 2022 from Korean steel major Posco was settled in the current spot price range, according to sources. There were no reported spot trades over the week to Wednesday November 17. Ferro-titanium s...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
Freight rates, which have spiked in 2021 and impacted steel and ferro-alloy markets, are likely to remain high in 2022 due to an imbalance of demand and availability of ships and containers, panelists said during Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference this week in Prague."Freight rates have increased from three to four times this year compared to previous normal levels, mainly due to t...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
Exports of finished steel from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) rose by 20.4% year-on-year in January-June 2021 amid rising demand in both Asia and Europe, according to the latest statistics from the South East Asia Iron & Steel Institute (Seaisi).Both long and flat steel exports flourished in the first half of the year, against a backdrop of rising prices and improved demand in...Read More
Glencore has agreed to sell its entire stake in an Australian copper-gold asset while remaining as offtaker of its concentrates output, it said on Tuesday November 17.The Swiss commodity trader will sell its interest in Ernest Henry Mining Pty ltd (EHM) for A$1 billion (US$727 million) to Australian gold miner Evolution, it said.For the year ended June 2021, EHM produced 19,159 tonnes of copper co...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
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil were fairly stable in Northern Europe and Italy on Wednesday November 17; buyers and sellers both remained in "wait-and-see" mode, sources told Fastmarkets.Spot buyers preferred to hold back from booking any significant volumes for next year before the steelmakers settled their long-term contracts with end consumers. Some sources said that negotiations are likel...Read More
Traders selling Iran-origin steel billet were looking for new opportunities with the markets continuing to weaken in Asia, including China, which until earlier this year was the major outlet for Iranian semi-finished steel.Egypt removed its 10% safeguard duty on billet earlier this week and has begun to offer good opportunities for companies trading Iranian semis.Around 50,000 tonnes of billet wer...Read More