Sellers of physical copper are holding out for a higher premium for 2022 contracts in the United States.No major deals were reported by the end of the American Copper Council (ACC) fall meeting in Miami, Florida this past week, although there was talk of a US copper premium in the 10-cents-per-lb range.In the US, Fastmarkets assessed the copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US at 8-9 cents...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US prices for hot-rolled coil moved in line with our forecasts in August, averaging $1,910 per ton, within 1% accuracy of our forecast of $1,925 per ton. The market has achieved much-needed stability in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating in the range of $1,900-1,94...Read More
The governments of the United Kingdom, India, Germany and Canada have announced a pledge to purchase low carbon-emission steel under the Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI), it was announced on Tuesday November 9.The group of countries announced its intention to buy low-carbon steel and concrete at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow, with specific interim targets by...Read More
Prices for steel rebar and billet imports into the United Arab Emirates increased during the week ended Tuesday November 9, although offer prices for billet were higher than the rebar deal prices because of a shortage of the semi-finished material, sources have told Fastmarkets.The reason for the high billet price, compared with rebar, was that most billet producers in Oman have sold large quantit...Read More
The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
London Metal Exchange aluminium stocks dropped below the 1-million-tonne mark for the first time since October 2019 and on-warrant volumes were at their lowest in nearly 16 years on Tuesday November 9, while the metal complex's prices were little changed from the end of trading on Monday.There was a 21,925-tonne fresh cancellation of aluminium on Tuesday, spread mostly between warehouses in Singap...Read More
The International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) continues to believe that prospects for global long steel markets remain good and indicate a satisfactory first quarter of 2022.The global long steel products market is stable at the moment and should remain so in the next quarter despite many uncertainties including power shortages and costs, logistical challenges, the Evergrande...Read More
Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States weakened after market participants said lead times are narrowing and service centers are not as hungry for inventory this month.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $93.17 per hundredweight ($1,863.40 per short ton) on Tuesday November 9, a decrease of 1% from $94.11 per cwt on Monday and down by 0.7% from $93...Read More
Denis Reuter, chief operating officer of major German recycler TSR, has been appointed as president of the Bureau of International Recycling's (BIR) ferrous division.Reuter succeeds outgoing president Gregory Schnitzer of Sims Metal Management, who had been appointed to the post in November 2018.In his capacity as division president, Reuter will become a member of the BIR executive committee and w...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were largely stable during the seven days up to Monday November 8, because of slow activity after a national holiday and Covid-19 restriction measures.Market participants continued to report that the available volumes of rebar were limited. This was mostly due to mills giving priority to replenishing their trade houses'...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were largely stable during the seven days up to Monday November 8, because of slow activity after a national holiday and Covid-19 restriction measures.Market participants continued to report that the available volumes of rebar were limited. This was mostly due to mills giving priority to replenishing their trade houses'...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday November 9 that are worth another look.Carbon offsets and trading are an effective and quick way to contend with a future global ecosystem of green taxes, or the "green taxonomy," a sustainability consultancy said.Growing consumer appetite for sustainable products...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
Prices for flat steel products continued to increase in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow during the quiet holiday week ended Monday November 8, on limited offers from the mills, sources have told Fastmarkets.Some believed that prices have reached their peak and would remain flat until the end of the year, due to rumors about planned short-term maintenance stoppages at mills and the...Read More
Carbon offsets and trading are an effective and quick way to contend with a future global ecosystem of green taxes, or the "green taxonomy," a sustainability consultancy said"Companies need to realize that states are very actively preparing tax and duties plans to favor green products, and this will result in new barriers to entry," carbon specialist and Keops Consulting founder Milena L??pez told...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board on Tuesday November 9, but those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer while they followed the strength seen on the LME on Monday, when the complex closed up by an average of 1.2%.While some of China's data shows a struggling economy, recovery and infrastructure spending elsewhere bode well for metals demand.W...Read More
European steel companies must scale up their decarbonization technologies within the coming decade or risk exhausting their allocated emissions allowances early, according to a report released on Tuesday September 14.The report, "Steeling for Net Zero," by climate researcher Industry Tracker, found that selected European steel companies have less than 26% of their carbon budget remaining and must...Read More
Domestic demand for rebar in China weakened further on Tuesday November 9, causing prices to narrow downward. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,900-4,940 yuan ($766-773) per tonne, narrowing downward by 40 yuan per tonneMany traders lowered their rebar offers on losses in the futures market with the exception of a few, who maintained theirs.But both approaches failed to generate interest among...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 at...Read More