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
The three-month copper contract is trading near record highs on the London Metal Exchange, cash prices are rising even faster, and inventories are descending toward zero. Try running a hedge book in those conditions.It's been a very real quandary facing the physical trade and industry, which awoke on Tuesday October 19 to find copper's cash to November spread had flared to a backwardation of more...Read More
Prices for domestic and imported merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel in the United States were flat in October for the second consecutive month following two rounds of mill base price increases in July and August.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel bar 2 x 2 x 1/4 -inch angle merchant products, fob mill US was $58.30 per hundredweight ($1,116 per short ton) on Friday October 29, unchanged fro...Read More
Copper smelters returned to the spot market this week with treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) relatively stable.For smelter purchases, clean tonnages for shipment in the fourth quarter and in January were seen with TCs in the low $60s. One extra clean cargo sold in the high $50s, while a lower-grade cargo of...Read More
A summary of production figures and financial results from Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas for the third quarter of 2021, as shown in its earnings report published on Friday October 29.In brief?EUR?Usiminas' strategy of buying third-party steel slab to be rolled at the Cubat??o mill was maintained, with a significant increase in purchases year-on-year in the third quarter to 502,000 tonnes, from 240...Read More
A summary of production figures and financial results for Chilean state-owned copper producer Codelco in the first nine months of 2021, as stated in its earnings report released on Friday October 29.In brief Higher copper content in mined ore in the year to date offset a strike at the Andina division from August through September, boosting overall copper production in the first nine months of 2021...Read More
Steel beam prices were flat in the United States' domestic and import markets on Thursday October 28 following three rounds of mill price increases over the summer and bringing a welcome pause to upward pressure in market that has been tightly supplied.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel beams 8- x 8-in, fob mill US was $68 per hundredweight ($1,360 per short ton) on Thursday October 28, unc...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices increased slightly by end of the week to Friday October 29 on renewed buying interest and rising raw material prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel billet domestic, ex-works India was at 46,500-46,700 rupees ($620.03-622.70) per tonne on Friday, up by 200 rupees compared with the previous week's assessment of 46,300-46,500 rupees per tonne ex-works....Read More
Treatment charges for both zinc and lead concentrates on a cif China basis were steady over the two weeks to Friday October 29, with little trade in either market.The zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China, was assessed at $75-88 per tonne on Friday, unchanged since one month earlier.Clean cargoes were mostly sold in a narrow range of $80-85 per tonne, with prime brands remaining at the bottom of the...Read More
A summary of Glencore's production results for the third quarter of 2021, released on Friday October 29In brief?EUR?Compared with the third quarter of 2020, Glencore's production of copper, nickel, zinc and lead from its own assets fell over 10% in the three months to September 2021. ?EUR?Year-to-date, nickel and lead production is also down over 10% from the same period in 2020, but copper is onl...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 29.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Silicon prices in the United States reached a new all-time high on Thursday October 28, making the price for US material - which has almost tripled in seven weeks - now the most expensive in the world. The US price for standard grade silicon (5-5-3) surpassed that in Europe, which had been the most expensive region prior to Fastmarkets' assessment there on Friday October 29.Fastmarkets assessed th...Read More
The price of silicon in China has dropped several times over recent weeks, after setting a then-record price of $9,000-10,000 per tonne on September 24. Downstream demand then fell through October, clouding market confidence, and offer prices went lower and lower.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for silicon, export, 98.5% Si min, fob China, dropped to $5,000-5,500 per tonne on Friday October 2...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 29.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in Europe, China and the United States on Friday October 29.China The price of ferro-silicon in China continued to narrow downward following deceasing futures, with many market participants taking a wait-and-see attitude. Even though the overall power supply situation is not as tight as before, the spot price remains supported...Read More
The price of UK inter-merchant light-iron steel scrap narrowed on Friday October 29 with the domestic and export markets remaining strong, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant UK, was ?185-195 ($255-268) per tonne on Friday, narrowing from ?175-195 per tonne the week before."It's quite busy. There is a lot...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices showed varying fortunes in the week ended Friday October 29, with Turkey, India and the United States all reporting stability or prices increases, while the markets in Taiwan, Vietnam and China all weakened.?EUR?Turkish scrap prices remain steady on public holiday?EUR?US export prices rise on tight domestic market?EUR?Vietnam prices affected by falling Chinese market?EU...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed lower on a week-on-week basis on Friday October 29, after Chinese state planners intervened to cool surging thermal coal prices this week.The LME three-month aluminium price closed at $2,716 per tonne on October 29, down from $2,746 per tonne at Thursday's close and was down by nearly 5.3% from last Friday's $2,868 per tonne. The price is also...Read More
The iron ore seaborne market supply might lose 40 million tonnes in 2022 compared with 2021, the ferrous director at Brazilian mining company Vale, Marcello Spinelli, said on Friday October 29.This reduction follows from a trend that began this year of important iron ore suppliers - including Brazil, India and the Commonwealth of Independent States - focusing more on their domestic marke...Read More
Battery-grade lithium prices in Asia nudged higher over the week to Thursday October 28 on lingering tightness in supply, costlier feedstock and monthly restocking among buyers. ?EUR? Chinese suppliers of seaborne battery-grade lithium hydroxide price succeed in translating higher offers into transactions in the Asian spot market.?EUR? Lithium prices in China's domestic market rise on month-end re...Read More