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
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
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
The recent decline in aluminium prices stoked bearish sentiment in the alumina market, pushing prices down 5% on Friday October 29.Fastmarkets calculated its daily alumina index, fob Australia at $452.16 per tonne on Friday, down from $476.73 per tonne on Thursday.A deal was reported on Friday for 30,000 tonnes at $450 per tonne fob Western Australia, for loading in the second half of November loa...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 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
Secondary alloy prices in the United States climbed again sharply on Thursday October 28, with strong demand, low supply and soaring raw material prices, especially for silicon, combining to drive transactions higher."Silicon is expensive and supply is tight," one producer said simply. "Alloy is very firm due to [the] spike in silicon prices and increasing manufacturing cost," a second...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
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 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
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
China's nickel sulfate price was unchanged in the week to Friday October 29, with minimal spot trading activity reported during the pricing period due to the weaker demand in the downstream precursor ternary market, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets assessed the price of nickel sulfate, min 21%, max 22.5%; cobalt 10ppm max, exw China, at 35,500-36,000 yuan ($5,552-5,630) per tonne on Friday, unchanged...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
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 latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...Read More
Stainless steel prices continue to register new highs around the end of the first half of 2021 and steelmakers continue to enjoy outsized margins.They have responded in recent months by increasing their output, which has now pushed above pre-pandemic levels and will eventually restore balance to the market.For now, though, supply gaps are still being filled and buyers find themselves competing aga...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
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
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