Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More
The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More
Tharisa said its earnings for the 12 months ending September 30 were expected to be between US$0.16/share and US$0.Read More
Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro's Husnes plant in Norway is on its way back to full production for the first time in more than 10 years, after production resumed at the Husnes B line on Tuesday November 24.Hydro Husnes produces about 95,000 tonnes per year of aluminium via the A line. This will gradually increase to around 195,000 tpy with the 200 electrolysis cells in the one-kilometer-long B line...Read More
The recent surge in container freight costs and availability of cargo space continue to disrupt trade flows in minerals and metals, with trading companies finding themselves unable to dodge the soaring shipping rates.A combination of fewer vessels on the water, an imbalance in trade flows to and from China, and competition between cargoes has kickstarted a rapid increase in shipping costs for...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday November 25 that are worth another look.Russian steelmaker Metalloinvest, which is the largest global supplier of hot-briquetted iron (HBI), may increase its shipments of the material by 10% by early 2023.Global copper scrap metal suppliers are now hesitant to...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Cristina Belda and Declan Conway contributed to this...Read More
Turkish steel mills resumed their deep-sea scrap purchases despite higher prices, due to growing demand for finished steel and increased competition for scrap, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 25.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 10,000 tonnes of shredded and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $341 pe...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday November 25. Key drivers Steady demand for prompt material from steel mills for the first quarter of next year pushed the ferro-titanium spot price to $5 per kg on the high end for the first time since May 20 in a 14-week bull run.There are bigger steelmaker tenders for first-quarter shipments both in Europe and Asia, which supplie...Read More
Global copper scrap metal suppliers are now hesitant to send their cargoes to China, citing a higher risk of rejection over the ambiguity of its new classification of 'recyclable copper materials', industry executives said at Fastmarkets Asia Copper Webinar on Monday November 23.For the first time ever, the world's biggest consumer of copper scrap has allowed overseas high-purity non-ferrous scrap...Read More
The US government rejected a permit application for Northern Dynasty's Pebble Mine on Wednesday November 25, a move which it was said would probably scuttle the controversial project in Alaska.The US Army Corps of Engineers said that it "determined that the applicant's plan for the discharge of fill material does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines, and concluded that the proposed project.....Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed this morning, Wednesday November 25, as were those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, but overall they seem to be consolidating in high ground, with copper having set a fresh high for the year at $7,360 per tonne earlier this morning. US president-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White House has boosted global confidence......this, combi...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey, Dalila Ouerghi and Michael Greenfield in London, Susan Zou...Read More
Europe could produce enough battery cells to meet the needs of its captive electric vehicle (EV) industry and could even be in a position to export batteries by 2025, according to the vice-president of the European Commission.Maros Sefcovic, told delegates at the European Conference on Batteries - held online on Tuesday November 24 - that the European Battery Alliance (EBA) aimed to create a globa...Read More
A climate-friendly president is heading to Washington, and it's hard not to be bullish on clean energy.In fact, Biden's original plan for a clean energy revolution sought to reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050.Ambitious? Yes.Realistic? Well, that's a debate we'll save for later.We're talking about an incoming commander in chief who has openly called climate change an existential threat to...Read More
Europe could produce enough battery cells to meet the needs of its captive electric vehicle (EV) industry and could even be in a position to export batteries by 2025, according to the vice-president of the European Commission.Maros Sefcovic, told delegates at the European Conference on Batteries - held online on Tuesday November 24 - that the European Battery Alliance (EBA) aimed to create a globa...Read More
Italian re-rollers had to increase their official offer prices for heavy steel plate over the week to Wednesday November 25 due to a sharp rise in imported slab costs, sources have told Fastmarkets.Official offers for domestic heavy plate in Italy were heard at ?,?540-550 ($641-653) per tonne ex-works, about ?,?40-50 per tonne higher than the offers heard in the market."Italy now is [expecting to...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe moved up again in the week to Wednesday November 25, due to a materials shortage, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?550.45 ($653.19) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?5.40 per tonne day on day from ?,?545.05 per tonne on Tuesday.The index was up by ?,?12.53 pe...Read More
Spot market inventory levels for most major steel products in China fell at an even more rapid pace in mid-November than the first 10 days of the months, while that at member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) declined further, according to data released by the body on Wednesday November 25.November 11-20 outputCrude steel: 2.11 million tonnes per day, down 1.53%Finished steel: 2.0...Read More
Iskenderun Demir Celik (Isdemir), a subsidiary of Turkey's biggest steel producing group Erdemir Group, has started planned maintenance at its blast furnace no 2. The maintenance will last 44 days starting from Tuesday November 24 and is not expected to have a major effect on the company's output, Isdemir said. Isdemir produces steel billet, slab, wire rod and hot-rolled coil at its facility in Is...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe moved up this week following a continued rise in feedstock costs and a lack of imports, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 25.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?660-680 ($783-807) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?640-660 per tonne one week previous.The availability of hot rol...Read More
The price for steel H-beams in Europe moved up this week when producers' ambitions for price increases were supported by a recent rise in feedstock costs, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday November 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?550-580 ($653-688) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?550-570 per tonne one week before.A more re...Read More