The latest diplomatic tit for tat between China and Australia is adding fuel to cif China bauxite prices already trending upward as a result of higher freight rates since the start of 2021.China announced an indefinite halt to its economic activities with Australia last Thursday May 6, citing some Australian officials' "disruptive measures."Sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Monday May 10 tha...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were consolidating this morning on Tuesday May 11, after having pulled back from high ground on Monday while base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were, for the most part, weaker. Broader markets seem to be getting nervous about inflation, with roaring commodity prices not helping. China's consumer and producer prices up significantly. But, US...Read More

US steel mill shipments in the United States reversed course and increased by 18.05% in March after slipping in February.Steel mill shipments jumped to 7.95 million net tons in March, after falling by 9.20% to 6.74 million tons in February, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures show. March shipments also are up by 1.90% from the 7.80 million tons shipped in the same month...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States achieved a new record high for the second consecutive day after market participants said that service centers need to restock, but mills are offering few spot tons. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $76.61 per hundredweight ($1,532.20 per short ton) on Tuesday May 11, a slight increase from $76.51 per cwt on Mo...Read More

The uptrend in the export market for flat-rolled steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States continued in new sales during the week to Tuesday May 11 amid strong demand globally, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $1,020-1,055 per tonne on May 11, up from $1,000-1,020 per tonne a week before.A sale of Ukraine-...Read More

Prices for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States continued to climb in the first half of May on favorable conditions for finished flat steel sales both domestically and in customers' markets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $1,020-1,055 per tonne on Tuesday May 11, up from $1,000-1,020 per tonne a week before.The corre...Read More

The Egyptian government announced details of its trial period for the reintroduction of construction permits in an official statement published on Sunday May 9, sources have told Fastmarkets.According to the statement, construction permits will be issued in 27 cities for a period of two months, and will then be available in all cities across Egypt from July 1, 2021.Egypt has had a ban on construct...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 10 that are worth another look.European buyers have purchased substantial volumes of cold-rolled coil from China for the first time in about five years, despite the product being subject to anti-dumping tariffs, sources told Fastmarkets on May 10.Consuming...Read More

Towards Sustainable Mining Tailings Guidance Aligns with Global StandardSPONSOREDthe mining association of canadaPAM puts itself in the middle of Thailand 4.0SPONSOREDAuroch powers up nickel explorationSPONSOREDauroch mineralsSaturn still shooting for the stars at Apollo HillSPONSOREDsaturn metalsThe union convened a strike vote for 205 workers after its efforts to improve the terms and conditions...Read More

The global mineral industry will have to rapidly scale up production to meet surging demand from the new energy sector, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.To reach the target of net-zero emissions by 2050, the energy sector will be consuming minerals at six times the current rate by 2040, the IEA forecast in a special report on Wednesday May 5. "Today, the data shows a looming mismat...Read More

PAM puts itself in the middle of Thailand 4.0SPONSOREDAzure Minerals' managing director shared a coveted industry exploration award for the Cosmos nickel find in 1997. A typical Kambalda-style, komatiite-hosted sulphide deposit, Cosmos became one of the world's highest grade nickel mines.Now Rovira sees great prospects for a Nova-Bollingeresque nickel-copper-cobalt deposit to emerge at Andover, so...Read More

Two-time Vale president Eliezer Batista diesLeadershipLook beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipTowards Sustainable Mining Tailings Guidance Aligns with Global StandardSPONSOREDthe mining association of canadaPAM puts itself in the middle of Thailand 4.0SPONSOREDThe intercept also included 30m at 0.81% Cu-eq, with another hole intersected 128m at 0.42% Cu-eq from 32m.The...Read More

Imports of iron ore into the United States tumbled by 38.5% month on month in February on lower shipments from Brazil and Canada, according to data from the US Geological Survey (USGS).Iron ore imports totaled 246,000 tonnes in February, compared with 400,000 tonnes in January and 225,000 tonnes in December 2020. The February total was up by 5.58% from the 233,000 tonnes imported in the same...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 52 points in pre-opening trade. Equity index futures followed a 2% drop by European equity indices and a 3% drop by the Nikkei Average.L Brands dropped $2.30 to $66.49 after the company announced plans to spin off its Victoria Secrets division by August.Simon Property fell $4.23 to $122.52 despite reporting higher tha...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued to pay higher prices for deep-sea scrap after securing more billet sales into China, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 11.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $495 per tonne and plate and structural (P&S) at $505 per tonne cfr. The cargo breakdown was not clear at the time of publication.The...Read More

Prices for steel scrap imported into China increased further on Tuesday May 11 after the highest bid price at the bellwether Japan Kanto Tetsugen increased by ?5,899 yen ($54.21) per tonne month on month.The Kanto Tetsugen, which is a cooperative of scrap dealers in the Tokyo region, closed its monthly H2 grade scrap export auction on Tuesday with the highest bid price at ?49,279 ($453) per tonn...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices went down on Tuesday May 11 due to less market liquidity and weakened sentiment amid China's Dalian Commodity Exchange's risk notice, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $228.93 per tonne, down $1.63 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $229.81 per tonne, down $2.80 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $200.07 p...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices surged sharply in the cfr market due to active speculative buying interest and inched higher in the fob market following global buying activity on Tuesday May 11, market sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.05 per tonne, up $1.42 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $246.35 per tonne, up $11.81 per tonneHard co...Read More

China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) issued a risk notice on Monday May 10 amid high volatility in the commodity futures in recent days, with its price limits rising in response to various contracts hitting their daily ceilings on the same day. The DCE said in its notice that it had noticed increased volatility in the futures contracts for coking coal, coke and iron ore due to fundamental chang...Read More

Turkish steel producers took a break from making deep-sea scrap purchases on Monday May 10 after last week's buying spree that raised prices by $39 per tonne week on week, sources told Fastmarkets.At least 10 deep-sea cargoes were booked by Turkish steel producers last week.The most recent deep-sea transaction was a Baltic Sea cargo sold at $488 per tonne cfr on an HMS 1&2 (80:20) basis.Suppliers...Read More