Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 27 that are worth another look.Long and flat-rolled steel producer Gerdau expects demand to continue to grow in 2022, after a rapid recovery of the local market this year from the lows of 2020 that were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 27 that are worth another look.Long and flat-rolled steel producer Gerdau expects demand to continue to grow in 2022, after a rapid recovery of the local market this year from the lows of 2020 that were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the...Read More
Trading activity in the European hot-rolled coil market was slow on Wednesday October 27, but mills are likely to seek price rise due to increasing production costs, sources told Fastmarkets. Buyers and sellers have been holding back from trading until a trend becomes clear, they added. Demand, however, has started to gradually improve due to distributors re-stocking for the first quarter of next...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were down across the board at the 5pm close of trading on Wednesday October 27, following a further drop in coal prices and widespread selling."Today's news that [China's] National Development & Reform Commission has set the price of thermal and coking coal at levels [that will reduce] key input prices for energy-intensive metals - pertinent to alumi...Read More
Aluminium producer Rusal's sales dipped by nearly 12% quarter-on-quarter to 915,000 tonnes in July-September 2021, according to its latest statement of operating results."Aluminium sales dynamics can largely be explained by an increase of goods in transit that are recognized as inventory, which was caused - among other factors - by transport capacity restrictions in supply chains globally," the co...Read More
Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States were mostly at a standstill, with the London Metal Exchange's nickel cash average for October broadly sideways from September, even though the daily official price continues to hover above $9 per lb."LME nickel has recovered nicely, but it seems to have leveled off for now, which has prevented prices from moving significantly higher," one dealer sa...Read More
Guidance for China to achieve its carbon emissions peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 was jointly released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Sunday October 24.The guidance specifies that by the year 2025, China's energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product will be reduced by 13.5% from 2020 levels, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per...Read More
The price of steel H-beams in Europe remained stable on Wednesday October 27 amid improving demand linked to better sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams domestic, delivered northern Europe was ?,?1,010-1,030 ($1,172-1,195) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week."We are seeing sentiment starting to turn and...Read More
Prices for aluminium P1020A cargoes offered into China have come down from multi-year highs because of a marked decline in demand, an uncertain near-term outlook and the closure of the London-Shanghai arbitrage window, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday October 27.Fastmarkets' latest monthly assessment of the aluminium P1020A premium, cif Shanghai, was $130-140 per tonne on Tuesday, down from a six-ye...Read More
Turkish steel mills were quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets ahead of an upcoming Republic Day holiday on Thursday and Friday, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 27.The most recent cargo was recorded on Tuesday, when a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a cargo from the United States, consisting of 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) and 10,000 tonnes of shredded at an average price o...Read More
A summary of the operational results for Russia's largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), which also has assets in Europe and the United States, for the third quarter (July-September) of 2021In brief?EUR? In the third quarter, NLMK's consolidated sales decreased by 4% compared with the second quarter, to 4.1 million tonnes amid steel output reductions at its Russian flat steel division.?EUR?...Read More
Turkish steel mills were quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets ahead of an upcoming Republic Day holiday on Thursday and Friday, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 27.The most recent cargo was recorded on Tuesday, when a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a cargo from the United States, consisting of 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) and 10,000 tonnes of shredded at an average price o...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Bulk and noble alloys both moved largely in line with our price forecasts globally over the past month, though several markets surprised to the upside, exceeding our forecast gains. Stronger-than-forecast pricing momentum was primarily triggered by supply shortages in numerous...Read More
Labor shortages across the global scrap industry pose the biggest threat to growth, according to a panel discussion at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) conference in Brussels on Tuesday October 26."We are having tremendous difficulties in hiring employees as we grow," George Adams, president of SA Recycling said as part of the discussion."There is going to be a massive shortage of scrap...Read More
An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Janie Davies in London;...Read More
The low-carbon ferro-chrome market in Europe leapt over the two weeks to Tuesday October 26 to a multi-year high due to extremely tight availability, with some sellers not offering on the spot market and consumers scrambling to find material.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe was $3.43-3.75 per lb Cr on October 26, up by 38-50 cents (13.97%)...Read More
From Wednesday December 1, Fastmarkets will publish its seaborne Asia battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide assessments on a daily basis. Fastmarkets had proposed in July to increase the pricing frequency for the two battery-grade lithium prices - assessed on a cif China, Japan and South Korea basis - to daily from weekly. This proposal had originally stated that the consultation period fo...Read More
The low-carbon ferro-chrome market in Europe leapt over the two weeks to Tuesday October 26 to a multi-year high due to extremely tight availability, with some sellers not offering on the spot market and consumers scrambling to find material.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome 0.10% C, average 65-70% Cr, delivered Europe was $3.43-3.75 per lb Cr on October 26, up by 38-50 cents (13.97%)...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
Consolidating its position in the battery materials supply chain amid fierce competition is the biggest challenge facing Greatpower Nickel & Cobalt Materials Co, company president Dongqiang Cao told Fastmarkets in an interview.Previously, attracting investment and improving the ability to provide finance had proved to be a bottleneck in the early stages of Greatpower's development, when it expande...Read More