The risks that the Chinese government will introduce export duties on steel products will increase if export volumes surge when prices stabilize again after the recent decline, market sources told Fastmarkets over the week to Friday November 19."A sharp rebound in export volumes will draw attention from the central authorities," a Shanghai-based trader said.Fears have emerged that the Chinese gove...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe and Italy were stable on Friday November 19 due to slow trading activity, sources have told Fastmarkets.Northern European steelmakers continued to give discounts for fourth-quarter-rolling HRC. Coil for prompt shipment became available in the spot market at lower prices because it was originally intended for shipment to automotive sector buyers.De...Read More
Handan city, a major steelmaking hub in northern China's Hebei province, has issued production curbs on key sectors for the rest of 2021 to fight against air pollution during the smog-prone winter heating season. From Thursday November 18 until the end of the year, steel mills in the city are required to cut their blast furnace (BF) production by up to 100%, depending on the grades assigned to the...Read More
Prices for shredded steel scrap imported into Pakistan and India moved down after both markets weakened in the seven days to Friday November 19, sources told Fastmarkets.PakistanFastmarkets calculated its weekly steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Port Qasim, Pakistan at $560.18 per tonne on Friday, compared with $564.21 per tonne a week earlier.Deals were heard at $563-565 per tonne this we...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday November 19.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Bulk freight rates for key steel products have receded over recent weeks amid shrinking port congestion in China and improved vessel availability, sources have told Fastmarkets.A slowdown in Chinese commodity imports, coming at a time of crashing steel prices in the country, has allowed congestion at the country's ports to unwind in recent weeks, markets participants said.Freight rates first dropp...Read More
Bulk freight rates for key steel products have receded over recent weeks amid shrinking port congestion in China and improved vessel availability, sources have told Fastmarkets.A slowdown in Chinese commodity imports, coming at a time of crashing steel prices in the country, has allowed congestion at the country's ports to unwind in recent weeks, markets participants said.Freight rates first dropp...Read More
China's biggest steelmaker, Baowu, has set up a global alliance with some of the world's major steel producers and miners, to develop and promote a low-carbon steel industry.Announcing the establishment of the Global Low Carbon Metallurgical Innovation Alliance (GLCMIA) at its expo center in Shanghai on Thursday November 18, Baowu said the alliance would work together to accelerate and promote the...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
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and the latest price moves.Jessica Long, Zihao Li and...Read More
Crude steel output in Germany increased by 7% year on year in October, the German steel federation, WV Stahl, said on Friday November 19.German crude steel production totaled 3.66 million tonnes in October, up from 3.42 million tonnes in October last year.Steel output from Germany's basic oxygen furnaces - mainly used in the production of flat steel - rose by 13.2% year on year to...Read More
The price of secondary steel billet in the Indian domestic market fell by 1,500 rupees ($20) per tonne over the week ended Friday November 19, with demand for semi-finished materials slowing down in line with a sharp fall in demand and prices for finished steel products.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel billet, domestic, exw India, at 41,700-41,900 rupees ($562-565) per tonne on November 19...Read More
Turkish steel scrap import prices recovered with a fresh European cargo deal heard at the end of the week, market participants told Fastmarkets on Friday November 19.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a European cargo comprising HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $486 per tonne and bonus at $506 per tonne cfr. The cargo composition was not clear at the time of publication. The previous deep-sea deal was he...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) indices edged down slightly in the week to Friday November 19. Spot activity was thin, with the market still focusing on 2022 contract negotiations; no number for benchmark charges has...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in China, India, Europe and the United States on Friday November 19.China The spot silico-manganese and ferro-manganese markets continued to fall this week, following the sluggish futures and downstream steel markets. Alloy producers have been considering production cuts to avoid financial losses under high electricity rates and falling alloy prices.&nbs...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and the latest price moves.Janie Davies, Dalila Ouerghi,...Read More
Further deals for resale cargoes of 3sp blast furnace (BF) steel billet into the Southeast Asian markets have damped sentiment in the region for new production billet, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 19.Several hundred thousand tonnes of diverted cargo, some of which was already on the water and required very prompt shipment, have been offered into Southeast Asian countries in recent w...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday November 18 that are worth another look.Swedish steelmaker SSAB has announced a further two partnerships involving its fossil-fuel-free steel, to commence in 2026, the company said in separate announcements this week.Production of key battery raw materials cobalt...Read More
Lithium prices in China were stable in the week to Thursday November 18 due to limited spot trading activity, while seaborne East Asian prices were flat amid similar conditions.Chinese lithium prices stable amid limited spot trading ahead of month-end restocking.Seaborne East Asian prices similarly unchanged in quiet conditions.Lithium prices in Europe and the United States continue to strengthen...Read More
Mining and metals companies say they're serious about transitioning to a sustainable economy, but whether they can afford to is another matter.Achieving decarbonization throughout the supply chain is going to require a huge amount of investment in technology to reimagine production processes and redesign existing sites.Last week, the International Aluminium Institute estimated that to decarbonize...Read More