Recently, the supply and demand fundamentals of Singapore’s long material market have remained stable, with actual imported thread prices remaining unchanged on a weekly basis, currently around $535-540 per ton of CFR. At present, a Malaysian steel plant is quoting 540 US dollars per ton of CFR, calculated. A Vietnamese steel mill quoted $545 per ton of CFR, a decrease of $5 per ton compared to the previous week. At present, although there is still some downstream demand in Singapore, the overall demand is relatively sluggish.   I haven’t heard any quotes from steel mills in China and the Middle...

  Against the backdrop of the escalating Red Sea crisis and high demand, global transportation capacity continues to be tight, leading to a significant increase in freight rates on multiple routes. Shortage of cabins and containers has doubled the pressure on enterprises. Nowadays, not only is there a shortage of ships and a tight supply of containers, but even ports are too busy to handle.   Shanghai Port faces the biggest challenge in the past three years   It is understood that port congestion in the Asian region is particularly severe, with Southeast Asian ports accounting for 26% of global port...

According to the latest information, the mainstream price of imported slabs from Southeast Asia with specifications of SAE1008/SAE 1006 is about $530/ton CFR, with a month on month decrease of about $10/ton.   At present, a mainstream steel mill in Indonesia is quoting $500/ton FOB for square billets with a specification of 3sp, and $510/ton for slab billets, a decrease of $20/ton on a month on month basis. Some market participants have stated that although overall market activity has increased and transactions have improved in May, the Indonesian steel currently does not accept bargaining and only accepts a bargaining space...

The International Energy Agency predicts that by 2030, global rare earth magnet refining capacity will still be highly concentrated in certain regions, with China alone accounting for 77% of global refining capacity. Magnets made from these elements are critical to the clean energy transition as they are used in automotive traction motors and wind turbine motors for electric vehicles. Rare earth elements have the most geographical concentration of all critical energy transition minerals in terms of global refining capacity. In 2023, China, Malaysia and Australia will dominate the total rare earth refining output with a staggering 98% market share, with China...

This week, hot-rolled coils for July delivery in Northern Europe were quoted at 640-660 euros/ton EXW (695-716 US dollars/ton). Some suppliers said they would deliver goods in advance in June, indicating that the market demand is generally not large. It is reported that the tradable price is between 620 and 630 euros/ton EXW, which is basically stable week-on-week. Currently, except for Germany, demand in other parts of Europe is generally average. According to reports, Egypt’s CFR Antwerp crude oil import quotation is 620 euros per ton, and Turkey’s import quotation is 620 euros per ton, including anti-dumping duties. In Italy,...

The Russian Iron and Steel Association and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Minerals, Minerals and Chemicals signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of mining and metallurgy last week. Both sides agreed to create a favorable business environment for mining and metallurgical enterprises in both countries and provide all necessary assistance. Alexei Sentyurin, executive director of the Russian Steel Association, said: “Our two countries have a long-standing relationship that still has great potential to expand.”Russian steelmakers reduced investments in 2023, breaking a trend of consistent investment growth that began in the early 2000s, according to...

Brazilian steelmakers will invest 100.2 billion Brazilian reals ($19.5 billion) over the next five years in production expansion, process upgrades and decarbonization projects. Brazilian President Lula announced the news this week, but he did not provide any details about which companies planned to do so. Lula said these actions will strengthen and improve the competitiveness of the sector. The industry has previously announced a number of major projects, which have already begun implementation. They viewed Lula’s announcement as a political ploy to quell the industry’s demands for protectionist measures to boost competitiveness and protect investments made in recent years. One...

Turkey’s largest stainless steel flat steel producer Posco Assan TST (Turkey Posco Assan TST, a joint venture of South Korea’s Posco Steel and Turkey’s Kibar Holding) has requested the Turkish Ministry of Trade to launch an anti-dumping investigation into stainless steel imported from China and Indonesia, and to conduct an anti-dumping investigation into stainless steel imported from China and Indonesia. Products imported into the country are subject to a 20% anti-dumping duty. Turkey’s Posco Assan Company believes that the import of low-priced inferior stainless steel has affected Turkey’s domestic trade steel production, and requires necessary measures to be taken on...

Due to rising alloy costs, Nippon Steel Stainless Steel Corporation (NSSC) will increase the price of nickel-based stainless steel (300 series) sold in May by 20,000 yen/ton (US$128/ton) and chromium-based stainless steel (400 series). 5,000 yen/ton. As the average cash settlement price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange from March to April was US$17,803/ton, a month-on-month increase of 5.5%, the cost of nickel delivered by NSSC in May increased by 5.5% month-on-month to US$8.08/lb. The Indonesian government said in early March that it would speed up the issuance of nickel mining quotas, but the process still lagged behind expectations....

Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange surged more than 5% on Friday amid violent protests and riots in New Caledonia. New Caledonia will become the world’s third largest nickel producer in 2023. Nickel prices rose nearly 7% to US$21,150/ton, before falling back to US$20,880/ton, an increase of approximately 5%. Gains in futures contracts were supported by concerns about further supply disruptions in New Caledonia, as well as the International Energy Agency’s forecast of “rapid” growth in electric vehicle demand, mine closures and slowing investment leading to future supply shortages. French miner Eramet operates five nickel mines in the country...