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United Kingdom-listed refractory products manufacturer Vesuvius says it has recorded a 60% year-on-year increase in its trading profit for January-April on higher prices.
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By Janie Davies, Sybil Pan
Prices for brown fused alumina (BFA) dropped sharply over the fortnight to Thursday April 28 on a weakening of the Chinese yuan, while the price for white fused alumina (WFA) was stable on a cif Europe basis, and bauxite prices were mostly steady with tight supply offsetting the lower yuan.
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Refractory-grade bauxite prices mostly ticked upward in the fortnight to Thursday April 14 due to rising land transport costs resulting from China’s Covid-19 control measures. The price of white fused alumina (WFA) went up because of exchange-rate moves while brown fused alumina (BFA) was steady.
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Prices for white fused alumina (WFA) showed a second consecutive drop in the two weeks to Thursday March 31, brown fused alumina (BFA) prices fell for a third consecutive fortnight, while bauxite prices were stable. And cross-provincial logistics in China were facing rigid Covid-19-related controls.
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China’s export shipments of refractory-grade bauxite and fused alumina surged in 2021 against a backdrop of threats to supply while demand began to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
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Prices for refractory-grade brown fused alumina (BFA) stabilized after five consecutive drops over the fortnight to Thursday January 20, while the price for abrasive-grade BFA ticked down slightly on the low end. White fused alumina (WFA) prices fell despite upward adjustment in the feedstock price, while bauxite prices remained firm on a looming supply crisis.
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The roll-out of mass Covid-19 testing in the major Chinese port city of Tianjin has created chaos for the area’s logistics, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday January 10.
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China’s brown fused alumina (BFA) prices continued to fall in the fortnight to Thursday January 6 due to slow spot liquidity at home and abroad. White fused alumina (WFA) also dipped after holding stable in the previous session, and bauxite held firm on limited availability projections.
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China’s brown fused alumina (BFA) fell for a fourth consecutive fortnight on Thursday December 23 amid low liquidity in the run up to the year end. Meanwhile, bauxite prices dropped slightly after holding steady for the past month.
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Fastmarkets opened a consultation on Monday November 8, inviting feedback on its pricing methodology for industrial minerals, in line with our annual methodology review process.
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Chinese fused alumina declined for a third consecutive pricing session in the two weeks ended Thursday December 9 amid slow spot transactions and improved operating rates against the height of a power crunch. This was despite concerns over the anti-pollution related halt for winter.
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The prices for calcined alumina products rose further in early December, underpinned by suppliers’ high production costs and a perception of supply running below total demand, with some sellers resorting to shorter contracts amid the surge in costs and price volatility.
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A summary of China’s refractory raw materials exports in October 2021.
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Fused alumina prices continued to adjust downward in the two weeks to Thursday November 25, with slow buying activity and relatively improved production following earlier record surges. Meanwhile, bauxite prices were steady on prevailing supply risks but market participants warned of possible further upward moves.
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Local authorities in the Chinese cities of Zhengzhou and Luoyang issued a Code Orange response protocol (level two) on Wednesday November 24 because of a forecast for worsening air quality until the end of the month.
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Passenger car sales in the European Union declined month-on-month in October 2021 due to the continuing global shortage of semiconductors for use in onboard electronics, making it the fourth consecutive month to show a double-digit percentage decrease.
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Fastmarkets is inviting feedback from the industry on its pricing methodology for industrial minerals, as part of its announced annual methodology review process.
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Noranda Alumina - henceforth Atlantic Alumina Company - is back to full production after a brief suspension of its Gramercy, Louisiana, refinery, company president John Habisreitinger told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 2.
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Intensifying production suspensions across China have sent prices for both refractory and abrasive grades of brown fused alumina (BFA) to their highest levels since Fastmarkets began tracking these markets. At the same time, bullish fundamentals have combined with logistical bottlenecks to propel white fused alumina (WFA) prices upward.
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World crude steel production fell by 6.48% month on month in September, again driven lower by declining Chinese output.
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German calcined alumina supplier Nabaltec AG will increase prices by “up to 20%” across all of its products starting next year, the company announced.
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Market prices in China for brown fused alumina (BFA) and white fused alumina (WFA) continued to surge over the past fortnight on escalating power shortage-related operations closures in production hubs, while bauxite prices remained stable despite supply risks.
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By Yiwen Ju and Sybil Pan
Market participants in the bauxite industry in China, both metallurgical and non-metallurgical grades, have downplayed the effect of heavy rainfall in Shanxi earlier this month despite a temporary closure of alumina operation lines. But sources expressed concerns over operations in the coming winter because of the traditional environmental regulations and energy shortages.
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Industrial minerals producer and processor Imerys Group has applied a surcharge on fourth-quarter shipments of fused alumina products from two European facilities following recent increases in local energy costs, the company confirmed to Fastmarkets.
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The congestion at major ports that has affected shipping operations for metals and minerals on the China-to-Europe route is set to worsen in the next three or four months, sources told Fastmarkets during last week’s International Colloquium on Refractories conference in Aachen, Germany.
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Market prices for fused alumina mineral products surged over the past two weeks to Thursday September 30 because of severe power shortages in Chinese production areas that hit availability, while bauxite prices held firm again.
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French specialty alumina producer Alteo will apply temporary surcharges on its sales prices from next month to offset the surging energy costs in Europe, the company confirmed to Fastmarkets on Wednesday.
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A summary of China’s refractory raw materials exports in August 2021.
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Prices for brown and white fused alumina increased further in the two weeks to Thursday September 16, with power availability issues in central China worsening, adding to ongoing logistics issues and limiting availability and sellers’ capacity to ship material.
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China’s exports of finished steel products fell by more than 10% month on month in August, preliminary Chinese customs data showed on Tuesday September 7. By Tianran Zhao.
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The continuing shortage of container freight space and vessels could intensify further in the coming weeks, shippers of ferrous scrap told Fastmarkets this week.
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Bauxite refining and alumina production will resume at New Day Aluminum's facility in Gramercy, Louisiana, in the United States, after operations were halted due to Hurricane Ida, major shareholder Concord Resources said on Thursday September 2.
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Prices for white fused alumina (WFA) hit new highs in the fortnight to Thursday September 2, on surging feedstock costs, while brown fused alumina (BFA) followed, with tighter supply and power scarcity affecting output, but the price of bauxite was stable on strong fundamentals.
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China’s exports of refractory-grade bauxite in the first seven months of 2021 leapt upward by 51.58% year on year, while shipments of white and brown fused alumina (WFA, BFA) rose by 52.37% and 26.34% respectively over the same period, according to Chinese customs data.
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Chinese prices for brown fused alumina (BFA) rose for a second consecutive fortnight on Thursday August 19 amid continuing supply problems and solid demand in overseas markets, while high freight costs continued to support white fused alumina (WFA), and bauxite held firm on strong fundamentals.
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Fused alumina is in the middle of growing supply risk caused by power crunches in the major Chinese production hubs of Henan, Shandong and Guizhou provinces, according to market sources.
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China’s prices for brown fused alumina (BFA) ticked upward over the fortnight to Thursday August 5 on supply problems created by factors including the Henan floods, Covid-19-related logistics issues and electricity shortages, while white fused alumina (WFA) was supported by “exploding” freight costs, and bauxite held firm because of closures affecting mining and calcination.
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French speciality alumina producer Alteo will increase its prices from September, citing higher costs for energy and logistics, and high demand with the industry recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, it has announced.
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Authorities in China’s Zhengzhou city, Henan province, implemented strict entry and exit rules on Monday August 2 after 12 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 20 asymptomatic carriers were reported on Saturday.
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Speciality alumina producer Alteo will increase its capacity for very fine grinding production by 50% over the next nine months, the company announced on Friday July 23.
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White fused alumina (WFA) prices increased for a third consecutive fortnight to Thursday July 23 amid high freight costs, while brown fused alumina (BFA) and bauxite held stable despite severe supply disruptions brought about by heavy rainfalls in Henan and environmental regulations in Shanxi province.
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Supplies of brown fused alumina (BFA) were at increasing risk because of the current torrential rain, which has also caused a second explosion in Dengfeng city, sources said.
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Fastmarkets has corrected the date of the June assessments of its calcined alumina prices, which were published incorrectly on May 27 due to a reporting error.
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Prices for calcined alumina products increased again in early July for a second consecutive assessment, reflecting deals concluded at higher levels for the second half of the year amid strong demand for all products.
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Fastmarkets has corrected its assessment of the alumina, calcined, ground and unground, long-term contract price, which was published incorrectly on Thursday July 1 due to a reporting error.
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Prices for brown and white fused alumina (BFA and WFA) jumped during the fortnight to Thursday June 24 on supply issues and spiking freight rates from China to Europe, but bauxite held firm with some mining activities in Shanxi province reported to be halted.
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A summary of China’s refractory raw materials exports for May 2021.
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China’s export shipments of refractory-grade bauxite dropped in May by 21.84%, compared with a month earlier. And shipments of white and brown fused alumina (WFA and BFA) over the same period went down by 16.54% and 14.59% respectively, according to Chinese customs data.
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China’s heightened efforts to tackle pollution and safety controls in 2021 are set to widen supply tightness in refractory-grade bauxite and fused alumina, sources told Fastmarkets.
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Prices for brown fused alumina (BFA) moved up in the fortnight to Thursday June 10 amid increasing supply tightness following temporary closures in China’s Henan province. The price of white fused alumina (WFA) imports into Europe was supported by soaring freight costs, while bauxite also held firm.
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