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December 2020
24 December 2020
The United Kingdom and European Union have reached an agreement on a trade deal that will ensure tariff-free trading of most goods between the country and the bloc after December 31 when the withdrawal transition period ends, easing metals and minerals market participants’ fears of logistics paralysis and material shortages.
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24 December 2020
World crude steel production increased by 6.6% year on year in November, with China, Germany and Ukraine posting the largest increases.
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23 December 2020
Andalusite buyers are seeking flexibility for 2021 supply volumes due to uncertain conditions in refractories' end market, as negotiations for new contracts proceed slowly.
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22 December 2020
Shipping problems faced by commodity market participants are likely to get worse ahead of Chinese New Year on February 12, 2021, sources told Fastmarkets.
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18 December 2020
Sales of passenger cars in the EU dropped by 11.99% year on year in November 2020, due to a second wave Covid-19 lockdown measures being introduced in several member states.
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17 December 2020
Jakob Stausholm will become the new chief executive officer of mining major Rio Tinto at the start of next year, the company announced on Thursday December 17.
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15 December 2020
Chinese automotive production rose by 9.6% year on year in November, supporting prices of upstream materials such as steel and aluminium.
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11 December 2020
Chinese prices of both brown (BFA) and white fused alumina (WFA) as well as refractory grade bauxite rose in the two weeks to Thursday December 10 due to tightened pollution controls in major producing regions in line with winter environmental regulations.
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11 December 2020
ArcelorMittal Gijon resumed steel making operations this week after six days of downtime due to industrial action, a company representative told Fastmarkets.
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02 December 2020
A new round of winter environmental regulations in China’s Henan province complicates further the picture for brown fused alumina (BFA) amid slow refractories demand, surging freight rates and currency volatility.
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November 2020
27 November 2020
Brown fused alumina (BFA) and refractory-grade bauxite prices climbed in the latest fortnightly pricing session on Thursday November 26 due to support from environmental regulations in China for the winter months, while the Chinese white fused alumina (WFA) assessment rose by 5% on the low end amid fast-rising container freight rates.
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25 November 2020
The recent surge in container freight costs and availability of cargo space continue to disrupt trade flows in minerals and metals, with trading companies finding themselves unable to dodge the soaring shipping rates.
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25 November 2020
Global crude steel output rose for the third consecutive month in October as other countries joined China in ramping up production, according to the latest figures from the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).
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25 November 2020
European steelmakers need to consolidate to gain better control over pricing and the supply-demand balance as well as to better tackle rising production costs, but it will not solve the major problems of the European flat steel market, sources told Fastmarkets.
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17 November 2020
China’s crude steel, hot metal and finished steel output continued to grow on a year-on-year basis in October, according to data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics on Monday November 16.
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16 November 2020
Fifteen countries signed up to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership at the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on Sunday November 15.
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16 November 2020
China produced 17.45 million tonnes of refractory materials in China in the first nine months of 2020, down by 7.3% year on year, although performance improved in the third quarter compared with earlier in the year.
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13 November 2020
China’s price for white fused alumina (WFA) moved up during the fortnight to Thursday November 12 amid surging container freight rates, while the markets for brown fused alumina (BFA) and refractory-grade bauxite edged higher on the rising value of the Chinese yuan and the threat of environmental controls on operations in major production hubs.
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12 November 2020
Fast-rising costs for container freight on a number of major shipping routes are causing disruption in trade flows for minerals and metals alike, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 12.
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11 November 2020
Contract negotiations for next year’s supply of calcined alumina volumes were progressing slowly, with both sellers and buyers expecting discussions to continue beyond the end of 2020, sources told Fastmarkets.
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10 November 2020
With China significantly ahead of the curve in terms of economic recovery after Covid-19, its ambitious infrastructure investments have been under the spotlight because of the enormous boost to domestic consumption - especially demand for steel products.
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09 November 2020
A new round of environmental regulations in the coming winter season will add to the supply crisis caused by a shortage of bauxite ore and depletion of high-quality resources in Shanxi province, China’s production hub for refractory-grade bauxite, sources have told Fastmarkets.
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06 November 2020
Contracts for the supply of several mineral raw materials for 2021 are expected to be shorter in their duration and cover smaller volumes compared with previous years, while market participants claim negotiations are progressing slowly and with no clear market references.
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06 November 2020
A summary of ArcelorMittal's financial results for the third quarter of 2020.
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04 November 2020
A summary of results from France-headquartered minerals producer and processor Imerys for the third quarter of 2020, released on Monday November 2.
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02 November 2020
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.