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October 2020
16 October 2020
The market for refractory grade bauxite and brown fused alumina (BFA) ticked up in the past fortnight to Thursday October 15 on a rising yuan after China's Golden Week holiday in early October, while white fused alumina (WFA) held firm after previous upward adjustments.
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08 October 2020
The market for specialty grade calcined alumina for refractory use has stabilized after dropping over 10% so far this year and by close to 20% in the past 15 months, industry sources said.
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07 October 2020
Fastmarkets has discontinued the publication of its assessment of the price of alumina hydrate (ATH), with effect from Wednesday October 7.
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06 October 2020
Fastmarkets opened a consultation on September 1, 2020, inviting feedback on its industrial minerals methodology in line with our annual methodology review process.
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September 2020
21 September 2020
Prices of bauxite, white fused alumina (WFA) and abrasive-grade brown fused alumina (BFA) all ticked upward on exchange-rate fluctuations and rising freight rates during the two weeks to Thursday September 17, the first positive pricing moves in all three commodities for several months.
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10 September 2020
Refractory-grade bauxite prices have held firm due to tightening supply despite the uncertainties caused the Covid-19 pandemic.
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09 September 2020
Low capacity utilization at China’s kilns for production of brown fused alumina was weighing heavily on the markets, driven by weak demand for refractories.
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07 September 2020
Fastmarkets is proposing to discontinue its assessment of the price of alumina hydrate (ATH).
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04 September 2020
Prices of brown fused alumina (BFA), white fused alumina (WFA) and refractory-grade bauxite remained stable on limited trading during the two weeks ended Thursday September 3, pausing a sharply bearish trend that had affected both commodities in recent months.
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01 September 2020
Fastmarkets is inviting feedback from the industry on its pricing methodology for its industrial minerals, as part of its annual methodology review process and compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles for PRAs.
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August 2020
24 August 2020
Refractory grade bauxite prices in China dropped in the two weeks to Thursday, August 20 amid “extremely slow” demand, while both brown fused alumina (BFA) and white fused alumina (WFA) prices remained under pressure.
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07 August 2020
The price of white fused alumina (WFA) made a further downward move during the past fortnight despite participants’ expectations the market had bottomed out owing to changes in feedstock prices during previous weeks.
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July 2020
29 July 2020
Silicon carbide prices for abrasive and refractory applications remained mostly steady month on month on Tuesday July 28, bucking the downward trend of other industrial minerals since the beginning of the year as a consequence of the economic slowdown triggered by the Covid-19 global pandemic.
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24 July 2020
The price for brown fused alumina (BFA) fell for a second consecutive assessment because of soft demand during a slow summer that was also affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, while the price of white fused alumina (WFA) ticked upward slightly and bauxite stayed mostly flat.
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14 July 2020
Chalco has made a pricing announcement on alumina, including both metallurgical and non-metallurgical grades, which is expected to improve market sentiment for white fused alumina (WFA) in a complex market characterized by flatlined demand and rising feedstock costs.
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08 July 2020
Sluggish fundamentals for refractories continue to put pressure on speciality calcined alumina raw materials, with prices showing further bearish movement.
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June 2020
25 June 2020
The price of white fused alumina (WFA) fell further in the fortnight to Thursday June 25, on continued weakness in consumer end markets and limited orders from users.
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12 June 2020
Bearish market conditions for refractory raw materials amid the Covid-19 pandemic continued to weigh on prices, with all grades of calcined bauxite falling while the fused alumina price fell and is reportedly below cost of production, sources said.
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03 June 2020
Refractories production in China fell to 1.65 million tonnes in April, down by 4.1% year on year, according to data from the China Association of Refractories.
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01 June 2020
China’s export shipments of refractory-grade bauxite unexpectedly rose in April by 34% despite the global consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, exports of brown fused alumina (BFA) increased by 5% but those of white fused alumina (WFA) fell by 5%, with market weakness still evident, according to sources.
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May 2020
29 May 2020
The price of white fused alumina (WFA) fell still further on the low end of the range, amid the dollar’s depreciation against the euro over the fortnight ended Thursday May 28. Prices for refractory-grade bauxite and brown fused alumina (BFA) stayed flat while demand remained sluggish.
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25 May 2020
China’s ports have resumed normal operations but overseas demand for exported materials remains reduced by the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in lower container throughput. Most producers of refractory raw materials, however, continued to get limited orders from global buyers.
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15 May 2020
Fused alumina prices have fallen further during the two weeks to Thursday May 14 because of continued bearish pressure resulting from weak demand from refractories consumers, while bauxite prices remained flat on a largely muted export market and scarcity of supply in China.
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12 May 2020
Producers of andalusite in various countries have been able to restart operations after Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, although they warned that a return to pre-closure output volumes will be slow and gradual.
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11 May 2020
Brown fused alumina (BFA) and white fused alumina (WFA) prices are increasingly moving separately in their pricing patterns, with the latter having deepened its price discount to BFA against a historic premium.
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11 May 2020
China's refractories output fell to 4.10 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2020, mainly due to a slowdown in production caused by the response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
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April 2020
30 April 2020
Fused alumina prices have dropped significantly in the past fortnight, with brown fused alumina (BFA) falling to a two-year low and following the path of white fused alumina (WFA), which has lost value for a second consecutive assessment.
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29 April 2020
The decline in shipments of refractory-grade bauxite and fused alumina out of China eased off toward the end of the first quarter of 2020, compared with the plunge of more than 30% year-on-year seen in January and February.
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17 April 2020
The price for white fused alumina (WFA) in China has fallen over the past two weeks to reach a two-year low in the assessment on Thursday April 16.
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06 April 2020
Refractory grade bauxite remained mostly flat amid a quiet seaborne market and poor availability over the past fortnight. Brown fused alumina (BFA) ticked up while white fused alumina (WFA) dropped, and participants warned of a potential cliff edge in demand ahead.
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02 April 2020
Calcined alumina prices remained stable in early April after a decline over previous months, with both producers and consumers assessing the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for local operations.
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01 April 2020
The total output of refractory materials in China increased by 3.7% year-on-year to 24.31 million tonnes in 2019. But most refractory raw materials prices were still under downward pressure.
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March 2020
20 March 2020
Poor availability has continued to support prices for refractory-grade bauxite over the past fortnight, while the price for white fused alumina (WFA) ticks upward and brown fused alumina (BFA) remains flat.
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09 March 2020
The specialty alumina market continues to suffer bearish pressure of weak end market conditions and high availability, forcing suppliers to give in to price cuts to move volumes.
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06 March 2020
Bauxite prices in China have increased again over the past fortnight on low restart rates of mining and calcination activities in producing areas, market participants said.
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February 2020
24 February 2020
The price of refractory-grade bauxite rose in the two weeks to Thursday February 20 due to a low production recovery rate and limited logistics in the main Chinese production hub of Shanxi province, while fused alumina remained unchanged on production and delivery uncertainty in Henan.
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14 February 2020
A recovery of China’s bauxite and fused alumina production remained uncertain in the major production hubs of Henan and Shanxi provinces due to the coronavirus outbreak, creating concern about supply and delivery of the refractory material in the short term.
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07 February 2020
Participants active in the bauxite and fused alumina markets expect short-term supply shortages to affect consuming destinations in areas including Europe, while sellers take stock of the shipping disruptions arising from measures taken to contain the coronavirus outbreak in China.
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03 February 2020
View the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for 2020 and 2021.
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January 2020
21 January 2020
Beginning in 2020, Fastmarkets will review its pricing methodologies and price specifications across all its Price Reporting Agency (PRA) divisions - Metals & Mining and Forest Products - on an annual basis rather than twice per year.
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10 January 2020
The appreciation of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar is adding pressure to the quiet markets for fused alumina and bauxite before the Chinese new year holiday period.