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Fastmarkets proposes to change the frequency of its chromite price assessments from weekly to fortnightly.
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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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The seaborne East Asian battery-grade lithium carbonate price rose in the week to Thursday November 25, with tight supply of spot units and gains in the Chinese market providing the support needed to push it above the price for the equivalent grade of lithium hydroxide.
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Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday November 25.
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China produced 20.03 million tonnes of refractory materials in the first nine months of 2021, up 7.82% year on year, according to data from China’s Association of Refractories.
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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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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.
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Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday November 18.
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Foundry-grade chromite prices softened slightly this week. with the industry indicating that inconsistent demand levels from buyers and an uncertain downstream outlook are preventing higher offers from being accepted in the market.
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Seaborne lithium carbonate prices continued to rise in East Asia on the strength of the Chinese market in the week to Thursday November 11, with tight spot supply providing additional support.
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Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday November 11.
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Refractory materials manufacturer Vesuvius has increased prices, pointing to the semiconductor shortage and high raw material costs as "major uncertainties" affecting the business.
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China’s magnesia prices have softened on falling production costs amid the availability of cheaper coal and increasing supply, though logistics in the country have slowed down due to heavy snow and a rising number of Covid-19 cases in parts of the country, sources told Fastmarkets.
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China’s export price for fluorspar acidspar has edged upward with most sellers seeking rises due to an optimistic outlook and the relatively tight supply during winter, while other global acidspar prices also rose on supply concerns caused by a rise in energy and logistics costs, sources have told Fastmarkets.
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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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China’s Liaoning province was to stop its regime of power cuts and allow power supplies to return to normal from 8pm Beijing time on Friday November 5. The production of fused magnesia would also be able to return to normal, sources told Fastmarkets.
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Prices for flake fines and spherical graphite in China continued to rise in the week to Thursday November 4, boosted by supply concerns amid power rationing, anti-pollution controls and traditional winter halts in the major production regions of Shandong and Heilongjiang.
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The upward trend in China's fused magnesia prices has slowed in anticipation of increased supplies after a partial resumption of production in Liaoning province.
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Industrial minerals group Imerys increased revenue in 2021 due to a post-pandemic recovery despite “rapidly increasing inflation,” it said in a results update for the first nine months of 2021.
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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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Battery-grade lithium prices in Asia nudged higher over the week to Thursday October 28 on lingering tightness in supply, costlier feedstock and monthly restocking among buyers.
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Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday October 28.
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More than 10% of the global container fleet is waiting for berths to become available around the world, with effective capacity being "severely limited by port congestion," shipping giant Maersk said this week.
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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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Southern Power Grid in Guizhou province ordered electricity curbs on local aluminium producers, effective from Tuesday October 19, market sources said.
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A summary of China’s refractory raw materials exports in September 2021.
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The power cuts policy in China’s Liaoning province, the production hub for magnesia, has led to persistently tight supply and higher offer prices for fused magnesia (FM). And more overseas buyers were showing enthusiasm for magnesia from other origins, sources said this week.
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Lithium prices in the seaborne Asian market posted strong gains in the week ended Thursday October 21 while they continued to play catch-up with elevated price levels in the Chinese market.
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Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday October 21.
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Fastmarkets has today discontinued its assessments of the prices for Northern White frac sand due to a shift in demand which has reduced the traded volumes for these grades and this origin.
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United Kingdom-listed global refractory producer RHI Magnesita announced a "significant" price increase for the fourth quarter of 2021, driven by increased logistics and energy costs, with China’s power shortages likely to add pressure, it said in a third quarter trading update released on Tuesday October 19.
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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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Lithium prices in China resumed their ascent in the week to Thursday October 14 on active trading after the end of a week-long holiday over October 1-7 to mark the country’s National Day, with the seaborne Asian market following suit.
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Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday October 14.
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Liaoning province in China has imposed strict power cuts and set up alternating periods of operation among fused magnesia producers in October, which has pushed the prices for fused magnesia to a two-year high and could further tighten the supply if the power cuts policy continues, market sources have told Fastmarkets.
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Automotive manufacturers have faced a bumpy ride since the beginning of 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic hitting production and demand, while its effects on the supply chain have created shortages of materials and components. Myra Pinkham unpacks the trends and outlines the road ahead.
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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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Surging spot spodumene prices following aggressive bids in the latest Pilbara Minerals’ spodumene concentrate auction has elevated negotiated prices for fourth-quarter term contracts, market sources told Fastmarkets.
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Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday October 7.
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The challenges with container shipping, including port congestion and supply chain disruptions, are likely to continue for some time, according to an executive at shipping company Oldendorff Carriers GmbH & Co.
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European fluorspar prices increased in Fastmarkets’ monthly price assessment, showing signs of recovery due to rising consumption levels.
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Asian soda ash prices increased in Fastmarkets’ monthly price assessment due to falling Chinese exports. Demand was seen rising for Southeast Asia.
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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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Key data from the graphite pricing sessions in Asia and Europe for the week ended Thursday September 30.
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The rally in Chinese lithium prices paused in the week to Thursday September 30, with sentiment turning slightly more cautious owing to power restrictions being implemented in some battery materials production hubs.
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China's power-consumption limits have resulted in production halts at some refractory raw material plants across the country. Magnesia production in Liaoning and graphite production in Heilongjiang have been greatly affected, causing supply to tighten and prices to rise, market sources told Fastmarkets.
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US-headquartered lithium producer Albermarle Corporation has announced the acquisition of Chinese lithium converter Guangxi Tianyuan New Energy Materials Co to add conversion capacity at its China-based operations, it said on Thursday September 30.
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