Brazil's northern ports - the so-called Northern Arc - will be pivotal in driving the country’s corn and soybean exports over the next decade due to the new investments that will continue to improve the region’s infrastructure, sources said.

Blockchain technology platform MineHub and digital trade finance network Contour have partnered to integrate their digital metals, mining-focused supply chain, and trade finance technology, the companies said.

Fastmarkets’ 62% Fe iron ore fines index just experienced its most volatile week on record: a biggest-ever daily gain of $18.31 on Monday May 10 came before a new high of $237.57 per tonne on May 12, followed by a record daily loss of $28.78 on May 14.

Seaborne coking coal prices surged up in both the cfr and fob markets on Friday May 14 due to increased buying interest and positive market sentiment in both markets.

Brazilian iron ore and flat steel producer Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) has secured funding for the expansion of its Casa de Pedra mine at Congonhas in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, the company said on Wednesday May 12.

Exports of ferrous materials from India could become more logistically challenging in the coming weeks while the country battles the Covid-19 pandemic, market participants have told Fastmarkets.

Global steel scrap prices surged in the week to Friday May 7 and could well break through the $500 per tonne cfr mark, starting in Asia, market sources have told Fastmarkets.

China’s new and stricter steel capacity swap ratios will cool the overheated steelmaking raw materials market and pave the way for more electric-arc furnaces to be used in its mammoth steel industry, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.

China's new tax regime for ferrous raw materials and steel exports will kick off a new era for the steel sector, one in which demand and supply will become more balanced and the country cuts its dependency on iron ore at a faster pace.

Fastmarkets will, on Friday May 7, launch a new weekly price index for the premium that high-quality 65% Fe blast furnace grade iron ore pellet commands on a spot basis above the 65% Fe Fines index.