Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have reached an all-time high, supported by strong demand and extremely tight supply, Fastmarkets has learned.

Start, Rio Tinto’s new digital sustainability label, uses blockchain technology to encrypt key information about the company’s aluminium, functioning like a “digital filing cabinet,” vice president of sales marketing at Rio Tinto Aluminium Tolga Egrilmezer told Fastmarkets.

Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) raised their finished steel production from January 21-31, from the preceding 10 days, according to data published by the association on Wednesday February 3.

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker, while those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer this morning, Thursday February 4, with the weaker dollar likely weighing on dollar-denominated prices.

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have remained in the $57- to $58-per-hundredweight ($1,140- to $1,160-per-short-ton) range, with most market participants indicating that the market has not yet reached its tipping point.

Ferrous markets are volatile, and 2020 marked one of the most up-and-down years for steel pricing in recent memory, but perhaps no year was as unpredictable as 2008.

Czech steelmaker Trinecké Železárny plans a major overhaul of one of its two operational blast furnaces this summer, with the aim of reducing its carbon footprint by cutting emissions, the company said this week.

Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly weaker this morning, Wednesday February 3, with zinc prices bucking the trend.

Hot-rolled coil prices climbed to within $3.80 per ton of its record high after steel buyers vied for the few spot tons that trickled out from domestic mills.

Market fundamentals have reasserted their influence on copper pricing in the first quarter of 2021, but macro forces are expected to push and pull the red metal’s price in the near term, driving volatility.