Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States retreated after opening the year at their highest level since August 2008, with buyers bracing for more price increases due to strong automotive-related demand and soaring ferrous scrap costs.

The American steel industry isn't happy with recent changes to the way the United States Commerce Department administers the Section 232 tariff exclusion process.

Chilean copper producer Codelco is to go ahead with the $1.38-billion Rajo Inca expansion project at its Salvador mine, the state-owned company said on Tuesday January 5.

Global silico-manganese output dropped by 4.5% month on month in November 2020 to 1.5 million tonnes, due to production cuts in Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States region, according to the latest data from the International Manganese Institute (IMnI).

The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange crossed the $21,200-per-tonne mark while copper edged above $7,900 per tonne during morning trading on Tuesday January 5, with a weak dollar continuing to offset worries about new lockdowns in Europe and the Georgia run-off election in the United States.

Strong gains were seen across the base metals on the London Metal Exchange at the start of the week and most of the metals in London and all the metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were up again this morning, Tuesday January 5.

Brazil’s iron ore exports increased by a third in December compared with a year earlier, according to statistics from the country’s economy ministry.

Hot-rolled coil pricing in the United States rose further on the first business day of the year, with market participants awaiting this month’s ferrous scrap settlement for direction amid limited spot availability of HRC.

Delivery and sales from leading US-based electric vehicles (EVs) manufacturer Tesla showed strong growth over the course of 2020 despite the economic setbacks and logistic disruptions triggered by the global spread of Covid-19 and its economic consequences, according to data released by the company on Saturday January 2.

View the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for 2021-2022.