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.

Fastmarkets is adjusting the impurity ranges for its 65% Fe iron ore blast furnace pellet index from Friday May 7.

The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market went quiet after the sharp increase in prices following China’s cancellation of export tax rebates on some steel products, market participants said on Tuesday May 4.

With Chinese markets closed, volume traded on the London Metal Exchange has been light this morning, Tuesday May 4, with 2,368 lots traded as of 6.14am. But the base metals were holding up in high ground with gains averaging 0.7%, led by a 1.1% rise in copper to $9,916.50 per tonne.

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have increased sharply since China decided to remove the export tax rebate on some steel products. But demand among major scrap importers in Asia was still limited because of upcoming holiday periods in the region.

Fastmarkets, the global commodity price reporting agency, and NOREXECO ASA, the international pulp and paper exchange, today announced that the exchange will launch two new cash-settled China pulp futures contracts on June 1 based on Fastmarkets RISI’s NBSK CIF China assessment and Fastmarkets FOEX’ PIX China BHKP Net index.

The demand for nickel and cobalt as battery materials for electric vehicles (EV) will keep their long-term bullish fundamentals intact, according to Canadian miner Sherritt International.

Fastmarkets has corrected its weekly price assessment for Aluminium ingot ADC 12, exw dp China, yuan/tonne, which was published incorrectly on Wednesday April 28 due to a reporter error.

The world is looking for cleaner metallics. That has been the undeniable tenor from the steel industry for months. The United States already makes a majority of its steel via the cleaner electric-arc furnace production method, and European steelmakers have announced similar investments. In China, the government is cracking down on high-polluting steel output, and it recently announced the removal of import tariffs on clean metallics such as ferrous scrap and pig iron.

Demand for refined copper in China has now surpassed levels seen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Vancouver, Canada-based Teck Resources.