View the Fastmarkets holiday pricing schedule for 2021-2022.

The new coronavirus strain found in the United Kingdom has raised fears of scrap supply shortages which could feed the runaway prices in Asia, market sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Thursday December 24.

Steel scrap prices have risen again across all major consumer markets over the past week, driven by solid demand and constrained supplies.

The price of shredded steel scrap imported jumped by almost $30 per tonne on Friday December 18 due to continued tightness in container availability and a strong international market, sources told Fastmarkets.

Surging scrap and steel markets around the world are providing much support to ferrous scrap import prices in Vietnam, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Friday December 18.

The price of shredded steel scrap imported into India and Pakistan crossed $400 per tonne on Friday December 11 as a result of high international prices and tight shipping availability, sources told Fastmarkets.

Waiting times for aluminium at Istim warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, fell to just 30 days at the end of November, according to the London Metal Exchange’s latest queue report.

The global economy looks stronger again - Chinese exports were up by 21.1% in November year on year - but the base metals were mixed on Monday December 7, having been exceptionally strong recently , so perhaps the market realizes a lot of the good news is baked in already.

Gary Nagle will become the new chief executive officer of Glencore when Ivan Glasenberg retires during the first half of 2021, the company said on Friday December 4.

Swiss miner-trader Glencore and Chinese battery materials producer GEM have extended their agreement for cobalt hydroxide supply by another five years.