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Sep 27, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
A fall in UK domestic scrap demand should be mitigated by lower scrap arisings from the slump in car manufacturing, the sources added. Demand in India for steel scrap had been strong in the first half of this year, along with buying interest for aluminium scrap, but it has been dropping steadily since July. At present, Indian scrap processors were sourcing most of their material from cheaper domestic supplies, with a return to the European markets not expected this year, UK sources said.
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Sep 26, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
Despite the challenges, the growing volume of LFP scrap availability coming, together with EU regulations stipulating recycled content targets of 6% for lithium in lithium-ion batteries from 2031, means this is an area of rapidly growing interest among market participants.
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Sep 26, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
The news means that Aurubis’ premium has remained unchanged for 2023, 2024 and now 2025. “Due to the expected growing demand for refined copper in Europe, driven by healthy global megatrends like investments in the green transition, in combination with a tight supply market in Europe and our strong sustainability offering, we leave the 2025 Aurubis Copper premium unchanged compared to this year at 228 US$/t,” Martin Sjöberg, Aurubis senior vice president, commercial said.
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Sep 19, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
A major US renewable fuels trade group has asked for an update on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) investigation into foreign feedstock imports and urged the agency to adopt more stringent feedstock verification requirements for used cooking oil (UCO) and tallow.
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Sep 17, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
US corn crop ratings were reported at 65% in good-to-excellent condition in the week to Sunday September 15, exceeding analysts’ projections, the USDA’s weekly crop progress report showed on Monday September 16. Ahead of the report’s release, analysts estimated that 63% of the corn crop was in good-to-excellent condition.
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Sep 17, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
As the EU pushes forward with its ambitious climate targets, automakers warn that critical challenges risk undermining the industry’s capacity to comply with the aggressive emissions standards set for the coming years. However, the warnings have been dismissed by environment groups who point to strong profits made by many of the automakers and accuse them of trying to undermine the ambitious plans to transition away from fossil fuels.
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Sep 16, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
Construction at Hybar’s green rebar mill and adjacent facilities in Osceola, Arkansas, is slightly ahead of schedule, the rebar company’s chief executive officer David Stickler told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview on Wednesday September 11. Also on Wednesday, Hybar announced that US-based Quanta Services is its newest equity partner.
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
“Global cobalt resources are concentrated, and after the existing supply increment is released, it is expected that there will be no new resources for a long time,” CMOC said. The company, which is the world’s largest cobalt producer, reported a 178% year-on-year increase in cobalt metal production in the first half of 2024. “I think we have definitely seen peak oversupply [for cobalt],” a European trader told Fastmarkets.
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
Multiple sources told Fastmarkets that a lepidolite and lithium producer has suspended their lepidolite production. Lepidolite, which can be refined into battery grade lithium salts, is often considered a swing source of production within the lithium industry. The most active 2411 (November) lithium carbonate futures contract on GFEX closed at 78,450 yuan ($10,815) per tonne on Wednesday, up by 5,550 yuan per tonne, or 7.61%, from the day’s opening price of 72,900 yuan per tonne.
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
fastmarkets.com | Lewis Charlesworth
Southern Pine lumber has traded in a historically narrow range this year, and traders anticipate that trend to persist through the balance of 2024. A widespread perception that price volatility will remain minimal through the fourth quarter has governed conservative trading strategies throughout the distribution pipeline this summer. The Southern Pine Composite Price monthly average peaked in March this year at $396 and hit a trough in July at $333.
