Atlantic coking coal: Steady on limited 3Q cargoes
The US coking coal market is holding steady as it enters the third quarter, with lower inventories and stronger selling positions balancing out ongoing uncertainty over Chinese import restrictions and the absence of Indian spot demand.
The daily Argus-assessed low volatile price ends the week unchanged at $107.50/t fob Hampton Roads, while the high-volatile A and high-volatile B prices stand flat at $113/t fob Hampton Roads and $107/t fob Hampton Roads, respectively.
There is little expectation of any serious Indian spot demand returning until September, given the ongoing monsoon season and the anticipated impact of extended lockdowns in urban areas, as Covid-19 infection rates in the country continue to climb. But some suggest the outlook is more optimistic for later this year. "We are still bullish on Indian demand. Obviously with the tough Covid-19 shutdown and now the monsoon, things are not great in the very near term, but there is still a lot of potential to flourish later in the quarter and certainly in the fourth quarter," said a US miner. The Steel Authority of India has booked a Panamax to ship 75,000t of coal on a US east coast-India voyage from 14-23 July, but this is likely to be a term contracted cargo.
Miners' hopes have rested increasingly on Brazil following a flurry of spot activity from the country's two largest mills, but some participants are sceptical. "I think we should be cautious to see these tenders as an indication of greater demand from Brazil; they mostly reflect the fact that Brazil's purchasing strategy has moved to quarterly tenders, they're not producing more steel," said a trader. "Brazilian mills are well-known for issuing tenders, not necessarily for buying coal, and while some of them are in a good financial position, others are not."
At least one large European mill has said it intends to only buy directly from miners, cutting out traders. "There is nothing trading in Europe at the moment — you can forget about July and August altogether," said the European division of a major global trading company.
Despite concerns over rising coronavirus infection rates in the US, particularly in the south, signs pointing to improving domestic demand later this year have emerged this week. US Steel will reopen a steel mill in Indiana after the 4 July holiday weekend, nearly two months after it was idled because of coronavirus-related demand shocks. Earlier this week, General Motors' SUV plants returned to pre-Covid levels of three shifts of production. All of GM's truck and SUV plants will skip the traditional two-week summer shutdown, producing vehicles to fill dealers' lots.
While the strength of the Capesize market had supported Panamax rates in the second half of June, this week's strong activity on fixtures and shortening tonnages have supported Panamax rates in the Atlantic. The US east coast-to-Rotterdam rate went up by 50¢ this week to $11/t.
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Turkey rebar: Market muted ahead of elections
Turkey rebar: Market muted ahead of elections
London, 28 March (Argus) — Turkish rebar prices were stable today, without a great deal of urgency shown by export buyers following a sustained uptick in scrap prices over the past few days. The domestic market remained subdued, as construction demand is still constrained by high borrowing costs and the ongoing depreciation of the domestic currency. Argus ' daily Turkish export assessment for rebar was unchanged at $590/t fob, with larger cargoes still available at this level. European, mostly Balkan, buyers have been making enquiries this week, with scrap prices inching steadily upwards over the past three weeks. But buyers have mostly been checking prices, and trade has remained thin. Rebar indications from suppliers were in a $590-605/t fob range, with most suppliers expecting at least $595/t fob. In the wire rod segment, material was available in a range of $605-625/t fob. The weekly wire rod assessment increased by $5/t to $600/t fob Turkey. In the domestic market, offers from most mills in the Marmara and Iskenderun regions were firm in a range of $610-620/t ex-works excluding value-added tax (VAT). But material remains available from Izmir mills and one Marmara mill at $595-600/t ex-works. While some buyers have made purchases in the run-up to the municipal elections on 30 March, restocking has been lacklustre, with a lack of firm signals from the construction sector. Argus ' daily Turkish domestic rebar assessment was unchanged at $600/t ex-works excluding VAT, with the lira equivalent also unchanged at TL23,4000/t ex-works including VAT. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Taiwan scrap imports fall 13pc on year in February
Taiwan scrap imports fall 13pc on year in February
Singapore, 28 March (Argus) — Taiwan's ferrous scrap imports fell on the year in February, reflecting rising prices, subdued activity during the holiday period and high stocks. Ferrous scrap imports totalled 218,887t, down by 21.3pc on the month and 13.2pc on the year, customs data showed. Trade sources attributed the decline to rising seaborne scrap prices in November and December. Trade sources said lower bookings were expected given the lunar new year holiday in Taiwan on 8-14 February, with mills likely to have been prudent in their procurement since November as delivery of containerised scrap usually takes 8-10 weeks from the signing of an agreement. The US remained Taiwan's top ferrous scrap supplier in February, providing 81,249t, although this was down by 32.6pc on January and 25.1pc on the year. Ferrous scrap imports from Japan fell by 10.3pc on the month and 15pc on the year to 55,510t in February. Imports from Dominican Republic rose by 7.1pc on the month and 16.9pc year on year to 17,563t. Scrap supply from Australia fell by 47.8pc year on year to 9,921t. Trade sources said underwhelming fundamentals in Asia meant Australian sellers focused on south Asia, where they could achieve stronger margins. Looking ahead, a slowing construction sector could mean lower scrap imports. "The shortage of manpower and rising building material costs have impacted the initiation pace of new construction projects," the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said on 25 March. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan’s SMM eyes Li-ion battery recycling plant by 2026
Japan’s SMM eyes Li-ion battery recycling plant by 2026
Tokyo, 28 March (Argus) — Japanese battery cathode producer Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) plans to set up a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery recycling plant in western Japan's Ehime prefecture by June 2026. The recycling plant is expected to have a processing capacity of around 6,000-7,000 t/yr of black mass, equivalent to batteries for around 60,000 electric vehicles, a company representative told Argus on 28 March. Black mass is the shredded remains of cathode materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium. The company will start construction sometime during March-April 2025, but the timing for commercial operations was undisclosed. SMM has also entered into a partnership with nine domestic recycling partners to build a supply chain for collecting used Li-ion batteries, the company representative added. SMM produced cathodes using nickel and cobalt from recycled Li-ion batteries in June 2023. Domestic battery producer Prime Earth EV Energy proved the quality of SMM's used cathodes in performance testing. The recycled ratio of nickel and cobalt used in the test was more than 6pc and 16pc respectively. This exceeds the standard rates that EU battery regulations tentatively set as minimum recycling requirements for each material, a SMM representative previously told Argus . The EU regulation is expected to take effect from 2031 after approvals by member countries. By Yusuke Maekawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Centaurus' Jaguar Ni mine in Brazil eyes 2027 output
Centaurus' Jaguar Ni mine in Brazil eyes 2027 output
Singapore, 28 March (Argus) — Australian mining company Centaurus Metals said that its Jaguar nickel sulphide project in Brazil is undergoing a feasibility study and aims to start production in mid-2027. Jaguar, bought from Brazilian mining firm Vale in 2020 , is estimated to hold 109mn t of 0.87pc grade nickel for an estimated 948,900t of contained nickel. The nickel product will be largely targeted at the Atlantic market, with expectations that demand will strengthen in the region. "Demand for nickel we believe is not going away. And if you look at what's going to happen in the US and European markets in particular, nickel will probably be a bigger part of the battery composition than anywhere else," Centaurus' managing director Darren Gordon said at the Tribeca Futures Commodities conference held in Singapore on 26 March. "There's a huge amount of nickel that still needs to come into the market." Many Australian mining firms have struggled with a slump in global nickel prices earlier in the year because of a supply glut caused by increased volumes from Indonesia, coupled with a slowdown in demand. Several Australian mines have halted operations , while other processing facilities were placed on care and maintenance programmes . But Centaurus is hopeful that Jaguar will be able to compete on a cost and environmental basis with Indonesian supplies. "Nickel is going to continue be supplied out of Indonesia in very large ways so we are going to compete on costs. And we think that when we deliver the feasibility study, we will be able to demonstrate that we can compete on costs. But overlay on that, we have this very low carbon footprint associated with our project," Gordon added. Centaurus said Jaguar is one of the lowest carbon footprint nickel project globally, following a review done by a metals and mining ESG research company. Once operational, greenhouse gas emissions from the project are forecast to be 7.27t of carbon dioxide/t of nickel equivalent, which is assessed to be lower than 94pc of other global nickel production. By Sheih Li Wong Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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