Higher nickel prices raise superalloy costs in July
The cost of nickel-based superalloys for the aerospace industry climbed last month on rising nickel prices, but reduced superalloy demand could limit end-user exposure to the price increase.
Argus estimates that the total intrinsic value of Inconel 718 alloy, with 52pc nickel, 19pc chromium, 5pc niobium and 3pc molybdenum, rose to $5.8355/lb on 30 July, up from $5.5996/lb at the start of the month. This increase was underpinned by the value of nickel in this alloy moving up to $6.376/lb by the end of July from $5.927/lb on 1 July, with prices for molybdenum, chromium and niobium all remaining broadly flat over the period.
Overall, the official three-month LME nickel contract surged to a six-month high of $13,806/t on 31 July, its highest since $13,840/t on 21 January, as prices realigned more closely with fundamentals and cost curves, following a sharp knock in March as Covid-19 ripped across industry globally. The nickel market is also being bolstered by expectations of growing longer-term demand from battery manufacturers.
This rise in costs for nickel-based superalloys may discourage buyers in the aerospace and oil and gas industries, which have been hit hard by the pandemic. But the impact may be diminished as low consumption rates encourage consumers to rely on their existing inventories rather than buy top ups in the spot market.
Nickel-based alloys used in the aerospace industry are corrosion resistant and high creep-rupture strength alloy that can withstand temperatures as high as 700°C. In the battery sector, nickel is a key component in lithium-ion, nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) and nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) batteries, offering greater energy density and increased storage capacity.
Cr drops to 14-year low, Co edges up
Chromium prices in Europe and the US plummeted last month to their lowest since mid-2006, as the aerospace sector's malaise continued to permeate the high-temperature materials space.
Argus-assessed prices for min 99pc aluminothermic chromium reached $5,800-6,000/t dp Rotterdam on 7 July, their lowest since $5,900-6,100/t on 31 May 2006. By mid-2020, the market had erased March's gains in response to tighter feedstock availability and higher input costs. Similarly, prices for aluminothermic chrome sank to a 14-year low of $2.95-3.05/lb on 31 July.
By contrast, and despite weak superalloy demand, the US cobalt market registered a slight recovery in July, with rising costs for hydroxide and delays to shipments from South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo supporting prices. Fob US prices for min 99.8pc cobalt warehouse fell to $13.28-14.10/lb on 14 July, but then rose for the first time in 21 weeks to reach $13.50-14.00/lb on 21 July. The market extended these gains to reach $13.70-14.20/lb on 28 July.
In Europe, higher hydroxide prices and tighter supply boosted prices for the chemical grade cobalt but the alloy grade remained unchanged.
European prices for 99.8pc min chemical grade cobalt rose to $14.25-14.70/lb on 30 July, swinging to a premium to the alloy grade for the first time since June 2019. Alloy grade cobalt on 30 July was assessed at $14.10-14.60/lb on limited demand.
Ti turnings supply tightens in Europe
Prices for titanium turnings in Europe strengthened slightly in late July on the back of a supply shortfall, as reduced aerospace manufacturing dented their production as shavings during the manufacturing processes.
Supply tightness was sufficient to more than offset a drop in consumption, with some European ferro-titanium producers moving to cut output to 50-60pc in anticipation of this turnings shortfall in the third quarter.
Argus-assessed European prices for unprocessed 6Al4V titanium turnings at 72-80¢/lb in late June — their lowest in more than three years — but values then rebounded to 74-81¢/lb on 21 July. Consumers of turnings typically do not build up inventories due to the material being a fire hazard.
Meanwhile, US dealers and recyclers — which have been struggling to sell aerospace-grade titanium scrap — began to bundle excess supply along with ferrous-grade scrap, targeting opportunities to sell into Europe.
US titanium demand was little changed in July from June, with mill capacity having been significantly scaled back. Scrap availability in the US market is higher because defence production is ring-fenced by the government, and does not slow even amid challenging economic conditions.
Dealer buying prices for ferro-titanium turnings (85pc Ti non-tin bearing) hovered near a 3.5-year low of 20-25¢/lb on 30 July. They were last assessed in the same price range on 29 December 2016.
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EU could launch 'other countries' HRC dumping probe
EU could launch 'other countries' HRC dumping probe
London, 25 July (Argus) — The European Commission soon could initiate a dumping investigation on some exporters selling into the 'other countries' quota for hot-rolled coil (HRC), according to multiple market sources. The 'other countries' quota in recent quarters has consistently filled rapidly upon resetting, and this pressure has been intensified by rising Chinese exports since August of last year. Some key 'other countries' sellers have seen the volumes they take from China balloon as a result. Vietnam bought more than 4.2mn t from China in the first six months of this year, compared with about 6mn t in the whole of 2023. China's increased exports has sparked talk that both India and Vietnam may start anti-dumping duty investigations. When announcing its 15pc cap on countries selling into the 'other countries' quota, the commission specifically alluded to the increase in Chinese exports affecting trade flows. Vietnam, Egypt, Japan and Taiwan are by far the largest sellers into the 'other countries' quota, and all of the countries initially exceeded their 141,849t cap quickly when the new quotas took force on 1 July. In April, before the cap was implemented, these four countries amounted for more than half of the 1.4mn t imported by the EU. The 'other countries' quota has essentially been reduced from 940,000 t/quarter to less than 600,000 t/quarter given the new cap. Sources suggested duties could be applied retroactively if the commission finds that material has been dumped. They also suggested it could be difficult to show dumping in some countries, such as Vietnam and Egypt, where domestic prices are often below export levels. A leading producer was gathering information on Egyptian cargoes arriving at EU ports in recent months, a trading firm said. The commission refused to comment on any potential investigation. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
China raises EV, ICE vehicles trade-in subsidies
China raises EV, ICE vehicles trade-in subsidies
Beijing, 25 July (Argus) — The Chinese government has raised subsidies to boost trade-in of old internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with new energy vehicles (NEV). The subsidy for consumers who trade in an old NEV registered before 30 April 2018 or an ICE vehicle that meets or is below China's national 3 emission standard for a new NEV has doubled to 20,000 yuan from a previous subsidy announced in May . Electric vehicles cost anywhere between Yn50,000 to Yn1mn, with consumers mostly purchasing those in the Yn100,000-200,000 range, according to industry participants. The government is also offering a Yn15,000 subsidy for consumers who trade in an old NEV registered before 30 April 2018 or an ICE vehicle that meets or is below China's national 3 emission standard, and purchase a new ICE vehicle with the displacement below 2.0 litre. Beijing in early March announced a plan to promote the replacement of industrial equipment and consumer goods through large-scale trade-ins, with NEVs making up the main part of the scheme, as part of Beijing's efforts to meet its annual economic growth target of 5pc. China's ministry of finance announced on 3 June that it will allocate Yn6.44bn to local governments to pay the subsidies for vehicle trade-ins in 2024, including Yn107mn to Tianjin, Yn90.81mn to Shanghai, Yn74.61mn to Beijing and Yn66.49mn to Chongqing. The central government announced on 29 May that it will remove purchase restrictions for NEVs during 2024-25, with the capital city Beijing allocating 20,000 additional purchase quotas for NEVs to families without a car. China produced 1.003mn NEVs in June, up by 28pc from the previous year and by 6.7pc from May, with sales increasing by 30pc from a year earlier and by 9.8pc from the previous month to 1.049mn, partly driven by the country's supportive measures, especially the trade-in subsidies. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Bangladesh scrap activity slowly resumes after curfews
Bangladesh scrap activity slowly resumes after curfews
Pittsburgh, 24 July (Argus) — Industrial activity across Bangladesh has begun to slowly resume today following a slight easing in government curfews, but spotty communications networks remain a hurdle to the full resumption of business in the steel and ferrous scrap sector. The Bangladesh government began to relax curfews today following a near nationwide curfew, communications blackout and deployment of the national army on 19 July , as it attempted to quell demonstrations and violent clashes across the capital, Dhaka, and the broader country. More than 27,000 army personnel across 57 districts were deployed to stem clashes between protestors and police centering on quota reform for the allocation of government jobs, according to Bangladeshi state-controlled media. The government officially amended the quota allocation on Tuesday, according to an official gazette issued by the Ministry of Public Administration on 23 July. Curfews have been lifted in the Dhaka district to between 10am and 5pm and to 9am to 6pm in the Sylhet district on 24 and 25 July, according to the UK Foreign Office. Communications networks have also begun to slowly be restored, but market participants noted that for now networks and internet availability remain spotty which has hampered a return to normalcy. Broadband internet was restored to specific areas, including diplomatic and commercial zones, on Tuesday after five days of outage, but social media remain restricted, according to state-controlled media. Steelmaking operations were broadly not impacted by the escalation in events in recent days, one major regional steelmaker told Argus , noting that mills were able to run without interruption during this period. The largest and most direct impact was on sales and deliveries, but that impact is likely to be short lived as shipments have begun to gradually improve today with conditions expected to be much smoother next week, the mill added. Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said today in state-controlled media that the situation will be under control in the next 3-4 days but did not offer details on when the curfew would fully be lifted, while the railway ministry secretary Humayun Kabir said the Bangladesh Railway would resume limited passenger train operations beginning tomorrow. The US State Department still advises against travel to the country and the UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel. Import/export clearing activities were temporarily halted at various port across the country because of the situation, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said in state-controlled media. Activity at the port of Chittagong has remained ongoing but slow, according to market participants. Dozens of vessels are still situated on the water outside the port of Chittagong, vessel tracking data shows. Three deep-sea ferrous scrap bulk vessels — Ken Ei, DL Lavender , and Liberty C — also remain outside the port. But DL Lavender , a vessel from the US, has repositioned itself outside the dock. The FBCCI has appealed to the government to waive any port or shipping charges for importers and exporters and has sought for charges not to be imposed until 15 days after operations at ports have normalized. By Brad MacAulay and Corey Aunger Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US House passes waterways bill
US House passes waterways bill
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