Chinese steel production has been enough to cushion the global vanadium market from weaker demand in Europe and the United States in the fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic, according to Paulo Misk, president and chief executive of Largo Resources. "China - the country we [in February] thought was most affected [by Covid] - actually saw a surge of vanadium consumption. In the first half of 2020...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly lower this morning, Tuesday November 10, while prices consolidated after Monday’s double dose of positive news - that of Joe Biden winning the US presidential election and Pfizer announcing progress toward a potential Covid-19 vaccine.* Asian Pacific equities mainly higher on the back of the vaccine...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 6 points in pre-opening trade.Eli Lilly added $4.42 to $146.75 after the FDA approved the company's COVID 19 antibody treatment.Beyond Meat dropped $33.77 to $116.73 after reporting lower than consensus third quarter revenues and earnings.Raytheon Technologies added $1.53 to $66.52 after JP Morgan upgraded the stock f...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 6 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat-rolled steel producer Usiminas regained in October the levels of production and sales volumes it had enjoyed in March, after taking a heavy hit from the Covid-19 pandemic in the intervening seven months and...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 6 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat-rolled steel producer Usiminas regained in October the levels of production and sales volumes it had enjoyed in March, after taking a heavy hit from the Covid-19 pandemic in the intervening seven months and...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 6 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat-rolled steel producer Usiminas regained in October the levels of production and sales volumes it had enjoyed in March, after taking a heavy hit from the Covid-19 pandemic in the intervening seven months and...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 6 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat-rolled steel producer Usiminas regained in October the levels of production and sales volumes it had enjoyed in March, after taking a heavy hit from the Covid-19 pandemic in the intervening seven months and...Read More
Some container shipping lines are refusing to give rates for December shipments of scrap metal into South Asia and are even cancelling some existing orders, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 6.Four steel scrap traders that speak to Fastmarkets said they have either been unable to get December shipment quotations from their freight forwarders or are aware of others facing a similar situat...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 6 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat-rolled steel producer Usiminas regained in October the levels of production and sales volumes it had enjoyed in March, after taking a heavy hit from the Covid-19 pandemic in the intervening seven months and...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 6 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat-rolled steel producer Usiminas regained in October the levels of production and sales volumes it had enjoyed in March, after taking a heavy hit from the Covid-19 pandemic in the intervening seven months and...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly stronger this morning, Monday November 9, after markets reacted positively to Joe Biden winning the US presidential election and the resulting weaker dollar.* China’s unwrought copper imports climbed 43% in October, year on year.* China total exports climbed by 11.4% in October from a year ago, whil...Read More
S&P 500 Index moved above 3,588.11 to an all-time high extending its intermediate uptrend.Dow Jones Industrial Average also moved to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Breakouts above intermediate resistance levels by S&P 500 stocks were too numerous to include in this report. Breakouts by Sector SPDRs included XLP, XLI, XLF, XLE and XLP. Pre-opening Comments for Monda...Read More
Some container shipping lines are refusing to give rates for December shipments of scrap metal into South Asia and are even cancelling some existing orders, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 6.Four steel scrap traders that speak to Fastmarkets said they have either been unable to get December shipment quotations from their freight forwarders or are aware of others facing a similar situat...Read More
Finished steel inventories at member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) fell by 11.26% in late October from the middle of the month, according to data released on Wednesday November 4.October 21-31 outputCrude steel: 2.16 million tonnes per day, down 0.77%Finished steel: 2.14 million tpd, up...Read More
China's upcoming steel scrap futures looks set to be a game changer for the international community dealing in the steelmaking raw material.It will open up a whole new world of opportunities for both domestic and international traders, especially those who have been looking to capitalize on the massive size of China's domestic scrap market.While the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) has yet to relea...Read More
Now is not the time for Freeport-McMoRan to be thinking about mergers and acquisitions, the mining company's chief executive officer says.According to Richard Adkerson, the company - which is just over half-way through a mega-project to transform its giant Grasberg copper-gold mine in Indonesia from an open-pit to an underground operation - is on the verge of creating huge shareholder value."I jus...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Flat product prices in the US moved largely in line with our expectations in October, posting impressive gains across the product range, and slightly exceeding our forecasts for coil products.Domestic hot-rolled coil prices averaged $722 per tonne in October, exceeding our forecast of $705 per tonne forecast price.Although w...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Approaching the end of the calendar year, steelmakers and consumers enter a busy period of contract negotiations for supply for 2021 or at least the first quarter or half year.With the sharp increases in spot market steel prices during recent months, steelmakers are understandably looking to take advantage and secure higher c...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US ERW OCTG edges higher, seamless could followRising substrate costs helped support US ERW OCTG prices this month, especially at the upper end of the range of offers. Seamless OCTG and linepipe prices, meanwhile, held firm compared with September prices. The fundamentals remain weak, with rig counts going up...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) moved sharply higher in September, in line with our expectations, but the magnitude of the rise exceeded our predictions. Domestic HRC prices averaged $566 per ton in September, exceeding our $540 per ton forecast price.A c...Read More