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
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Prices for most ferro-alloys maintained their upward momentum into October, solidifying previous gains and reflecting the improved demand from steelmakers, the rebuilding of depleted inventories, and the supply-side concerns following both planned and unplanned outages. Gains were noted for ferro-silicon, silicon metal, mang...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore remains the most bullish commodity of the year, with prices fuelled by Chinese demand and supply disruptions in Brazil, along with bullish sentiment. But prices are expected to come down because Brazilian exports have begun to recover, and have reached their highest level since the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019. W...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the iron ore market, supply issues including heavy rains at the start of the year, followed by staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected exports from Brazil. This has helped Australia gain a larger market share, but since June, Brazilian export volumes have returned to levels last seen before the...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While a world leader in many areas, the United States is a relatively small player when it comes to stainless steel. It produces a small amount of material, both in absolute and relative terms (i.e. compared to the size of its population), while a large share of its industry is in the hands of bigger European companies. Never...Read More
The three-month prices of most base metals on the London Metal Exchange gained on Friday November 6, with the exception of nickel and lead futures.The LME copper and zinc futures rose by more than 1%, with the red metal closing above the $6,900 per tonne psychological mark.The LME three-month copper price increased by 1.2% to...Read More
An overview of the new energy raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Susan Zou and Sally Zhang in Shanghai, Carrie Shi in Beijing, and...Read More
Fastmarkets is launching two new coefficients for the copper concentrates market, with an update to be published for the first time on Friday November 6.The new coefficients, MB-CU-0422 - Copper concentrates counterparty spread and MB-CU-0423 - Copper concentrates Co-VIU, will build on the success of Fastmarkets' index reporting on the copper concentrates market, which started...Read More
An overview of the new energy raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Susan Zou and Sally Zhang in Shanghai, Carrie Shi in Beijing, and...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, Asia and the United States for the week ending Friday November 6.ChinaThe domestic market has now been stable for eight weeks in a row, with sentiment bullish after major steelmakers rolled over their November tender prices and the futures market climbed.Hesteel set its November tender price for 72% ferro-silicon unchanged month on month...Read More
Key data from the Friday November 6 pricing session in London.Key drivers Strong hydroxide payables continued to help keep prices firm amid weak demand for standard and alloy grade cobalt.Producers and distributors aired concerns about metal demand, reporting aggressive bids and some are considering going below the current range. ...Read More
An overview of the new energy raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Susan Zou and Sally Zhang in Shanghai, Carrie Shi in Beijing, and...Read More
An overview of the new energy raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Susan Zou and Sally Zhang in Shanghai, Carrie Shi in Beijing, and...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda and Declan Conway contributed...Read More
The key global scrap markets surged upward in the week to Friday November 6, as a result of strong purchasing activity, with Turkey continuing to buy a large volume of cargoes for a third week.Turkey books more material on positive long-steel export salesUS reports bookings from East and West CoastsGood demand boosts Taiwan scrap pricesVietnam moves up despite quiet marketIndian prices jump on tig...Read More