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.Although we correctly forecast a significant rise in hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in the United States in September 2020, our price forecast proved too conservative.An impressive V-shaped recovery in key economic fundamentals critical to steel consumption is driving stronger demand for steel at the start of the fourth quarte...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Across the regions, producers of welded linepipe and oil-country tubular goods (OCTG) saw their margins shrink with substrate costs increasing in the third quarter of 2020.Many have been attempting to protect margins with higher prices, with varying degrees of success. Europe-origin commodity-grade steel hot-rolled coil and...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloys forecast highlights:Prices across most ore and alloy markets trended higher in September, buoyed by improving demand from steelmakers with the end of the summer holiday season in Europe and the United States, as well as maintained demand from Chinese steel mills. Tightening of alloy inventories...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Prices across most ferro-alloy markets trended stable to lower in August as demand remained subdued in major markets, apart from China where steel output continues to rise at a rapid pace, supporting demand for ferro-alloys. As alloy makers seek to remedy supply/demand imbalan...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 are ready to view.Chinese blast furnace (BF) utilization rates have stagnated and iron ore port stock volumes are rising, reaching their highest levels since March, which suggests that iron ore supply is becoming excessive while demand is not growing. Unsurprisingly, prices dropped last week and we expect the trend to continue. The market has...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.We do not consider the average iron ore fines price for September so far above $125 per tonne cfr Qingdao to be sustainable. The bullishness is not likely to last in the long term as we expect Chinese demand growth to slow down. A key factor boosting Chinese steel demand so far has been the stimulus policies from the authori...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Having found it easier to increase prices than their counterparts in Europe and the United States during the past few months, Asian stainless steelmakers now face a number of concerns.In the short term, Asian prices have moved down in recent weeks while those in Europe and the US are on the up. This is mostly a reflection of...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. A look at stainless steel price movements through August reveals the ongoing battle being faced by stainless steelmakers in Europe and the United States while they try to pass on rising costs to consumers. In these regions, prices on most grades of stainless steel are little changed from July, rising by around 2% at most -...Read More
Post-pandemic market dynamics for base metals will be defined by global economies' ability to recover from the fallout of Covid-19, panelists said during LME Week's China session on Thursday October 22. Panel consensus deemed China's economic growth responsible for the current recovery in the metals market, with London Metal Exchange China head Yang Liu alluding to the region's "very beautiful v-s...Read More
Global steel scrap prices have risen over the week to Friday October 23, following Turkey's re-entry into the market and a sharp rise in the prices of Japan-origin material.Turkish mills rejoin scrap market for higher-priced cargoesSentiment positive in US East Coast market despite no fresh dealsVietnamese mills' appetite grows for US material following spike in Japanese pricesTaiwanese scrap impo...Read More
The benchmark A380.1 secondary aluminium alloy price has jumped to its highest point in nearly 21 months, boosted by high scrap prices and freight costs, among other factors, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets assessed the price for aluminium alloy A380.1, delivered Midwest at 84-86 cents per lb on Thursday October 22. The price narrowed upward from 81-84 cents per lb the previous week...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums rose on Friday October 23 in the United States, Spain, Germany and Thailand, while demand in those countries continued to recover from Covid-19-related disruptions earlier in the year against a backdrop of tightening supply.US premium at one-year highSpanish premiums highest since November 2019Thailand premium rises, Japan steadyBrazil stable at highest since September 20...Read More
Brazil has increased the quota for duty-free imports of unalloyed aluminium into the country this year to 180,000 tonnes from 150,000 tonnes, according to a resolution dated Thursday October 22.The decision was taken by the executive management committee (Gecex) of the country's Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex).The quota covers unalloyed aluminium in the shape of T-bars, sows and ingots, and will...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index inched up 1.1% in the week ending Friday October 23, with market participants anticipating an influx of tendered material leading to a more well supplied spot market. Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific moved to $45.10 per tonne on Friday, up by 50 cents on the week prior. Concentrates from Jab...Read More
An overview of the new energy raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The premium paid for domestic steel products in Russia over exports - and for flat steel in particular - is unlikely to rebound until 2021, major Russian steelmakers NLMK and MMK said this week."The discount [or reduction to the domestic market premium over the export market] was driven by both strong export benchmarks and a weak rouble," Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) chief executive officer Grigory Fe...Read More