Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday September 30.Key drivers Persistent tightness in titanium scrap supplies in Europe causes prices to climb for the third week in a row. Scrap generation has fallen in line with a downturn in heavy industry, particularly the aerospace sector, with a fall in volumes from machine shops, forge shops and fabricators. National...Read More
The Chinese domestic stainless steel price narrowed upward over the week ended Wednesday September 30 due to an active market ahead of the National Day holiday on October 1-8. Domestic Stainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 14,400-15,100 yuan ($2,117-2,220) per tonne, up from 14,300-15,100 yuan per tonne a week earlier.Downstream factories raised procurement rates to...Read More
The UG2 chrome ore and ferro-chrome markets were stable in the week to Tuesday September 29, with trading activity slowing down ahead of the Golden Week holiday on October 1-8. Fastmarkets' chrome ore South Africa UG2 concentrates index basis 42%, cif China was $139 per tonne on Tuesday, unmoved from the preceding week.Sellers and buyers reported a lack of activity and told Fastmarkets t...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and pre-market western equity index futures were for the most part firmer this morning, Thursday October 1, albeit in quiet conditions with China, Hong Kong and South Korea closed for holidays and technical problems meaning the Tokyo Stock Exchange could not open.* Japan’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) climbed to 47.7 in Se...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 28 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures responded to continuing talks to extend COVID 19 benefits.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Initial Jobless Claims was 850,000 versus 873,000 last week. Actual was 837,000. Consensus for August Per...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 29 that are worth another look.Autumn-winter steel production restriction plans in northern China will start on October 1 and last until March 31, 2021, according to a draft plan on air pollution control released by the Ministry...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices made no significant gains at the close on Tuesday September 29, with a directionless base-metals complex awaiting further macroeconomic stimulus.This was expected to come in the form of a United States fiscal stimulus package intended to fight the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.LME base metals futures prices stalled while talks c...Read More
The formal consultation process for collective dismissal at Alcoa's San Cipri??n aluminium smelter in Spain has ended without an agreement with the workers' representatives, the producer said on Tuesday September 29.Alcoa now have up to 15 days to determine and announce a decision regarding the smelter's 228,000 metric tonnes of annual capacity. An agreement was previously reached with the workers...Read More
An overview of the chrome ore and alloy markets and their latest price moves. Japan & South Korea Imports of ferro-chrome to Japan and South Korea from India have tightened due to continuing strength in India's domestic ferro-chrome market. The ferro-chrome prices...Read More
The formal consultation process for collective dismissal at Alcoa's San Cipri??n aluminium smelter in Spain has ended without an agreement with the workers' representatives, the producer said on Tuesday September 29.Alcoa now have up to 15 days to determine and announce a decision regarding the smelter's 228,000 metric tonnes of annual capacity. An agreement was previously reached with the workers...Read More
Bolivian zinc-lead producer Minera San Crist??bal has achieved full production after reopening from a 21-day outage in mid-September, the company's owner and operator, Sumitomo, confirmed late on Monday September 28."Minera San Crist??bal started mobilizing on September 14, [resumed operation of] the plant on September 16, and [was] at full production [by] September 18," a spokesperson for Sumitom...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday September 29 that are worth another look.Autumn-winter steel production restriction plans in northern China will start on October 1 and last until March 31, 2021, according to a draft plan on air pollution control released by the Ministry...Read More
Ford Motor Company of Canada will become the country's first manufacturer of all-electric vehicles, starting in 2024, the company said on Monday September 28.Ford will commit C$1.8 billion ($1.35 billion) to repurpose part of its biggest car plant in Canada, the Oakville Assembly Complex, and will introduce a new engine program at another plant, in Windsor. Both are in the Canadian province of Ont...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market on the second working day of the week, in anticipation of a downturn in prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 29.A steel mill in northern Turkey broke the long-term silence by booking two Baltic Sea cargoes at $296 per tonne cfr late last week - the first trading activity since Se...Read More
Slight decreases in import prices for steel scrap in Turkey in recent days have stunned market participants in Asia who had expected a larger drop.Turkish mills had avoided purchasing steel scrap in bulk from the United States and Europe for over two weeks before returning to the market last week to buy two Baltic cargoes of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) at $296 per tonne cfr, down by just $5 pe...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed but little changed this morning, Tuesday September 29, while prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were firmer as they caught up with Monday's performance on the LME.Last week's pullbacks have run into dip-buying - hopes for further stimulus are buoying markets.US Congress making progress in talks regarding support measures.Markets might...Read More
Ford Motor Company of Canada will become the country's first manufacturer of all-electric vehicles, starting in 2024, the company said on Monday September 28.Ford will commit C$1.8 billion ($1.35 billion) to repurpose part of its biggest car plant in Canada, the Oakville Assembly Complex, and will introduce a new engine program at another plant, in Windsor. Both are in the Canadian province of Ont...Read More
European buyers of hot-rolled coil have been holding back from making deals because they are unwilling to accept further price rises, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 29.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?488.86 ($569.53) per tonne on Tuesday September 29, up by ?,?2.07 per tonne from ?,?486.79 per tonne on Monday.The ind...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have decreased over the past seven days with demand being weak, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday September 29.Most market participants believed that prices would remain stable or decrease further in the coming few days because of weakening Chinese demand and an upcoming holiday in the East Asian country.China will take a nati...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While steel markets in Asia have demonstrated the most strength with regards to pricing through much of 2020, recent weeks have seen prices in Europe and the United States outperform those elsewhere.In a way, much of this is simply catching up on the gains already made by Asian steelmakers. They were able to obtain higher pri...Read More