The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The Covid-19 pandemic and the associated impacts on steel production, mining and manufacturing activity, end-use consumption, and trade and transportation continue to dominate ferro-alloy markets. US steel mills are operating at around 50% of capacity, with similarly low operating rates evident in Europe as well. Chinese ste...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the year 2020 to date in late August, the Fastmarkets 62% Fe iron ore benchmark has powered along and reached six-year highs, supported by Chinese demand, and despite the global economic uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Iron ore demand has weakened almost everywhere except in China, where it has continued to...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.There has been an increasing bullishness in Chinese steel market sentiment recently, with rising post-Covid-19 optimism about the country's economy for the second half of 2020, especially after the government announced an infrastructure spending boost. Although we believe that high prices are justified, they remain far from...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Heavy rains in China, which can negatively affect iron ore supplies and pig iron production, and bolster demand for scrap, continued in July 2020. Although this was more an upside risk to our bearish base case one month ago, Chinese scrap prices remained strong. The firm prices gained support from the rains and from a more g...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This year has come with several unexpected events which increased the bullish case for iron ore prices, while the Chinese government's spending on infrastructure is likely to boost iron ore demand and add upside support to prices. But supply disruptions and a demand surge which caused price spikes are now easing. We do not e...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
The latest forecast from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we enter the summer season across the northern hemisphere, almost half a year has passed since the Covid-19 pandemic began to seriously affect Europe and the United States.One would not really be able to tell that such a dramatic event had occurred by looking at stainless steel prices, however, because they are more or less...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are on the increase in June. As far as this market is concerned, it appears as though the Covid-19 pandemic has had little impact so far, with prices on the most common grades of stainless steel just 2-4% lower than they were at the turn of the year in most markets.Even in Asia, a region often talked ab...Read More
Producers of seaborne manganese ore, both 38% and 44% grades, successfully raised their offer prices on a cif Tianjin basis over the week ended Friday September 4, with support from the rise in value of the Chinese yuan, and from rising port and alloy prices, and despite underlying concerns about ore oversupply.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, was $4.22 per dry metric tonne u...Read More
The latest data for the global manganese ore market for the week ended September 7, 2020.Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed during morning trading on Monday September 7, with low turnover across the Asian trading session prompting sideways trading, while an ongoing drawdown in LME copper stocks kept the red metal's underlying price elevated. Copper's three-month price on the LME was recently trading at $6,743.50 per tonne on Monday morning, climbing...Read More
China's nickel sulfate price rose to the year's new high in the week to Friday September 4, with low supply supporting the market level despite LME nickel's plunge on Thursday, sources said. Fastmarkets assessed the nickel sulfate min 21%, max 22.5%, cobalt 10ppm max, exw China price at 27,000-28,000 yuan ($3,953-4,099) per tonne on Friday, a new annual high, up by 2,500-3,000 yuan per tonne or by...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals prices were mixed this morning, Monday September 7, as were pre-market major western equity index futures, while metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer and Asian-Pacific equities were mixed too. A better-than-expected US employment report on Friday led to a strong close for the base metals at the end of last week, but a weaker tone in equity ma...Read More
Barring those for copper and tin, deliverable base metals stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses all declined in the week to Friday September 4.Lead declined the most in percentage terms, with a drop of 5.3% or 1,453 tonnes to 26,127 tonnes. This comes after the heavy metal's stocks fell by 15% in the previous week.The largest outflow of lead this...Read More
Flat steel suppliers to Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow are insisting on higher prices in September on rising exports while buyers doubt the scale of increase the market can actually accept, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday September 7.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled sheet, domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia was at 41,000-43,000 roubles ($544-570) per ton...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to weaken on Monday September 7 despite an announcement by local authorities in Tangshan - the country's steelmaking hub - that inspections would be carried out to check compliance with production restrictions to curb air pollution.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,010-4,040 yuan ($586-591) yuan per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneSeveral Sha...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved up on Monday September 7 on a gradual strengthening of end-user demand. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,690-3,720 yuan ($539-544) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneTemperatures have fallen to milder ranges in most parts of China, which lengthen working hours for the construction sector. A trader in eastern China said his customers raised their procurement ra...Read More
Vietnamese buyers remained in the market for imported hot-rolled coil in the week to Monday September 7 due to a supply shortage, with many sellers hiking or withholding offers on expectations of a continued price uptrend in the near term.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC import, cfr Vietnam, which mainly looks at 2-3mm rerolling-grade SAE1006 HRC and equivalent products, was $530...Read More
Prices for rebar imports into Singapore were unchanged in the week to Monday September 7 amid limited spot negotiations, market sources told Fastmarkets.Major end users in Singapore did not purchase any materials amid weak demand from downstream construction contractors and high inventory levels. This is unlike the Hong Kong import market, which sources said had bought 52,000 tonnes of Turkish reb...Read More