The Brazilian steel institute A??o Brasil increased its forecast for apparent steel consumption in 2021, predicting a growth of 24.10% from the previous year.Apparent steel use is now estimated to reach 26.61 million tonnes this year, compared with 21.45 million tonnes in 2020, the association said on Thursday July 22. The figure is also higher than May's forecast of 24.66 million tonnes.Main stee...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 21 points in pre-opening trade. The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US 79.59 cents following release of May Canadian Retail Sales at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop of 3.0% versus a decline of 5.7% in April. Actual was a drop of 2.1%. Twitter added $3.93 to $73.50 after reporting higher than consensus seco...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally stronger this morning, Friday July 23, the exception was lead on the LME that was down by 0.5%, but that was after a strong gain on Thursday.* Lead, tin and nickel all pushed the boundary on the upside on Thursday with gains of 1.5% or more* European Central Bank projected a dovish outlook on monetary...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 22 that are worth another look.Production of steel will be halted for at least two weeks in the key Bangladesh market when the country's latest Covid-19-related lockdown starts on Friday July 23, sources have told Fastmarkets.Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Thursday July 22 amid a confluence of opposing factors, but market participants expect them to regain their upward momentum soon.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,230-5,250 yuan ($809-812) per tonne, unchangedEnd-user demand for rebar continued to decline due to heavy rain in Henan province and high temperatures in other parts of China.But some res...Read More
Base metals prices were up across the board at the 5pm close of trading on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday July 22, with the market appearing to calm down after a recent period of choppy trading."Two positive macro dynamics were at work this morning, and have provided the LME base metals with much-needed support," Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida said on Thursday."The US Dollar Index has star...Read More
Base metals prices were up across the board at the 5pm close of trading on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday July 22, with the market appearing to calm down after a recent period of choppy trading."Two positive macro dynamics were at work this morning, and have provided the LME base metals with much-needed support," Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida said on Thursday."The US Dollar Index has star...Read More
Domestic and export prices for Chinese stainless steel prices rose sharply over the week ended Wednesday July 21 on tight supply, which led to increased expectations of an export tariff to ease the shortage.DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi): 19,000-20,100 ($2,939-3,109) per tonne, up by 1,000-1,300 yuan per tonne from a week earlierPrices have risen to their hi...Read More
Export billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States increased toward the end of the week after several bookings done at higher prices came to light, sources told Fastmarkets.The Middle East-North Africa (Mena) region including Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were not present in the market in the week to Thursday July 22 due to celebrations for the Eid Al-Adha Islami...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 22 that are worth another look.Production of steel will be halted for at least two weeks in the key Bangladesh market when the country's latest Covid-19-related lockdown starts on Friday July 23, sources have told Fastmarkets.Read More
Iron ore prices fell on Thursday July 22 amid a weak short-term demand outlook, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $202.63 per tonne, down $12.16 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $204.62 per tonne, down $11.55 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $166.88 per tonne, down $9.56 per tonne65% Fe Brazil-origin fines, cfr Qin...Read More
Increasing supplies of H2-grade steel scrap have allowed South Korean buyers to obtain the material at lower prices in the week to Thursday July 22, sources told Fastmarkets.Summer maintenance rounds at various Japanese steelmakers have reduced consumption of material in that local market, but the tighter supply and strong demand seen in higher grades such as Shindachi busheling have kept prices f...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 22 that are worth another look.Production of steel will be halted for at least two weeks in the key Bangladesh market when the country's latest Covid-19-related lockdown starts on Friday July 23, sources have told Fastmarkets.Read More
Freeport McMoRan's subsidiary PT-Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) is advancing agreements to expand its Gresik copper smelter and refinery by 30% and plans to up its stake in PT Smelting to a majority interest, the company said. The expansion is targeted for completion by the end of 2023 and will see annual capacity at PT Smelting - in which PT-FI currently has a 39.5% stake - increase by 300,000 tonnes...Read More
Fastmarkets is inviting feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for MB-AL-0005 aluminium pressure diecasting ingot DIN226/A380, delivered Europe, and MB-AL-0040 aluminum alloy A380.1, delivered Midwest, as part of a methodology review process to meet the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles.This consultation, which is open until August 18, seeks to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 22 that are worth another look.Production of steel will be halted for at least two weeks in the key Bangladesh market when the country's latest Covid-19-related lockdown starts on Friday July 23, sources have told Fastmarkets.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 21 that are worth another look.Flat steel sales from Brazilian distributors increased by 3.3% year on year in June; volumes began to stabilize after strong growth in the first half of 2021, flat steel distributors...Read More
European lead smelter Berzelius Metall has declared force majeure on supply contracts after floods that have caused chaos in northern Germany and Belgium forced the closure of its Stolberg smelter.Fastmarkets' calls to Berzelius were not answered, while an email to parent company EcoBat Technologies was not responded to by the time of publication.But sources in the lead market confirmed to Fa...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly stable on Wednesday July 21, with minimal reaction to China's announcement to sell more state reserve metal during the day. The three-month zinc price closed 1.1% lower than the previous day at $2,929 per tonne, while the three-month aluminium price was down 0.5% to close at $2,453.5 per tonne from a day ago,...Read More