The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? US sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum persisting into June. Actual US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $1,553 per ton in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,540 per ton. Prices remain supported by strong underlying sup...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico continued to rise across nearly all grades in the week ended Friday June 11, with most consumers struggling to secure volumes.Both the obsolete and prime grades are in heavy demanded, with the market outlook for most steel products positive.Fastmarkets assessed the steel scrap No1 busheling, consumer buying price, delivered mill Monterrey at 11,200 pesos ($566)...Read More
Export wire rod prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States changed in a variety of ways in the week to Monday June 14 with the trading situation being different from market to market.Ukraine still has a significant quota volume available for second-quarterimports into Europe (27.52% or 69,502 tonnes remaining), and one supplier from the country offered material at $860-870 per tonne fob Bl...Read More
Alongside Fastmarkets' annual global ranking of steelmakers by crude steel output in 2020, our correspondents around the world review developments in their regional steel sectors.The year 2020 will forever be remembered as the one in which the Covid-19 pandemic spread globally, impacting every area of life and business. The world's steel industry was no exception, with many of the largest steelmak...Read More
Some steel rebar and billet prices in the United Arab Emirates decreased during the week ended Tuesday June 15, although demand was better because of low stock levels, sources have told Fastmarkets.Local rebar producers kept their prices unchanged during the week, but gave some discounts.Domestic rebarThe country's biggest producer, Emirates Steel, was offering rebar at 3,067 dirhams ($835) per to...Read More
Most prices for flat steel imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased during the week ended Tuesday June 15, with several deals heard, sources have told Fastmarkets.Demand was moderate in the region for flat steel products but the new deals were expected because most users have low stock levels, the sources added.Saudi ArabiaHot-rolled coil was offered at $1,000 per tonne cf...Read More
Market participants in Europe expect domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in the region to remain fairly stable in the short term due to an ongoing shortage of material, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday June 15.Trading activity has been slow in June, with buyers preferring to hold back from making new deals and accepting current mill prices if they need to restock specific material or if they ha...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories on Tuesday June 15 that are worth another look.With responsibilities across Tata Steel's diverse international portfolio of steelmaking assets, chief executive officer and managing director T V Narendran has a wide-ranging view of, and experience in, the global steel industry. He told Kunal...Read More
Aluminium premiums moved in different directions on Tuesday June 15, with Rotterdam premiums resuming their uptrend, the Japanese premium ticking downward from its multi-year high, and premiums in the US and Brazil steady.Rotterdam duty-unpaid ticks up againMJP premium declines on cheaper dealsUS Midwest premium steady for two weeksBrazil premium flat on thin liquidity.European premiums strong des...Read More
Weakness was evident across the base metals in London and Shanghai on the morning of Tuesday June 15 despite pre-market Western equity index futures driving higher and high volumes traded on the London Metal Exchange.14,205 lots had been traded on the LME by 5.52am London time compared with typical volume of 6,000 lots at this timeMarkets seem to be nervous about the measures China's authorities m...Read More
The debut of Zijin Mining 's new Serbian copper mine has been postponed to the fourth quarter of 2021, local media See News reported on Tuesday June 15. Citing a statement from Serbia's mining ministry on Monday June 14, the mine in the Cukaru Peki Upper Zone of Serbia's Timok copper-gold project has received approval to construct the mining facilities and execute mining operations, the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories on Tuesday June 15 that are worth another look.With responsibilities across Tata Steel's diverse international portfolio of steelmaking assets, chief executive officer and managing director T V Narendran has a wide-ranging view of, and experience in, the global steel industry. He told Kunal...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...Read More
China lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium is acquiring a 50% stake in a special purpose company that owns the Goulamina hard-rock mine in Mali for $130 million, the company said on Tuesday June 15.Australia-listed Firefinch, Goulamina's current license holder, will hold the remaining 50% stake of the company that Firefinch plans to set up. Mali's government can take 10% of the equity, free of charge,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.These include an increase in our copper mine disruption estimates, upgrades to our production outlook for Indonesian nickel pig iron (NPI), a smaller refined zinc surplus, and an upgrade to our zinc price forecasts.Aluminium: Big disconnect between price and fundamentalsAluminium has extended its uptrend on the London Metal...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view, including an upgrade to our aluminium price forecasts.Aluminium: Price forecasts raisedWe correctly expected the macro reflationary theme to raise the prices for all base metals but, with it being the base metal with by far the weakest fundamentals, we had expected the price of aluminium to underperform relative...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
The United Kingdom and Australia secured a free trade deal on Tuesday June 15, which marks the first agreement negotiated from scratch since Britain's departure from the European Union.The UK government has hailed the agreement as an important step in building new trade relationships post Brexit. Previous deals reached with other nations such as Japan and Norway were built upon existing arrangemen...Read More
Weakness was evident across the base metals in London and Shanghai on the morning of Tuesday June 15 despite pre-market Western equity index futures driving higher and high volumes traded on the London Metal Exchange.14,205 lots had been traded on the LME by 5.52am London time compared with typical volume of 6,000 lots at this timeMarkets seem to be nervous about the measures China's authorities m...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices mostly edged upward on Tuesday June 15 despite limited liquidity and the downtrend in the financial markets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $221.87 per tonne, up by $1.10 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $223.09 per tonne, up by $1.47 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $194.60 per tonne, down by $0.62 per tonne65% F...Read More