China's domestic rebar prices on Wednesday June 2 recovered most of the losses from a day earlier amid costlier raw materials such as iron ore and coke. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,000-5,020 yuan ($784-787) per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonne Rising prices for steelmaking raw materials are making rebar mills lose money, an industry analyst said.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines,...Read More
The chaos being experienced in the global container shipping industry is expected to continue for some time with a shortage of an estimated four million boxes creating havoc with congestion, routes and freight rates, according to an executive at logistics conglomerate DP World. Andrew Hoad told the Bureau of International Recycling's (BIR) annual convention that shipping and leasing companies opte...Read More
Turkish prices for flat steel products increased during May 2021, but the direction of price movements in June will depend on global price trends, especially in China, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 2.Market participants did not expect any price decreases, though. Steel prices in China did decrease from April until May 27, but they then started to rise again.Hot-rolled coil export pric...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 21.7% year-on-year rise in shipment volumes for March 2021, regional steel industry association Eurometal said on Wednesday June 2.In the first quarter of 2021, flat steel shipments in the European Union and the United Kingdom inched up by 2.8% year on year.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern E...Read More
Latin American steel industry group Alacero has a new general director with the departure of Francisco Leal and the appointment of Alejandro Wagner to the role, the association told its members on Tuesday June 1.Wagner is an industrial engineer with 15 years of experience in both the private and public sectors. He was most recently business manager at steelmaker Ternium,...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 2 that are worth another look.Recent weakness in Chinese export hot-rolled coil prices are likely to have minimal impact on prices in Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States - major flat steel suppliers - at least in the short term,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Global welded pipe prices surged in May as strong demand and still-insufficient supply lifted flat steel prices.The biggest jumps were seen in China, which was hit by the unexpected announcement of the elimination of export rebates on welded pipes in April. Chinese seaborne prices reached $1,570 per tonne fob for longitudina...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday June 2.Please click...Read More
Domestic prices for European heavy steel plate were unchanged over the week to Wednesday June 2, due to holidays in a number of EU countries, sources have told Fastmarkets.Sentiment in the market remained positive, however, and demand was expected to recover next week, market sources said."Demand is fine. I think we will see it improving further due to [the emergence of new] projects and long-term...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 2 that are worth another look.Recent weakness in Chinese export hot-rolled coil prices are likely to have minimal impact on prices in Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States - major flat steel suppliers - at least in the short term,...Read More
Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the ongoing use of fossil fuels and their generation of a vast carbon footprint as "the dumbest experiment in human history."Not everyone will agree with his assessment of the petroleum, gas and coal sectors, which have powered the world's growth for decades. Nonetheless, the twin goals of supply chain security and sustainability are now driving a t...Read More
Bill Gates has a theory about green premiums: He wants to eliminate them entirely. The American business magnate and philanthropist calls green premiums the additional cost of choosing a clean technology over one that emits a greater amount of greenhouse gases.In other words, the price that metals and mining companies are starting to charge their customers for producing low-carbon produc...Read More
China's new tax regime for ferrous raw materials and steel exports will kick off a new era for the steel sector, one in which demand and supply will become more balanced and the country cuts its dependency on iron ore at a faster pace. Chinese authorities announced last week that, from May 1, import duties for metallics and semi-finished steel would be removed and that export duties for raw materi...Read More
Recent weakness in Chinese export hot-rolled coil prices are likely to have minimal impact on prices in Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States - major flat steel suppliers - at least in the short term, sources told Fastmarkets. Existing demand at key outlets and long lead times will prevent prices from following the Chinese export price in the near term, Fastmarkets has learned. Do...Read More
Nickel premiums in the US rose while premiums in Europe and Asia were stable, sources told Fastmarkets.US briquette premium rises 9%Demand continues to bolster European premiumClosed arbitrage in Asia keeps premium flatStrong fundamentals boost seaborne sulfate premiumPremiums rise as higher offers gain traction Nickel premiums in the United States rose, with the premium for nickel briquette up by...Read More
Iron ore physical prices rose on Wednesday June 2, while low-grade fines increased on buying interest from Chinese steel mills, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $209.19 per tonne, up $0.52 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $211.50 per tonne, up $0.46 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $182.30 per tonne, up $1.30 per tonne65% Fe B...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: SHFE tailwind for LME pricesAs we are entering the traditional strong demand season, we expect Chinese aluminium demand to show further recovery, and we expect demand from existing end-user sectors, new infrastructure projects and the export sector to show some increases. As a result, we believe that S...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
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 analysts are ready to view. We also review our price forecasting accuracy for the second quarter 2020.Q2 2020 price forecast performance review According to the results of Fastmarkets' Apex for the second quarter of 2020 published this week, Fastmarkets' base metals research team was the second most accurate price forecaster for nickel (99.06%), lead...Read More