U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade.U.S. equity index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the October Producer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus calls for an increase of 0.6% versus a gain of 0.5% in September. Actual was an increase of 0.6%. Excluding food and energy, consensus was an increase of 0.5% ver...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were mostly stable on Monday November 8 amid continuing weak demand from Chinese steel mills, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $93.82 per tonne, up $0.68 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.55 per tonne, up $0.47 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $65.68 per tonne, down $0.10 per tonne65% Fe...Read More
The export market for steel slab from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region was quiet in the week to Monday November 8.Mills mainly held back from placing new offers, preferring to assess the market conditions, so no fresh deals were heard done.Meanwhile, the situation in the global market was mixed.In Europe, plate producers, which are the main consumers of CIS-origin slab in the re...Read More
The gap between offers and bids for long steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States widened in the week to Monday November 8, with higher offers from Ukrainian mills but reduced availability of material.Russian mills were mostly absent from the export business due to the current favorable conditions in their local market.Meanwhile, bids from customers and estimates of workable pric...Read More
Modest gains were seen in base metals futures prices at the 5pm close of trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday November 8 because of a weaker US Dollar Index, which supported price increases.Aluminium led the gains, its price increasing by almost 2% to $2,605.00 per tonne, up from $2,556.50 per tonne at Friday's 5pm close. This rise followed a 5% decline in the three-month price for the l...Read More
(Recasts, updates prices) By Pratima Desai LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose on Monday asstrong export growth data from top consumer China, fallinginventories and the passing of a $1 trillion U.S. infrastructurebill boosted sentiment, though gains were capped by concern overChinese demand. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME)was up 1.2% at $9,637 a tonne at 1658 GMT. The...Read More
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
The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
Sellers of physical copper are holding out for a higher premium for 2022 contracts in the United States.No major deals were reported by the end of the American Copper Council (ACC) fall meeting in Miami, Florida this past week, although there was talk of a US copper premium in the 10-cents-per-lb range.In the US, Fastmarkets assessed the copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US at 8-9 cents...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 5 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal will suspend production as its Sestao plant in Spain until early 2022 to carry out upgrade works to double capacity, a company representative told Fastmarkets.Low-carbon...Read More
Stainless steel prices continue to register new highs around the end of the first half of 2021 and steelmakers continue to enjoy outsized margins.They have responded in recent months by increasing their output, which has now pushed above pre-pandemic levels and will eventually restore balance to the market.For now, though, supply gaps are still being filled and buyers find themselves competing aga...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly weaker on the morning of Monday November 8, but those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer as they followed the strength seen on the LME on Friday.* US Congress’ passing of the long-awaited infrastructure bill bodes well for the metals* Chinese trade data show a record surplus, but weaker than expected imports highligh...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 5 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal will suspend production as its Sestao plant in Spain until early 2022 to carry out upgrade works to double capacity, a company representative told Fastmarkets.Low-carbon...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Fastmarkets analysts were invited to present our outlook for the coking coal market at Coaltrans Asia, held online on November 23-25. One of the key topics at the event was the trade tensions between China and Australia, which overtook Mongolia to become the largest coking coal exporter to China this year...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US prices for hot-rolled coil moved in line with our forecasts in August, averaging $1,910 per ton, within 1% accuracy of our forecast of $1,925 per ton. The market has achieved much-needed stability in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating in the range of $1,900-1,94...Read More
The north China steel production hub of Handan city in Hebei province has implemented stricter production cuts at steel mills from Monday November 1 to November 7.The move has been made is to mitigate weather-influenced air pollution over the period and comes just after the city finished implmenting steel production curbs in September and October to limit the crude steel output in line with China'...Read More
Steel prices in the United States are poised to continue decreasing at a slow pace in the coming months, Luxembourg-based steelmaker Ternium said on Wednesday November 3.Supply and demand fundamentals have started to normalize in the country, but remain far from balance, according to Ternium chief executive officer M??ximo Vedoya.Among the drivers for lower prices, the CEO cited capacity usage in...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday November 5 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal will suspend production as its Sestao plant in Spain until early 2022 to carry out upgrade works to double capacity, a company representative told Fastmarkets.Low-carbon...Read More