The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Prices across most ferro-alloy markets trended stable to lower in August as demand remained subdued in major markets, apart from China where steel output continues to rise at a rapid pace, supporting demand for ferro-alloys. As alloy makers seek to remedy supply/demand imbalan...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Numerous ore and alloy markets enjoyed upward pricing momentum in the first half 2020, with supply-side constraints supporting prices despite collapsing demand from steelmakers and other key end users. While supply side issues related to Covid-19 lockdowns have been resolved,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore remains the most bullish commodity of the year, with prices fuelled by Chinese demand and supply disruptions in Brazil, along with bullish sentiment. But prices are expected to come down because Brazilian exports have begun to recover, and have reached their highest level since the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019. W...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the iron ore market, supply issues including heavy rains at the start of the year, followed by staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected exports from Brazil. This has helped Australia gain a larger market share, but since June, Brazilian export volumes have returned to levels last seen before the...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese blast furnace (BF) utilization rates have stagnated and iron ore port stock volumes are rising, reaching their highest levels since March, which suggests that iron ore supply is becoming excessive while demand is not growing. Unsurprisingly, prices dropped last week and we expect the trend to continue. The market has...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.We do not consider the average iron ore fines price for September so far above $125 per tonne cfr Qingdao to be sustainable. The bullishness is not likely to last in the long term as we expect Chinese demand growth to slow down. A key factor boosting Chinese steel demand so far has been the stimulus policies from the authori...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While a world leader in many areas, the United States is a relatively small player when it comes to stainless steel. It produces a small amount of material, both in absolute and relative terms (i.e. compared to the size of its population), while a large share of its industry is in the hands of bigger European companies. Never...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Having found it easier to increase prices than their counterparts in Europe and the United States during the past few months, Asian stainless steelmakers now face a number of concerns.In the short term, Asian prices have moved down in recent weeks while those in Europe and the US are on the up. This is mostly a reflection of...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
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have increased over the past week because of a shortage of hot-rolled coil and globally strong demand, sources said on Tuesday November 17.Local demand for flat steel was strong in India and China, the main exporters of flat steel to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, so offers were limited.UAEOffer prices for HRC from Indian suppliers were heard a...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe increased further day on day on Tuesday November 17, due to low availability of domestic material and a lack of import offers, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?529.58 ($627.27) per tonne on Tuesday, up by ?,?0.83 per tonne from ?,?528.75 per tonne on Mon...Read More
The copper and lead spot markets in the United States have diverged, with the premium for copper cathodes declining amid low liquidity while the 99.97% lead ingot premium has risen due to strong demand from automotive battery makers.Fastmarkets assessed the copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US at 7-7.5 cents per lb on Tuesday 17 November, narrowing down from 7-8 cents per lb previously,...Read More
Premiums for duty-paid aluminium in Rotterdam rose on Tuesday November 17, with a wider contango on the London Metal Exchange and improved demand supporting the increase. Premiums were flat elsewhere in the world.Rotterdam duty-paid premium returns to levels seen at the end of October United States premiums steady with market fundamentals supportive Main Japanese ports (MJP) premium flat with mark...Read More
The London Metal Exchange base metals prices stabilized in morning trading on Tuesday November 17 after a euphoric trading session on Monday, when the markets were boosted by Chinese economic data and news of another successful Covid-19 vaccine trial. Copper, aluminium, zinc and tin all had gains of 1% or more on Monday morning, while on Tuesday morning there were no gains above 0.8%. Vaccine news...Read More
Markets were generally buoyant this morning, Tuesday November 17, following news that a second coronavirus vaccine is showing good results, which is underpinning many equity indices at or near record highs, although the base metals on the London Metal Exchange were consolidating. Asian Pacific equities were mainly higher, following gains on major western equity indices on Monday......but major wes...Read More
Alvance, the aluminium division of GFG Alliance, is proposing to invest in a new recycling and casting facility that will almost double output at its Fort William, Scotland, plant and continue its growth as a low-carbon production hub. The proposed ?94 million ($124.1 million) investment replaces a previously-approved alloy wheels factory due to a significant decline in the UK automotive sector....Read More
Italian plantmaker Danieli will supply a new wire rod line and slab caster automation and control system to Turkish long steel and flat steel producer Habas, Danieli said on Monday November 16.The new wire rod mill will be installed in the Aliaga steelmaking plant with capacity to produce steel grades including low- and medium-carbon steel, welding wire, high-carbon and PC wire, and reinforcement...Read More
Steel billet producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have become increasingly bullish due to a strong international raw materials market, despite buying activity remaining limited, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 17.Offers for CIS-origin billet with January shipment were heard mainly within the range of $445-450 per tonne fob Black Sea, but some suppliers were trying...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates increased this week, despite only moderate demand, sources said on Tuesday November 17.Domestic rebarThe country's biggest steel producer Emirates Steel was offering rebar at 1,984 dirhams ($540) per tonne ex-works for orders to be produced in December, up from the previous price of 1,936 dirhams ($527) per tonne ex-works for orders to be p...Read More