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
In the closing session of this year's International Ferroalloys, which was held virtually November 9-11, Fleur Ritzema, global minors, ores and alloys editor at Fastmarkets, and Fastmarkets' analysts Amy Bennett and Robert Cartman summed up the key market drivers for the rest of 2020 and beyond. Steel Financial stimulus from China could provide an enormous boost to its domestic consumption - espec...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe increased again day on day on Thursday November 12, supported by tight supplies, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?525.00 ($618.95) per tonne on Thursday, up by ?,?0.50 per tonne from ?,?524.50 per tonne on Wednesday.The index was also up by ?,?13.66...Read More
Greenland-centerd commodity developer Bluejay Mining on November 10 announced a deal giving global mining group Rio Tinto the option to buy into its Enonkoski junior nickel project in Finland.Rio Tinto has the option to acquire up to 75% of the Enonkoski project before the end of this decade, with an investment of as much as $20 million.Stage one of the scheme would allow Rio Tinto to take on 51%...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Shanghai on Thursday November 12.Key drivers Increased supply from Aluminum Corp of China's (Chalco) Huasheng alumina refinery put additional downward pressure on prices in an already weak market. China's alumina market has been oversupplied since July, while...Read More
With China outperforming the rest of the world in its economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has an increasing need to secure strategic materials and commodities, market participants told Fastmarkets.The disruptions to international trade amid all the headwinds derived from the Covid-19 pandemic have identified the vulnerabilities in the global supply chain. The nationwide and...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium and copper prices increased from Wednesday's close on Thursday November 12 morning, with the rest of the complex subdued on market concerns of a slow economic year-end and expectations the United States will enter a new wave of Covid-19 cases.LME three-month copper gained 0.5% over the morning, reaching $6,920 per tonne, while aluminium made a small...Read More
German steelmaker Salzgitter is to supply heavy steel plate for the Saint-Brieuc wind-power project off the French coast, the company said on Thursday November 12.Two subsidiaries of Salzgitter - Ilsenburger Grobblech and Salzgitter Mannesmann Grobblech - will deliver 50,000 tonnes of thermomechanically rolled plates for the offshore wind farm being built by Spanish group Navantia.The plate will b...Read More
Flat steel re-roller and coated coil producer Al Ghurair Iron & Steel, based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, was now offering hot-dipped galvanized coil at $850 per tonne for orders to be produced in February, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday November 12.The price for the material, which is of 1mm thickness with 275g per square meter zinc coating, was $50 per tonne higher than the company's...Read More
Steel rebar prices remained stable in Egypt over the week to Thursday November 12 amid very weak demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand for rebar and billet has been slow in the country since the imposition of a construction ban on May 25, however, the rules of the ban were eased on September 29.Still, buying was weak...Read More
Turkish domestic and import prices for steel billet have gone up over the past week on increasing scrap costs, sources said on Thursday November 12.The suppliers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) raised their billet offers to Turkish customers by around $5 per tonne to $435-440 per tonne cfr, while bids from...Read More