End-user demand for steel in Mexico has improved and most sectors are performing close to pre-pandemic levels, according to Latin American steel group Ternium."Demand in the Mexican industrial sector is very good today," its chief executive officer M??ximo Vedoya said on Wednesday August 5.Among the sectors that are performing better are home appliances, automotive and infrastructure, he added.Mex...Read More
The aluminium industry neither deserves nor can afford the shock that would come from the United States' reintroduction of Section 232 tariffs on imports from Canada, according to Aluminum Association president and chief executive officer Tom Dobbins. Citing the latest government data from the US Census Bureau, Dobbins noted that US imports of primary aluminium from Canada were nearly 5% lower in...Read More
Brazil-based steelmaker Gerdau expects the metal spread in its North America division to remain stable in the coming months after the company was able to secure ferrous scrap at competitive prices, chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said on Wednesday August 5.The company's metal spread - the premium between finished steel prices and scrap costs - averaged $415 per short ton in North America d...Read More
Turkey exported 616,565 tonnes of flat steel products in June 2020 up by 73.31% year on year from 355,753 tonnes in June 2019, according to the latest report from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).The country exported 2,694,952 tonnes of flat steel in January-June 2020, down by 11.29% from the 3,037,796 tonnes exported in the first six months of 2019.Additionally, Turkey's flat steel export...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday August 6 that are worth another look.The United States will reintroduce Section 232 tariffs on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminium from Canada, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday August 6. The aluminium industry neither deserves nor can afford the shock that...Read More
Aluminium industry participants - many of which lobbied against Section 232 tariffs - respond to US President Donald Trump's decision to reinstate the tariffs on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminium from Canada.Michael Bless, chief executive officer of Century Aluminum Co and a strong supporter of the Section 232 tariffs, said that their reintroduction would continue to help drive the resurg...Read More
Sometimes it is better to let a situation speak for itself. Alcoa, Rio Tinto Aluminium, Novelis, Constellium, Arconic, Kaiser Aluminum, Tri-Arrows Aluminum, American Metal Chemical Corp, Hydro Extrusion North America, JW Aluminum, Real Alloy, Reynolds Consumer Products, Scepter, Silberline Manufacturing Co, Smelter Service Corp and Wagstaff. The US Aluminum Association, which represents more than...Read More
The United States will reintroduce Section 232 tariffs on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminium from Canada, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday August 6."Earlier today I signed a proclamation that defends American industry by reimposing aluminium tariffs on Canada," Trump said on Thursday, speaking at the at the Whirlpool Corp factory in Clyde, Ohio. "US Trade Representative Ro...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday August 6 that are worth another look.The United States will reintroduce Section 232 tariffs on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminium from Canada, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday August 6. The aluminium industry neither deserves nor can afford the shock that...Read More
Sometimes it is better to let a situation speak for itself. Alcoa, Rio Tinto Aluminium, Novelis, Constellium, Arconic, Kaiser Aluminum, Tri-Arrows Aluminum, American Metal Chemical Corp, Hydro Extrusion North America, JW Aluminum, Real Alloy, Reynolds Consumer Products, Scepter, Silberline Manufacturing Co, Smelter Service Corp and Wagstaff. The US Aluminum Association, which represents more than...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday August 6, nearing resistance at $14,500 per tonne despite moderate turnover, while lead futures continued to rise against a positive forward curve.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $14,478 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $14,290 per tonne, while turn...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices were flat day on day on Thursday August 6 due to a lack of transactions, while market participants held that seaborne premium prices would be relatively stable short term, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $105.91 per tonne, down $0.10 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $116.38 per tonne, up $0.08 per to...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were up on Thursday August 6 amid better weather conditions in eastern China and the return of demand from the construction sector, according to trader sources.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.27 per tonne, up by $3.17 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.18 per tonne, up by $2.84 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qi...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
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Comfortable consolidationAluminium appears comfortable consolidating for the moment, and this will leave prices in a stronger position to challenge overhanging long-term trend-line resistance from the May 2018 high, which stands at $1,670 per tonne currently.Copper: Consolidation unlikely to lastCopper reached its...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Upside breakout last weekThe price of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange surprised us with a break to the upside in the week ended July 10, when prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange raced to three-and-a-half-year highs. While we think there is more short-term upside potential if technical and liquidity fact...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.?EUR? US domestic prices for hot-rolled coil have moved down in line with our expectations, averaging $508 per tonne in July compared with our forecast price of $519 per tonne. While we are forecasting coil price increases in August, we have revised our expectations downward. Although steelmakers are reporting improving dema...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The price for steel scrap in China has risen recently, amid high mill operating rates and at a time of heavy rain, but it remains at a premium to hot metal, we estimate. Heavy rains in China tend to increase the moisture content of iron ore stockpiles, which can cause issues during the sintering process, and this may have en...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Trading activity at a minimumWelded pipe trading activity has been slow globally over July 2020, and while the holiday-period slowdown is partly to blame in several countries, disruptions to projects caused by the Covid-19 pandemic were obviously the main cause. In this context, substrate costs were driving much of the prici...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Global markets for coated steel continue to run at different speeds with regards to pricing at the start of the summer season in the northern hemisphere. In Asia, prices continue to rise although, as we note in our Asia analysis this month, much of this is merely cost inflation with steelmakers passing on higher substrate cos...Read More