The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.US demand shrinksDemand projections call for a continued retreat in US electric-resistance welded (ERW) line pipe and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption as drill rigs and the number of wells drilled per rig are cut. Project demand in the large-diameter line pipe market is also shrinking with deferred or canceled pro...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The Covid-19 pandemic and the associated impacts on steel production, mining and manufacturing activity, end-use consumption, and trade and transportation continue to dominate ferro-alloy markets. US steel mills are operating at around 50% of capacity, with similarly low operating rates evident in Europe as well. Chinese ste...Read More
Ferro-alloys prices have generally retreated over the past month, with demand concerns gaining in prominence.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferro-alloy pricing trends have generally diverged ove the past month, depending on the security of the supply-side position of the market. With most supply concerns fading with the resumption of industrial activity i...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:While the ferro-alloy industry's initial response to the Covid-19 outbreak was marked by rising prices primarily in response to supply-side concerns, focus has now shifted somewhat. As Chinese activity slowly returns to more normal levels, for alloys with a strong Chinese prod...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore prices climbed further last week and we expect the elevated levels to remain into the next month. In particular, further upside will come from blast furnace (BF) capacity, which was reduced in Europe, Japan and the United States and has now come back online after restrictions started to be removed. With Covid-19 spr...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore prices have shot up as market participants have judged the supply risks from Covid-19 higher at this point in time when there is already a tight seaborne market. Despite the efforts to ramp up, Vale is struggling to catch up with its pre-dam disaster export volumes and its slow recovery has only been hit further by...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron oreSentiment in the iron ore market continues to be dominated by concerns about supply disruptions in Brazil. Prices spiked above $100 per tonne after reports that there had been a recent surge of Covid-19 cases at Vale's three mines in Itabira. A...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferrous scrap consumption rates of Chinese integrated mills appear to have declined this year on a per-tonne basis. This year has seen the ratio of pig iron to steel output tighten, leaving increasingly less room for scrap consumption. Over the first four months of 2020, the pig iron-to-steel ratio has been above the pr...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are on the increase in June. As far as this market is concerned, it appears as though the Covid-19 pandemic has had little impact so far, with prices on the most common grades of stainless steel just 2-4% lower than they were at the turn of the year in most markets.Even in Asia, a region often talked ab...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Having first hit Asia during early 2020, the Covid-19 viral outbreak is now having an even bigger impact on European countries and the US. Widespread lockdown measures have been put in place on people and industry, and economic activity has slowed markedly.For now, stainless steel markets in Europe and the US are yet to show...Read More
The new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More
Despite fears of second waves of the Covid-19 virus, base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were generally holding up well this morning, Monday June 22. But while prices are holding up well, they do seem to have lost upward momentum.* Asian-Pacific equity and pre-market major western equity index futures were mainly weaker this morning.* Gold prices gapped higher this morning, suggesting...Read More
U. S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 26 points in pre-opening trade. Sherwin Williams added $0.33 to $585.00 after the company raised its second quarter sales outlook.Gap Stores gained $0.57 to $11.23 after Wells Fargo upgraded its recommendation on the stock from Underweight to Overweight. Target was increased from $8.00 to $19.KLA Tencor slipped $1.10...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale and Japan-based Sumitomo Metal Mining Co have agreed to sell 20% of their joint stake in nickel producer PT Vale Indonesia to state-owned Inalum, a necessary step to renew its operating license past 2025, Vale said on Friday June 19.Vale will sell 14.9% of its shares in the Indonesian company, owned through the subsidiary Vale Canada Ltd, and Sumitomo will divest its 5.1% stak...Read More
The Attorney General of Switzerland has begun criminal investigations into Glencore's business practices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the company said on Friday June 19.Baar, Switzerland-headquartered Glencore said it had been informed today that the investigation had commenced due to "failure to have the organizational measures in place to prevent alleged corruption," it said."G...Read More
German diecaster DGH Group has begun insolvency proceedings, sources close to the matter told Fastmarkets on Friday June 19.Fastmarkets understands that the insolvency action pertains to three group companies - DGH Heidenau, DGH Hof and DGH ZIT - with appointed insolvency administrator Franz-Ludwig Danko currently considering potential restructuring options.The company, headquartered in Donha, Ger...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
The Attorney General of Switzerland has begun criminal investigations into Glencore's business practices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the company said on Friday June 19.Baar, Switzerland-headquartered Glencore said it had been informed today that the investigation had commenced due to "failure to have the organizational measures in place to prevent alleged corruption," it said."G...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday June 19. China The UG2 chrome ore trading activity dipped during the week, with participants waiting for the release of July ferro-chrome tender prices to gauge market direction,...Read More