The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR?On the back of US steelmakers' $50- to $60-per-ton price hikes in late April, domestic hot-rolled coil prices improved to a monthly average of $493 per ton in May, up from $488 per ton in April. In contrast, both cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized sheet p...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 three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was the top performer at the close of trading on Thursday June 18, with steady buying prompting its highest close since February, while copper futures consolidated above nearby support levels over the afternoon.Zinc's underlying price on the LME closed at $2,052 per tonne at 5pm London time, climbing from an intraday low of $2,012.50 pe...Read More
Brazilian iron ore and metals producer Vale has scheduled the reopening of its Canada-based Voisey's Bay nickel unit to early July, following the end of care and maintenance status into effect since March 16 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Thursday June 18.Production at the site is expected to ramp up through July and reach full capacity by the beginning of August, Vale added. Th...Read More
Aluminium producer UC Rusal has announced the commissioning of a new foundry complex at its Bogunchansky (BoAZ) smelter to serve the automotive sector, it said. The new fully automated foundry will produce high-silicon aluminium alloys used for the manufacture of wheels, engine units and various spare parts, the company said on Thursday June 18. Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, South Korea, Germany and t...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price rose during morning trading on Thursday June 18, breaching nearby resistance levels after a sizable fresh cancellation, while zinc futures maintained Wednesday afternoon's gains in a steady consolidation above $2,000 per tonne.LME copper's outright price was recently at $5,847.50 per tonne, climbing by over 1% from Wednesday's closing price of $5,...Read More
Markets were mixed again this morning, Thursday June 18; equity indices were weighing up the possible impact of second waves of Covid-19 against the supportive measures governments continue to provide and pledge. Asian-Pacific equity markets were mainly weaker this morning, as were pre-market major western equity index futures; the exception was China's CSI 300 Index. Developing Asian countries to...Read More
Chinese traders of stainless steel reduced both their domestic and export prices over the past week to generate more sales, though the nickel market regained its strength in the past couple of days.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday June 17's official trading session at $12,948 per tonne. While this is $4 per tonne lower than a week earlier, it marks a $37...Read More
Traxys North America will remain in the tin trade in North America, the Luxembourg-based trading giant said on Wednesday June 17, contrary to multiple market sources' understanding. The company confirmed Fastmarkets' earlier report that it would exit other base metals. "Traxys... will phase out its North American lead and zinc metal trading activities by the end of 2020... due to the deterioration...Read More
US hot-rolled coil prices have fallen below $25 per hundredweight ($500 per short ton) for the first time since the beginning of the month on what some sources said was short-lived quarter-end deal cutting - but others said might prove to be a more protracted downturn.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $24.92 per cwt ($498.40 per ton) on Thursday June 18,...Read More
Workers of Tata Steel's Dutch operations have planned another strike during the night shift, which will affect the hot zone, the trade union FNV Metaal said on Thursday June 18.At 22:00 local time on June 18, the workers of Tata Steel IJmiuden's hot area will stop working, according to FNV's release."This action has a major impact on blast furnaces and the steel melting shop," FNV said.The unions...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have reached the "bottom", sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 18, with steelmakers expected to announce price rises soon.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?392.14 ($441.08) per tonne on Thursday June 18, up by ?,?2.14 per tonne from ?,?390 per tonne on Wednesday June 17.The index wa...Read More
Turkish domestic long steel prices continued to increase over the past week in line with firm demand, but they may now have reached a peak because scrap prices are expected to fall soon, sources said on Thursday June 18."The general thinking in the market is that the increase in scrap prices has stopped [and] this put on the brake in local [long steel] prices," a senior official at a maj...Read More
The price of steel billet in Turkey continued to increase over the past week in line with firming domestic prices for long steel products, sources said on Thursday June 18.Export offers for billet from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased over the weekend, although mills were in no hurry to sell volumes, sources said.CIS-based suppliers raised their offers to Turkey to $395-400 p...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices remained steady over the past week amid a lack of demand, sources said on Thursday June 18.Turkish steel mills continued to offer rebar for export at $425-430 per tonne fob on actual weight basis, while bids for the material were no higher than $410 per tonne, Fastmarkets heard."Mills continued...Read More
Demand for imported steel billet in Egypt remained limited in the week to Thursday June 18, despite billet import prices decreasing because of lower bids, sources told Fastmarkets.No improvement in demand was anticipated any time soon, sources told Fastmarkets, because construction activity has all but halted across the country since a presidential decree in late May.The cessation o...Read More
Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Germany have increased by about ?,?5-10 per tonne month on month in June, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 18.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap No E3 (old thick steel scrap), domestic, delivered mill, Germany was ?,?235-245 ($264-275) per tonne on June 18, up by ?,?5 per tonne month on month from?,?230-240 per tonne in mid-May....Read More
Turkish steel mills booked no deep-sea cargoes on Thursday June 18, with a growing number of market participants now believing that prices have reached a peak, sources told Fastmarkets.News of a US deal from the beginning of the week was, however, heard on Thursday.A steel mill in the Izmir region booked a US cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $265 per tonne and 15,000 tonnes of...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) will increase domestic prices by 10.5% on July 1, it told distribution clients this week, sources with knowledge of the move told Fastmarkets.Rising iron ore prices and a steep discount to domestic steel over imports support the action CSN has taken, the sources added. The company had already considered an increase in June but weakening de...Read More
Bangladeshi mills are unwilling to pay current offer prices for bulk cargoes and will wait for price decreases before placing any orders, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 18. US West Coast sellers have had success in selling bulk cargoes at higher prices to South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam in the last week, but will not find business so fruitful in Bangladesh, market participants...Read More