Global markets are contracting in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the prices for flat steel products continue to retreat, with prices for coated steels down by a further 5% since late March in most of the markets that Fastmarkets tracks.The latest edition of Fastmarkets' Galvanized Steel and Tinplate Market Tracker, for April 2020, is now available to view.Further price falls are almost cer...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Despite these unprecedented times, US sheet prices moved in line with our expectations over the past month. While we maintain our view on the direction of pricing during 2020 and the length of the pricing downturn, as the Covid-19 crisis deepens we have increased the magnitude of the price declines through the second quarter...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.As oil price stumbles, outlook for welded markets weakensIn February, oil prices, already hit by the economic slowdown in Asia, turned lower on the failure of OPEC+ to reach an agreement on production cuts. This was enough to shake oil markets, but the collapse of global demand due to the pandemic has driven Brent below $30/...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
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.The recent decline in Chinese scrap prices - to their lowest in a couple of years - even as demand rises, suggests that Chinese scrap supply is increasingly sufficient. In terms of scrap demand, the question is more about price attractiveness. Mini-mills were reducing demand in February, largely because steel margins on scra...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.While downward pressure mounts on the steelmaking raw material markets, premiums for higher-grade iron ores have been sustained despite narrowing operating margins at Chinese steelmakers. Chinese mills are operating with shrinking margins since the end of last year but the premium for high-grade ores remains high. Historical...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This week Fastmarkets' analysts and price reporters shared their views and recent findings in a webinar revealing some distinct fundamental tensions for steel, refining alloys and, of course, steelmaking raw materials such as iron ore.While the outlook for chrome and manganese ores and alloys is balanced, as far as market pa...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.A 6% decline in the daily average 62% Fe iron ore fines benchmark last week contributed to the lowest quarterly price rise for the first quarter in five years, in spite of clear evidence of supply-side constraints. Although there were clear demand-related obstacles to iron ore suppliers raking in more typical, seasonal price...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
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe have dropped due to poor demand and lower import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 29.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?530-540 ($574-585) per tonne on April 29, down by ?,?10-20 per tonne from ?,?540-560 per tonne.The assessment was based on a few deals and "workable" prices he...Read More
Downstream aluminium product producer Constellium reported a fall in revenue and a net loss during the first quarter this year on a drop in shipments and prices, according to its latest quarterly earnings report. The company recorded revenue of ?,?1.44 billion ($1.57 billion), down 6.4% from ?,?1.54 billion last year and a net loss of ?,?31 million compared to net income of ?,?24 million in the fi...Read More
The three-month copper price on the LME was higher at the close of trading on Wednesday April 29, staying firmly above nearby support levels despite only average turnover, while tin futures showed some weakness over the afternoon. Copper's outright price on the London Metal Exchange closed at $5,273 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $5,197 per tonne, while turnover...Read More
The supply and demand balance in both nickel and copper markets is expected at a surplus this year despite lower output due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Brazilian mining company Vale said in its first-quarter earnings report on Tuesday April 28. Supply of finished nickel, for example, is forecast to have declined by 12,000-15,000 tonnes in the first quarter because of coronavirus-related closures and...Read More
The import arbitrage window opened for zinc metal into China in the week ended Tuesday April 28 for the first time in over a year, prompting a flurry of activity, while a struggling US auto industry and poor end-user demand in Europe for zinc left premiums flat and caused an influx of material on exchange. Thousands of tonnes of zinc traded this week following the opening of the import arbitrage.&...Read More
Global nickel premiums held steady amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in the week to Tuesday April 28, with demand lackluster in all regions, sources said. Sluggish spot trade keeps premiums in the United States steady China premiums flat on closed arbitrage window, lack of appetite European premiums unchanged despite forward demand optimism US in holding pattern Slow spot trade amid t...Read More
While US hot-rolled coil prices have remained below $23 per hundredweight ($460 per short ton), sources expressed hopes that higher ferrous scrap prices in May - as well as the potential restart of automotive production next month - could provide some relief in the market.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $22.69 per cwt ($453.80 per ton) on Wednesday Apr...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe have dropped in the week to Wednesday April 29 due to low demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?426.25 ($461.99) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?13.75 per tonne day on day from ?,?440.00 per tonne.Wednesday's index was calculated based on deals and workable prices...Read More