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
The market for pig iron exports from the south of Brazil was firm during the week ended Friday April 24 on further sales to China.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was $274-275 per tonne on Friday, narrowing from $270-280 per tonne a week before. ...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price rose by 0.3% during trading on Friday April 24 to close at $1,514 per tonne, on low turnover of 9,132 lots during the day.Global LME aluminium stocks remained high, with 1,175,175 tonnes on warrant on Friday, and total stocks at 1,317,925 tonnes.Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida noted in his Aluminium Today report that speculative sentiment remai...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic may well provide Freeport-McMoRan with a silver lining it had never expected. The US copper producer is discussing with the government of Indonesia what should be done with the planned smelter in the Gresik region in the province of East Java. It has been forced to delay the completion timeline of December 2023 for the plant, due both to Covid-19-related disruptions to the wo...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index trended lower in the week ended Friday April 24, marking the third consecutive week of decline. The benchmark index fell to $54.9 per tonne / 5.49 cents per lb on Friday, from $58.6 per tonne/ 5.86 cents per lb a week ago. Limited tonnages were sold on the spot market during the week with bids and offers coming in at...Read More
When the oil price fell into negative price territory at the start of the week ended April 24, it fueled fears that a similar situation could materialize in metals. The good news for users of the London Metal Exchange is the exchange's delivery mechanism that makes it virtually implausible, while its contract structure makes it even more unlikely. Here's why. The reason the West Texas In...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan has cut its copper sales guidance for 2020 by 400 million lb, or around 181,000 tonnes, as a result of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.The company had previously forecast sales of 3.5 billion lb or 1.5 million tonnes of copper this year, but now expected sales of 3.1 billion lb or 1.4 million tonnes.It has also delayed the completion timeline of December 2023 for its new smel...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan will slash production from the Climax open pit molybdenum mine by around 50% for the rest of the year in response to global market conditions and has cut its annual molybdenum sales guidance by 9%, the company said. The Colorado, United States-based Climax mine, which produces high-purity, chemical-grade molybdenum concentrate, reported output of 17 million lbs or 7,700 tonnes of...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Shanghai on Thursday April 23. Key drivers Aluminium producers stopped purchasing from the spot market, preferring to rely on long-term contracts after witnessing a sudden drop in the Shanghai Futures Exchange aluminium price on April 21. The SHFE front-month aluminium contract fell to 12,180 yuan ($1,721) per tonne...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized sheet in the United States declined for a fifth straight week after automotive and other factory shutdowns weighed on demand for steel components.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US dropped to $33 per hundredweight ($660 per short ton) on Thursday April 23 from $34 per cwt ($680 per ton) on April 16. Fastmarkets' p...Read More
Apparent steel consumption in Brazil totaled 1.61 million tonnes in March 2020, falling by 11.1% from 1.82 million tonnes in the corresponding month of 2019, the national steelmakers' association, Instituto A??o Brasil, said on Friday April 24.Aside from December, which is a traditionally weaker month for steel demand because of holidays, this was the lowest figure reported since January 2019. Som...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe fell on continuing bearish sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets in Friday April 24.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?443.13 ($478.42) per tonne on Friday April 24, down by ?,?3.87 per tonne from ?,?447.00 per tonne on April 23.Official offers have been heard at ?,?455-465 per tonne ex-works, ...Read More
Anemic demand stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in another round of import price decreases for flat-rolled steel in South America, with the majority of customers reported as skipping orders for June shipments, market sources said."There is no market right now, no matter the price I offer," a Brazil-based trader source said."Most South American importers are out of the market at the mome...Read More