U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were added 14 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved higher following release of the August Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.4% versus a gain of 0.5% in July. Actual was an increase of 0.3%. Excluding food and energy, consensus was an increase of 0.3% versus a gain of 0.3% in July. Ac...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US prices for hot-rolled coil moved in line with our forecasts in August, averaging $1,910 per ton, within 1% accuracy of our forecast of $1,925 per ton. The market has achieved much-needed stability in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating in the range of $1,900-1,94...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were lower across the board at 5pm on Monday September 13, after coal prices continued to trade downward and strength was seen in the US dollar.The US Dollar Index reached a high of 92.89 on Monday, the highest level seen for more than two weeks and shoring up the current weakness across the base metals complex.The three-month nickel price came under...Read More
A pick-up in buying interest in the ferro-silicon market from consumers in the European steel sector has pushed prices to levels not seen since Fastmarkets started to assess the market, with more record highs likely to be set in the coming weeks.A combination of firm fundamentals, an acute container shortage, record high freight rates, and production and transport issues have boosted ferro-silicon...Read More
The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
Prices for most metals fell on Monday September 13, except for aluminium, which set a new 13-year high of $3,000 per tonne on Monday.Monday's price drops came after most metals reached year-to-date highs on Friday September 10.Nickel's three-month price was down to $19,870 per tonne on Monday morning, a 2.6% decrease from its closing price of $20,392 per tonne on Friday.The stainless-steel metal r...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices inched down on Monday September 13 due to weak buying interest from end users, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.84 per tonne, down $5.87 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.16 per tonne, down $6.09 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $97.99 per tonne, down $6.13 per tonne65% Fe Br...Read More
Chilean copper miner Codelco's management and the Sindicato de Uni??n Plantas (Suplant) trade union reached a new collective wage agreement on Friday September 10, which should end a strike that has lasted for three-and-a-half weeks.The Suplant union, which represents employees at the company's Andina concentrator plant, rejected the last offer that came within the standard negotiation period and...Read More
The mood in the European hot-rolled coil market was downbeat in the week ended Friday September 10 due to the lower demand from the automotive sector and competitive import offers.The automotive sector in Europe was reported to be working at reduced rates because of the global shortage of semiconductor chips for onboard electronics. Consequently, market sources expected the industry to consume les...Read More
If any member was going to leave the London Metal Exchange ring trading floor, the exchange was probably hoping it wouldn't be Triland Metals Ltd.The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi, is one of the exchange's longest serving Category 1 members, having joined in 1972 after being founded in the prior year. Having a unit of Japan's largest trading company as a ri...Read More
Base metals prices were mixed on both the LME and the SHFE this morning, Monday September 13. But while the mood in broader markets remains somewhat negative, the base metals seem to be entering the post-summer period in a more bullish mood. There is a barrage of key Chinese economic data out this week, which the market is likely to watch closely for signs that the Chinese economy is slowingBase m...Read More
Coking coal prices in the fob market jumped on Monday September 13 due to tight supply; domestic coking coal supply in China was also tight, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $487.33 per tonne, up $6.68 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $446.56 per tonne, up $2.52 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $362.10 per tonne, up $28.98 per...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Monday September 13.Key drivers Spot activity has started to pick up, with the international cobalt metal price showing continued gains over the past week. Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, was $24.00-24.60 per lb on September 13, compared with...Read More
Coking coal prices in the fob market jumped on Monday September 13 due to tight supply; domestic coking coal supply in China was also tight, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $487.33 per tonne, up $6.68 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $446.56 per tonne, up $2.52 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $362.10 per tonne, up $28.98 per...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China's domestic market held stable on Monday September 13, supported by expectations of a decline in supply due to more local governments stepping up efforts to curb energy consumption.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,850-5,900 yuan ($906-914) per tonne, narrowing downward by 20 yuan per tonneSouthwest China's Yunnan province requires steel mills across the r...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices inched down on Monday September 13 due to weak buying interest from end users, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.84 per tonne, down $5.87 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.16 per tonne, down $6.09 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $97.99 per tonne, down $6.13 per tonne65% Fe Br...Read More
Activities at the S??o Francisco do Sul port, in Brazil's southern Santa Catarina state, resumed after a truckers' road blockade prevented normal operations during this past week, a spokesperson for the port's operator told Fastmarkets on Friday September 10.According to a report from the country's infrastructure ministry, blockades ended entirely on Friday. Demonstrations that broke out across Br...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More