The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? US sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum persisting into June. Actual US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $1,553 per ton in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,540 per ton. Prices remain supported by strong underlying sup...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat on Wednesday August 25 due to the quiet summer market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,644-1,679) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.Trading remains low during the summer holidays - participants have not yet returne...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR? Impressive advances in ore and alloy prices persisted in March, with most markets posting significant price gains. Strengthening demand from steelmakers along with supply shortages and depleted inventories in numerous markets, as well as freight and transportation...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices and margins for stainless steel producers have risen notably over the past few months in both Europe and the United States, but there are now signs that the rally is petering out.A clear reason for the halt to rising prices comes from the near 20% drop in nickel prices seen in late February/early March,...Read More
Shanghai-listed Hainan Mining says it will invest no more than 1.065 billion yuan ($164 million) for the construction of a 20,000-tonnes-per-year battery-grade lithium hydroxide plant in Dongfang Lingang Industrial Park in China's Hainan province.The construction of the plant is expected to take 18 months and the battery-grade lithium hydroxide it produces will supply downstream battery companies,...Read More
Trading activity in the Commonwealth of Independent States' export long steel market remained sluggish in the week to Wednesday August 25 amid slow demand from Europe due to holidays in the region as well as continuing competition with Turkish suppliers.Turkish steel producers decreased their export offers for rebar to $680-695 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis last week, against $695-705 pe...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in China stemmed their recent rally on Wednesday August 25 while industry data points to an output increase in mid-August.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,690-5,720 yuan ($879-883) per tonne, widening downward by 20 yuan per tonneThe China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) said on Tuesday morning that daily crude steel output from its member mills average...Read More
Iron ore prices mostly increased on Wednesday August 25 despite weaker trading activity in the physical market, especially at Chinese ports, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $148.66 per tonne, up by $2.53 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $148.95 per tonne, up by $0.99 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $116.96 per to...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have slipped below $96 per hundredweight ($1,920 per short ton), with some participants indicating that the market was stalling temporarily before spot offers open from September.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $95.31 per cwt ($1,906.20 per ton) on Wednesday August 25, down by 1.28% from $96.55 per cwt on Tu...Read More
The global markets for containerized freight have entered even deeper water in recent weeks, with closures at the key port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in China leading to worsening cargo delays, port congestion and a further cutback in free days.This latest setback to containerized shipping has led to greater difficulty for anyone involved in buying, selling and arranging containerized cargoes of metal in...Read More
Nickel premiums were unchanged in both the United States and China in the week to Tuesday August 24, with higher levels of spot business reported in Asia due to an opened arbitrage window between London and Shanghai.US 4x4 cut cathode premium steady, after rising by 11.1% in the previous week with market participants awaiting price direction.Spot activity up in Asia on an open arbitrage window bet...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices increased in the cfr China market following a strong domestic coking coal market on Wednesday August 25 and stayed largely firm in the fob Australia market amid low trading activities, market sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $391.84 per tonne, up $5.01 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $365.31 per tonne, up $8.63 per tonnePr...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat on Wednesday August 25 due to the quiet summer market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,644-1,679) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.Trading remains low during the summer holidays - participants have not yet returne...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday August 25.Key drivers The titanium alloy market was steady in the assessment week, with suppliers holding their offer prices steady ahead of an expected renewal of demand from steelmakers for both prompt and fourth-quarter deliveries. Industry sources reported hearing some offer prices close to $8 per kg, with the emergence of some...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Bulk ferro-alloy prices have shown impressive gains again this month, with ferro-silicon, silicon metal and manganese alloy prices all making significant increases. Noble alloy markets also enjoyed upward momentum, with both vanadium and molybdenum prices rising sharply.Recovering demand from steelmakers globally, together w...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 25 that are worth another look.The global markets for containerized freight have entered even deeper water in recent weeks, with closures at the key port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in China leading to worsening cargo delays, port congestion and a further...Read More
Recyclers on the East Coast of the United States reduced their dock prices in the week to Monday August 23 in the wake of a lower-priced deep-sea ferrous scrap export sale to Turkey and ahead of an anticipated $20- to $30-per-gross-ton drop in September's domestic trade."Next month, because we are on the East Coast, I am sure local mills will take cuts down a minimum of $20 per gross ton and will...Read More
The export market for flat-rolled steel products from the Commonwealth of Independent States went down over the week to Wednesday August 25 on weak iron ore pricing and soft demand.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the price for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $890-895 per tonne on Wednesday, down from $915-925 per tonne a week earlier.A sale of Ukraine-origin HRC was made t...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe moved down slightly in the week to Wednesday August 25 with sentiment among buyers turning negative, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers believed that prices would go down because of the sharp decline in iron ore costs last week, competitive import offers and the continuing shortage of semiconductors, which was limiting car manufacture."Automotive product...Read More
Spot refined zinc ingot premiums have firmed to multi-year highs in the United States and Europe, with smelter hitches and increasingly expensive transportation stretching supply chains further during the summer season in the northern hemisphere.US spot zinc premium rises to a more than four-year high Rotterdam, Antwerp zinc premiums at highest since early 2018China market eyes narrowing negative...Read More