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
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday August 25.Please click...Read More
Sentiment was mixed in the European hot-rolled coil market on Wednesday August 25, with activity starting to recover slowly after holidays, sources told Fastmarkets.Buyers who have returned to the market after the traditional holiday period in August were taking their time before making deals, believing that prices would decline. Mills, in the meantime, felt no pressure to make deals at discounts...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
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
Eight of the nine Category 1 members of the London Metal Exchange have indicated their support for continuing to trade official lunchtime prices in the open-outcry ring.Does this mean that one company does not support ring trading? And could one of the exchange's members be preparing to leave the trading floor?The exchange revealed on Monday August 9 that it had majority support for the ring, in a...Read More
London Metal Exchange ring dealing members have a decision to make - whether to remain one or not.The LME has just announced it will reopen the open outcry trading floor, which was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, on September 6.Its plan, however, comes with a twist; some ring dealers say, a knife.The official prices - which the global trade and industry use as the global reference for physical...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
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
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
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
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we approach the end of the first half of 2021, steel markets in Europe and the United States continue to heat up. This six-month period is largely unprecedented, with both steel prices and steelmakers' margins hitting a number of new record highs throughout.The rally is likely nearing its end, however, with global steel ou...Read More
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
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.United States sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum carrying into June. Actual US HRC prices averaged $1,712 per tonne in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,698 per tonne. Strong underlying supply-and-demand conditions both in the US and globally are supporting prices as well as long lead...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Global welded pipe prices surged in May as strong demand and still-insufficient supply lifted flat steel prices.The biggest jumps were seen in China, which was hit by the unexpected announcement of the elimination of export rebates on welded pipes in April. Chinese seaborne prices reached $1,570 per tonne fob for longitudina...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
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
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
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
Stainless steel prices continue to register new highs around the end of the first half of 2021 and steelmakers continue to enjoy outsized margins.They have responded in recent months by increasing their output, which has now pushed above pre-pandemic levels and will eventually restore balance to the market.For now, though, supply gaps are still being filled and buyers find themselves competing aga...Read More