An overview of the consumer electronics markets and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Cristina Belda and...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Janie Davies, Declan...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade. Whirlpool dropped $3.00 to $214.25 despite reporting higher than consensus second quarter revenues and earnings. The company also offered positive guidance. Texas Instruments fell $7.35 to $186.89 despite reporting higher than consensus second quarter revenues and earnings. However, the...Read More
Galvalume prices in the United States hit a record high for the seventh consecutive month thanks to ongoing tight supply and strong demand. Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel coil Galvalume, fob mill US was at $98 per hundredweight ($1,960 per short ton) on Tuesday July 20, up by 8.29% from $90.50 per cwt in June and nearly triple the $33.25 per cwt recorded in the same month las...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday July 21.Key drivers The ferro-titanium price range widened higher in the week to July 21 on new deals against renewed demand from buyers ahead of new export duties from Russia which begin on August 31. The major consumers in the steel sector, however, have yet to emerge for longer term contracted deliveries and one steelmaker said t...Read More
Prices in the United States for domestic and imported carbon steel wire rod rose by $40 per ton in July, nearing an all-time high for domestic product and a record for imports.Fastmarkets' monthly assessment for steel wire rod (low carbon) industrial quality, fob mill US was $55-57 per hundredweight ($1,100-1,140 per short ton) on Tuesday July 20, up by 3.70% from 53-55 per cwt on June 1...Read More
The Northern European market for steel wire rod was quiet in the week to Wednesday July 21, with prices being broadly flat, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh-quality), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?890-915 ($1,049-1,078) per tonne on Wednesday, the same as last week.The assessment was based on deals, offers and market participants'...Read More
Steel rebar prices in northern Europe edged up in the week to Wednesday July 21 despite a seasonal slowdown in buying activity, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?890-930 ($1,049-1,096) per tonne on July 21, up from ?,?880-930 per tonne. This marks its highest level since Fastmarkets start...Read More
Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States have continued to post slight gains, but the uptrend has begun to show signs of slowing down."Pittsburgh processors are sort of holding back on going higher [with prices], but I know higher is out there," one dealer said, adding that "immediate future demand is hot" and he thinks supply is not going to keep up.As of Tuesday July 20, the London...Read More
Iron ore prices fell on Wednesday July 21 due to steel production cuts in some Chinese provinces for the second half of 2021, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.79 per tonne,down $6.25 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.17 per tonne,down $6.85 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $176.44 per tonne,down $5.83 per tonne65% Fe...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Italy declined slightly in the week to Wednesday July 21 due to lower slab costs and mills' needs to book more orders, sources told Fastmarkets.Competitive import offers have also contributed to the softening of domestic prices.Southern EuropeOfficial offers for plate from Italian re-rollers have been heard at ?,?980-1,000 ($1,155-1,178) per tonne ex-works....Read More
German industrial giant Siemens plans to build "one of Europe's largest energy storage facilities" at Wunsiedel in eastern Germany, it announced on Monday July 19.The Siemens facility will have power capacity of 100MW and energy storage capacity for 200MWh, and will store electricity generated locally from surplus renewable energy. It will also cover demand peaks on the power grid. The electricit...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat on Wednesday July 21 following a summer slowdown in the market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,656-1,691) per tonne on July 21, unchanged week on week."Prices are stable, the market is slowing down now for three to four weeks," a d...Read More
European lead smelter Berzelius Metall has declared force majeure on supply contracts after floods that have caused chaos in northern Germany and Belgium forced the closure of its Stolberg smelter.Fastmarkets' calls to Berzelius were not answered, while an email to parent company EcoBat Technologies was not responded to by the time of publication.But sources in the lead market confirmed to Fa...Read More
Iron ore prices fell on Wednesday July 21 due to steel production cuts in some Chinese provinces for the second half of 2021, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $214.79 per tonne,down $6.25 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $216.17 per tonne,down $6.85 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $176.44 per tonne,down $5.83 per tonne65% Fe...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market reported no new trading activity on Wednesday July 21, because of the week-long Eid al-Adha public holiday.Turkish steel mils have not booked any new scrap material since July 13.The country is currently off work for the week-long religious holiday of...Read More
A weaker United States ferrous scrap export market is stoking fears that prices could retreat in the August domestic trade after recyclers on the East Coast lowered their selling prices by $10-25 per gross ton in a tell-tale sign.International steel mills have lowered their import prices for US ferrous scrap grades - including heavy melt - this week, citing inflation, higher oil prices and th...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 21 that are worth another look.Flat steel sales from Brazilian distributors increased by 3.3% year on year in June; volumes began to stabilize after strong growth in the first half of 2021, flat steel distributors...Read More
Sentiment in the European hot-rolled coil segment has been mixed, with buyers in Northern Europe trying to assess impact of floods on the market and Italian buyers monitoring declining import prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 21.Across the European Union, trading activity has been limited while buyers wait for a clear market trend. Credit lines have been exhausted over the past fe...Read More
Base metal futures dipped in morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday July 21, as markets globally took pause after a whipsaw start to the week.Nickel three-month futures led the pack down, dropping 1.31% against Tuesday's 5pm close to $18,420 per tonne.Three-month zinc was the second-biggest faller, down 0.83% at $2,938 per tonne.Overall volume was muted, with copper three-month...Read More