Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in China on FridayJune 4.Key drivers The China silicon price narrowed slightly down following a correction to the previous price rally, but overall sentiment remains positive...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mainly lower this morning, Monday June 7, after the rally sparked by Friday's worse-than-expected US employment report ran out of steam.China's imports climbed 51% and exports were up 28% year on year in May.The US Dollar Index weakened after Friday's disappointing employment report in the United States.Base metalsLME three-month base metals pri...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore prices jumped by as much as 12% during the week to Friday June 4 after miners hiked offers amid rising freight costs, a stronger South African rand and strength downstream.Fastmarkets' manganese ore 44% Mn, cif Tianjin jumped by 58 cents (12.30%) to $5.29 per dry metric tonne (dmtu) on Friday, from $4.71 per dmtu a week prior.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tian...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Europe were fairly stable on Monday June 7, with the bullish mood cooling, sources told Fastmarkets.While shortages are likely to remain a problem for buyers throughout 2021, end users have started to resist further price increases, sources said. After continuously raising prices through April and May, mills have kept their official offers unchanged and will cont...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade. Biogen added $0.95 to $396.80 after Cowen upgraded the stock to Buy following news of FDA approval of Biogen's Alzheimer's treatment. Oppenheimer raised its target on the stock from $305 to $450.Marvell Technology advanced $2.53 to $50.80 after reporting higher than consensus first quart...Read More
Steel re-rollers in Tangshan's Fengrun district have been asked to cut their production from June 4-13 in an attempt to control air quality, sources said.But some re-rollers have already resumed their production, other market participants told Fastmarkets.One weather forecast website shows that the Fengrun area should experience heavy air pollution in the coming week, Fastmarkets heard.Gao Jianmin...Read More
Physical commodities trading company Trafigura Pte Ltd and agricultural commodities firm Yara International ASA have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development and promotion of ammonia as a clean fuel in shipping, Trafigura said. The companies have also agreed to explore opportunities to work together on certain clean green and blue ammonia fuel infrastructure and...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday June 4 that are worth another look.Brazilian iron ore producer Vale has halted part of the railroad it uses for exports following a warning from an authority about tailings dam risks, causing a production stoppage at its Timbopeba plant and...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Recent weeks have largely been a repetition of the weeks leading up to our previous tracker in mid-April. A flurry of price increases have been announced, and largely obtained, by leading steelmakers in both Europe and the United States while buyers struggle to secure spot tonnages.Although steel output is rising in both reg...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR?In a strong start to the year, January saw ore and alloy pricing gains across all markets priced by Fastmarkets - with the exception of Chinese silicon metal export prices, which retreated slightly last month after posting impressive gains in December 2020.The combination...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the iron ore market, supply issues including heavy rains at the start of the year, followed by staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected exports from Brazil. This has helped Australia gain a larger market share, but since June, Brazilian export volumes have returned to levels last seen before the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday June 4 that are worth another look.Brazilian iron ore producer Vale has halted part of the railroad it uses for exports following a warning from an authority about tailings dam risks, causing a production stoppage at its Timbopeba plant and...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. We also review our price forecasting accuracy for the second quarter 2020.Q2 2020 price forecast performance review According to the results of Fastmarkets' Apex for the second quarter of 2020 published this week, Fastmarkets' base metals research team was the second most accurate price forecaster for nickel (99.06%), lead...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.We spoke in our previous tracker of stainless steel prices ending 2020 on a high. That trend has continued during early 2021 and, in fact, the upward rally in prices has increased its momentum.Compared with the monthly price increase of some 5% seen at the end of 2020, prices for grade-304 stainless steel in al...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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday June 4 that are worth another look.Brazilian iron ore producer Vale has halted part of the railroad it uses for exports following a warning from an authority about tailings dam risks, causing a production stoppage at its Timbopeba plant and...Read More
Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the ongoing use of fossil fuels and their generation of a vast carbon footprint as "the dumbest experiment in human history."Not everyone will agree with his assessment of the petroleum, gas and coal sectors, which have powered the world's growth for decades. Nonetheless, the twin goals of supply chain security and sustainability are now driving a t...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:Unprecedentedly high flat steel product pricing in the United States was forecast to persist through the current quarter and well into the second half of 2021.Actual US hot-rolled coil prices in April slightly outpaced our forecasts, with Fastmarkets' US HRC index ave...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday June 4 that are worth another look.Brazilian iron ore producer Vale has halted part of the railroad it uses for exports following a warning from an authority about tailings dam risks, causing a production stoppage at its Timbopeba plant and...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore remains the most bullish commodity of the year, with prices fuelled by Chinese demand and supply disruptions in Brazil, along with bullish sentiment. But prices are expected to come down because Brazilian exports have begun to recover, and have reached their highest level since the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019. W...Read More