China's crude steel, hot metal and finished steel production all rose sharply year on year in March and the first quarter of 2021, according to data released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday April 16.March productionCrude steel: 94.02 million tonnes, up by 19.1% from March 2020Hot metal: 74.75 million tonnes, up by 8.9% year on yearFinished steel: 119.87 million tonnes, up by 20.9%...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.In both Europe and the United States, the prices of most flat steel products have pushed to record highs in the weeks to Monday March 22. They remain slightly below their mid-2008 peaks in China, but are at multi-year highs there too.This illustrates in part the heavier consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for steelmakers in...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese seamless linepipe prices have jumped by $120 per tonne over the past month because of rising costs. With iron ore prices remaining elevated, scrap costs on the rise, and activity at steel mills curbed by environmental measures, steel billet has become difficult to source, bolstering the prices for seamless linep...Read More
Almost all base metal futures prices rose by over 3% in the week ending Friday April 16, despite falling lower from their readings on Thursday, boosted in part by a US dollar index that has been at its lowest in a month. Copper's three-month price closed on Friday at $9,211 per tonne, up 3.9% since Monday, when its 5pm price was of $8,861 per tonne. The metal reached $9,353.50 per tonne during tra...Read More
Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrate index ended three weeks of declines on Friday April 16 with a 7.3% uptick week on week. Chinese smelters are mostly well-covered for production needs for the second quarter, with only a few June and July parcels sold at the mid-$20s per tonne...Read More
Lead stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-registered warehouses climbed by 24.1% in the week to Friday April 16, due to seasonal weakness, while production cuts in Yunnan province caused tin inventories to fall 5.9%.According to the exchange's latest stocks report, lead stocks stood at 65,444 tonnes on Friday, up 12,692 tonnes from 52,752 tonnes the a week earlier, while tin stocks declin...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions on Friday April 16 in China, Europe and the United States.China The China ferro-silicon price continued to narrow downward in alignment with the lowering of steel mills' tender prices for 72% grade alloys and the availability of inventory. Smelters in Ningxia and Qinghai were ramping up production, which largely offset the supply shortage arising from...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions on Friday April 16 in China, Europe and the United States.China Seaborne low-grade manganese ore prices declined after major suppliers cut their offers and buyers showed a healthy appetite for offers that matched portside prices. Seaborne high-grade manganese ore prices also fell, with existing offers rejected by buyers, who cited low portside prices. Po...Read More
Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrate index ended three weeks of declines on Friday April 16 with a 7.3% uptick week on week. Chinese smelters are mostly well-covered for production needs for the second quarter, with only a few June and July parcels sold at the mid-$20s per tonne...Read More
An overview of the aerospace materials markets and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey and Michael Greenfield in...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Charlotte Radford, Cristina Belda...Read More
Domestic ferrous scrap prices in Germany have been largely unchanged over the month to Friday April 16, sources have told Fastmarkets.New scrap was an exception, with prices for such grades increasing slightly due to tight supply from the automotive sector.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap No E3 (old thick steel scrap), domestic, delivered mill, Germany, was unchanged over the...Read More
Purchasing activity in the key global steel scrap destinations began to cool in the week to Friday April 16, with price increases levelling off on a change of sentiment, with the exceptions of Taiwan and China.Turkey did not purchase any cargoes this weekUS market quiet, looking for market directionVietnamese import prices level out but sentiment soursChinese prices stabilize as sentiment deterior...Read More
The price for UK-origin light iron scrap was steady in the week to Friday April 16 after narrowing upward in the previous week, with tight availability of material prompting major shredders to compete strongly for feedstock to keep their machines running cost-effectively, sources told Fastmarkets.British business conditions were expected to remain difficult through the current quarter at least and...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were for the most part stronger this morning, Friday April 16, supported by robust economic data, while the base metals on the London Metal Exchange were consolidating after yesterday's strength, which followed strong US data. China's gross domestic product (GDP) climbed by 18.3% year on year in Q1US treasury yields dropped, lifting gold and equi...Read More
The spodumene import price in China has been skyrocketing since the beginning of 2021 following a pickup in customer inquiries and tight availability of the raw material since Altura Mining's assets were taken off the market.Spodumene mined from Western Australia is a feedstock material used in the production of lithium chemicals that go into batteries for electric vehicles. Most of the spodumene...Read More
A summary of Australian lithium miner Orocobre's results for the first quarter of 2021, released on Wednesday April 14.In brief Sales of lithium carbonate salts from the Olaroz facility in Argentina totalled 3,032 tonnes in January-March 2021, with an average...Read More
Concerns over South American producers' capacity to meet demand expectations for 2021 aggravated the lingering tight availability of battery-grade lithium compounds in the Asian seaborne market in the week to Thursday April 15.Buyers in the seaborne Asian lithium carbonate market reported increasing difficulty securing feedstock amid tight supply. The battery-grade lithium hydroxide price in China...Read More
Brazil was a net importer of finished steel during the first quarter of 2021 for the first time since 2014 amid a domestic supply-demand imbalance, according to data from the economy ministry.The country purchased 49,976 tonnes of steel more thanit exported. The figure takes into account unalloyed, non-special steel - hot- and cold-rolled coil, galvanized and Galvalume, and heavy plate, as we...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil continued to rise in Europe on Friday April 16 due to a shortage of material amid continuing strong demand, sources told Fastmrkets.Thursday's announcement of yet another offer price increase by ArcelorMittal gave additional support to the uptrend.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?926.25...Read More