The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are on the increase in June. As far as this market is concerned, it appears as though the Covid-19 pandemic has had little impact so far, with prices on the most common grades of stainless steel just 2-4% lower than they were at the turn of the year in most markets.Even in Asia, a region often talked ab...Read More

China continued to show strong demand for pig iron in the week ended Friday June 5, supporting a global uptrend in prices for the raw material.Four cargoes of pig iron with a total volume of at least 180,000 tonnes were bought for the Chinese market from Brazil and the Commonwealth of Independent States during the week.One booking of Russia-origin material was heard at $334 per tonne cfr. Another...Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday June 5. Japan and South Korea  Indian suppliers further pushed up offer prices on increased raw material expenses and tight supply caused by the country's Covid-19 lockdown.  The higher offer prices underpinned high-carbon ferro-chrome prices in Japan and...Read More

New Day Aluminum Holdings, the parent company of Noranda Bauxite, Noranda Alumina, and Niche Industrial Chemicals, on June 2 announced the appointment of John Habisreitinger as chief operating officer.New Day produces bauxite for metallurgical and non-metallurgical applications in Jamaica, and...Read More

The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose by 2.3% day-on-day to close at $5,690 per tonne on Friday June 5, after a strong day of trading with a turnover of more than 23,300 lots.LME three-month copper had its best week since September 2018 in the week ended June 5, reaching a high of $5,698 per tonne on Friday. On Monday, it had opened at $5,400 per tonne, but on Friday it op...Read More

Fastmarkets' benchmark copper concentrates treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index edged down marginally on Friday June 5 with more tonnages offered by miners for spot sale. The index stood at $49.6 per tonne/4.96 cents per lb, compared with $49.7 per tonne/4.97 cents per lb a week ago. Smelters have been buying cargoes at $52-55 per tonne with bids as high as $60 per tonne. Buying interest i...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More

Aluminium stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses showed the largest drop in percentage terms in the week to Friday June 5, falling by 10.0% or 29,717 tonnes to 266,588 tonnes.The outflow mainly came from warehouses operated by Nanchu in Guangdong and Minmetals Wuxi in Jiangsu, with respective declines of 5,173 tonnes and 4,287 tonnes from 18,053 tonnes...Read More

The China alumina market firmed this week on higher offers from sellers who expect increased demand from new aluminium projects. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for alumina metallurgical grade, ddp China was 2,200-2,250 yuan ($309-314) per tonne on Thursday June 4, narrowing upward by 50 yuan from 2,150-2,250 yuan per tonne a week earlier. The price had widened last week from 2,180-...Read More

Prices for galvanized steel sheet in the United States slipped, reverting to the level of two weeks ago, while cold-rolled coil held steady for the fourth straight week, demonstrating that the two items are being outpaced by the price increases seen in hot-rolled coil.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil (base), fob mill US fell to $34 per hundredweight ($680 p...Read More

Flat-steel import prices were mostly up in South America this past week, as Chinese mills made higher offers ahead of negotiations for August shipments.Demand, however, has not significantly recovered in the region, as some countries are still enforcing quarantines to prevent Covid-19 from spreading. On the other hand, higher customer interest was reported in Brazil after foreign exchange rates tu...Read More

Slab export prices from Brazil increased during the week ended June 5 because of higher costs of iron ore and freight, combined with continued high demand from China.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil, increased by $10 from the previous week, to $355-365 per tonne from $345-355 per tonne.Offers to China have been reported around $400 per tonne cfr and above,...Read More

Turkish prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) and color-coated coil increased in the week to Friday June 5 and some producers have stopped accepting new orders because of increasing production costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand is strong due to restocking and expectations that prices will rise further.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HRC, domestic, exw Turkey was $430-440 p...Read More

Vehicle production increased in Latin America during May, when compared with the all-time lows reported in April, but continued to represent a sharp year-on-year decrease while most plants remained closed or are just starting to reopen following Covid-related halts.Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are the region's top auto producing countries, Fastmarkets understands.MexicoMexican light vehicle output...Read More

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) export billet prices increased on Tuesday June 2, with China resuming bookings and accepting higher prices, sources told Fastmarkets.The increased cost of iron ore, an upswing in China's domestic rebar market and production cuts planned in Tangshan province supported interest in imported billet.Fastmarkets' daily index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao...Read More

Steel billet producers in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to concentrate on the Chinese market this week while customers in the country pay the highest prices of all while seeking large volumes, sources said.CIS producers managed to achieve several rounds of price increases in deals this week before market sentiment in China started to ease, Fastmarkets heard.Earlier in the...Read More

Domestic, export and import hot- and cold-rolled coil prices continued to increase in Turkey in the week to Friday June 5 because of strong demand within the country and in its export markets.Turkish HRC producers concluded several deals to Asia during the week and are now accepting orders for late August production.HRC exportsFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export,...Read More

Look beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipRupert Resources on a Roll at IkkariSPONSOREDCardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources The company announced a placement to new and existing institutional investors to raise up to £16 million. The issue price i...Read More

Rupert Resources on a Roll at IkkariSPONSOREDCardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesDevelopment crews set another monthly record of 1,868m in May. Underground development remains a priority to have adequate access to be able...Read More

The metals were mixed again this morning, Friday June 5, but Asian-Pacific equities were mainly stronger, as were pre-market major western equity index futures. * The unemployment rate in the United States is expected to climb to 19.4%.* Equities have followed history by focusing on governments’ monetary/fiscal actions...* ...but can money alone right the impact of the virus, or can only a va...Read More