Peak Oil? That was an obvious and widespread promotion while it was in play and did not fool anyone who bothered to step aside from the herd that ran with it.Peak Terror in broad stock markets? Well, that I don’t discount so readily because this is a system that was a debt-bloated accident waiting for the trigger that turned out to be COVID-19. Terrified casino patrons will pray that the Fed...Read More

It doesn’t seem to matter what the ratio of gold to silver is, or how high it goes. Those who prefer silver always seem to think it’s going to reverse “soon”.It might; maybe significantly so, too. But it doesn’t mean a thing. There are no fundamental reasons for the ratio to move up or down at any given time.Actually, there is no reason to track it, either. Except tha...Read More

The new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:While the ferro-alloy industry's initial response to the Covid-19 outbreak was marked by rising prices primarily in response to supply-side concerns, focus has now shifted somewhat. As Chinese activity slowly returns to more normal levels, for alloys with a strong Chinese prod...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The recent decline in Chinese scrap prices - to their lowest in a couple of years - even as demand rises, suggests that Chinese scrap supply is increasingly sufficient. In terms of scrap demand, the question is more about price attractiveness. Mini-mills were reducing demand in February, largely because steel margins on scra...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.While downward pressure mounts on the steelmaking raw material markets, premiums for higher-grade iron ores have been sustained despite narrowing operating margins at Chinese steelmakers. Chinese mills are operating with shrinking margins since the end of last year but the premium for high-grade ores remains high. Historical...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This week Fastmarkets' analysts and price reporters shared their views and recent findings in a webinar revealing some distinct fundamental tensions for steel, refining alloys and, of course, steelmaking raw materials such as iron ore.While the outlook for chrome and manganese ores and alloys is balanced, as far as market pa...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.A 6% decline in the daily average 62% Fe iron ore fines benchmark last week contributed to the lowest quarterly price rise for the first quarter in five years, in spite of clear evidence of supply-side constraints. Although there were clear demand-related obstacles to iron ore suppliers raking in more typical, seasonal price...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Having first hit Asia during early 2020, the Covid-19 viral outbreak is now having an even bigger impact on European countries and the US. Widespread lockdown measures have been put in place on people and industry, and economic activity has slowed markedly.For now, stainless steel markets in Europe and the US are yet to show...Read More

The market for pig iron exports from the south of Brazil was firm during the week ended Friday April 24 on further sales to China.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil was $274-275 per tonne on Friday, narrowing from $270-280 per tonne a week before. ...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price rose by 0.3% during trading on Friday April 24 to close at $1,514 per tonne, on low turnover of 9,132 lots during the day.Global LME aluminium stocks remained high, with 1,175,175 tonnes on warrant on Friday, and total stocks at 1,317,925 tonnes.Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida noted in his Aluminium Today report that speculative sentiment remai...Read More

The Covid-19 pandemic may well provide Freeport-McMoRan with a silver lining it had never expected. The US copper producer is discussing with the government of Indonesia what should be done with the planned smelter in the Gresik region in the province of East Java. It has been forced to delay the completion timeline of December 2023 for the plant, due both to Covid-19-related disruptions to the wo...Read More

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More

Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index trended lower in the week ended Friday April 24, marking the third consecutive week of decline. The benchmark index fell to $54.9 per tonne / 5.49 cents per lb on Friday, from $58.6 per tonne/ 5.86 cents per lb a week ago. Limited tonnages were sold on the spot market during the week with bids and offers coming in at...Read More

When the oil price fell into negative price territory at the start of the week ended April 24, it fueled fears that a similar situation could materialize in metals. The good news for users of the London Metal Exchange is the exchange's delivery mechanism that makes it virtually implausible, while its contract structure makes it even more unlikely. Here's why. The reason the West Texas In...Read More

Freeport-McMoRan has cut its copper sales guidance for 2020 by 400 million lb, or around 181,000 tonnes, as a result of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.The company had previously forecast sales of 3.5 billion lb or 1.5 million tonnes of copper this year, but now expected sales of 3.1 billion lb or 1.4 million tonnes.It has also delayed the completion timeline of December 2023 for its new smel...Read More

Freeport-McMoRan will slash production from the Climax open pit molybdenum mine by around 50% for the rest of the year in response to global market conditions and has cut its annual molybdenum sales guidance by 9%, the company said. The Colorado, United States-based Climax mine, which produces high-purity, chemical-grade molybdenum concentrate, reported output of 17 million lbs or 7,700 tonnes of...Read More

Times of crisis and chaos necessitate introspection, creativity and adaptation, and while the Covid-19 pandemic is a challenge that is unprecedented in recent human memory, it highlights how essential continual research, innovation and planning are for the sustainability of society.Challenging periods also tend to reveal or reaffirm people’s raison d’être, and for public– p...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Shanghai on Thursday April 23. Key drivers  Aluminium producers stopped purchasing from the spot market, preferring to rely on long-term contracts after witnessing a sudden drop in the Shanghai Futures Exchange aluminium price on April 21. The SHFE front-month aluminium contract fell to 12,180 yuan ($1,721) per tonne...Read More