The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Across the regions, producers of welded linepipe and oil-country tubular goods (OCTG) saw their margins shrink with substrate costs increasing in the third quarter of 2020.Many have been attempting to protect margins with higher prices, with varying degrees of success. Europe-origin commodity-grade steel hot-rolled coil and...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While steel markets in Asia have demonstrated the most strength with regards to pricing through much of 2020, recent weeks have seen prices in Europe and the United States outperform those elsewhere.In a way, much of this is simply catching up on the gains already made by Asian steelmakers. They were able to obtain higher pri...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US flat-rolled prices began to recover in August, as we expected. The monthly average of our daily HRC index hit $473 per ton ($521/tonne), which was $3/t above our forecast.The upward momentum has since continued and has done so more quickly than we expected - sentiment has turned around dramatically on fundamental developm...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloys forecast highlights:Prices across most ore and alloy markets trended higher in September, buoyed by improving demand from steelmakers with the end of the summer holiday season in Europe and the United States, as well as maintained demand from Chinese steel mills. Tightening of alloy inventories...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Prices across most ferro-alloy markets trended stable to lower in August as demand remained subdued in major markets, apart from China where steel output continues to rise at a rapid pace, supporting demand for ferro-alloys. As alloy makers seek to remedy supply/demand imbalan...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Numerous ore and alloy markets enjoyed upward pricing momentum in the first half 2020, with supply-side constraints supporting prices despite collapsing demand from steelmakers and other key end users. While supply side issues related to Covid-19 lockdowns have been resolved,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In previous reports, we noted that upside risks to our forecasts existed. These were based on Chinese steel production, and in turn alloy consumption, outperforming our expectations.Chinese crude steel production is rising each month in a year-on-year comparison, prompting our revised view that Chinese alloy consumption will...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
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese blast furnace (BF) utilization rates have stagnated and iron ore port stock volumes are rising, reaching their highest levels since March, which suggests that iron ore supply is becoming excessive while demand is not growing. Unsurprisingly, prices dropped last week and we expect the trend to continue. The market has...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.We do not consider the average iron ore fines price for September so far above $125 per tonne cfr Qingdao to be sustainable. The bullishness is not likely to last in the long term as we expect Chinese demand growth to slow down. A key factor boosting Chinese steel demand so far has been the stimulus policies from the authori...Read More
The takeaways from the latest edition of the Steel Raw Materials Market Tracker are ready to view.Iron ore prices remained relatively stable last week, signalling an end to the price spike. And for the first time since March, at the time of the Covid-19 lock-down in Hubei, we have seen a consistent downturn in utilization rates in China. Blast furnace utilization rates dropped for a fifth consecut...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Having found it easier to increase prices than their counterparts in Europe and the United States during the past few months, Asian stainless steelmakers now face a number of concerns.In the short term, Asian prices have moved down in recent weeks while those in Europe and the US are on the up. This is mostly a reflection of...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. A look at stainless steel price movements through August reveals the ongoing battle being faced by stainless steelmakers in Europe and the United States while they try to pass on rising costs to consumers. In these regions, prices on most grades of stainless steel are little changed from July, rising by around 2% at most -...Read More
The latest forecast from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we enter the summer season across the northern hemisphere, almost half a year has passed since the Covid-19 pandemic began to seriously affect Europe and the United States.One would not really be able to tell that such a dramatic event had occurred by looking at stainless steel prices, however, because they are more or less...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More
It’s going to be a rough November, with the potential for the markets to be completely upended. Extreme tension is being created by both the pandemic and the upcoming U.S. election. But a simple long-term strategy could help investors to continue growing wealth. Today, we will look at two key stocks that investors can counterbalance for a combination of defensiveness, dividends, and share pr...Read More
For the last 2 days our internet has been down which really makes you appreciate this miracle invention. We’ve had intermittent problems through the years that no one has been able to figure out until today. The phone company finally came to the conclusion that there was a tiny defect in their phone line that would only show up from time to time which made the problem so hard to track down....Read More
Peter Krauth explains why he believes gold stocks are "churning out some serious profits that are likely to just keep getting better."It's not too late for you to buy gold and gold stocks on the cheap.If you haven't already, you may want to seriously consider it.That move might set you up for a run over the next few years that could turn into your single best investment…ever. You...Read More
RAPAPORT... Ralph Vantyghem, the president of Canada's Vantyghem Diamonds, died on October 3 after a three-year battle with kidney cancer, according to a statement by his family. He was 72.Vantyghem and his wife, Arlette, grew up in Belgium, and later moved to Canada. In 1973, they founded Vantyghem Diamonds, an importer and wholesaler of loose stones, which expanded nationwide."He placed muc...Read More
RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Mines' sale of Ekati is off the table after the buyer failed to agree on an arrangement with insurers to cover future costs of the site.Affiliates of the Washington Companies, Dominion's owner, were due to acquire the Canada-located diamond mine for $126 million. However, talks between the purchaser and three issuers of surety bonds - Aviva Insurance Company of Ca...Read More