Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 15 that are worth another look.Demand in India for steel and ferrous scrap will remain subdued for the rest of this year, while Pakistan and Bangladesh both show stronger demand, Zain Nathani has said during the online Bureau of International...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month prices of copper and aluminium made small gains in trading on Thursday October 15, with the red metal rising by 1%.The LME three-month copper price closed at $6,783 per tonne, after a moderate turnover of 14,665 lots during the day.Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida noted in his "Copper Today" report the "nearby macro headwinds" supporting the copper price, "with...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices declined slightly on Thursday October 15 with some market participants sensing the start of some price stability after several consecutive downward corrections, trade sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $118.70 per tonne, down $0.82 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $119.04 per tonne, down $0.94 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grad...Read More
Fastmarkets' seaborne premium hard coking coal cfr index edged down day on day on Thursday October 15, with Chinese buyers sitting on the market sidelines, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $124.21 per tonne, unchanged Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $134.27 per tonne, down $0.71 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $108.52 per tonne, unchangedHard coking...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) moved sharply higher in September, in line with our expectations, but the magnitude of the rise exceeded our predictions. Domestic HRC prices averaged $566 per ton in September, exceeding our $540 per ton forecast price.A c...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Although we correctly forecast a significant rise in hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in the United States in September 2020, our price forecast proved too conservative.An impressive V-shaped recovery in key economic fundamentals critical to steel consumption is driving stronger demand for steel at the start of the fourth quarte...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 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 Albras aluminium smelter joint venture in Brazil has ramped up production after the seven-month stoppage of one of its lines due to an electrical transformer catching fire, the company said on Wednesday October 14."Ramp-up conclusion on production line 1 will allow us to resume full capacity at Albras for all four lines," Albras president, Jo??o Batista Menezes, said in a written statement.The...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month prices of copper and aluminium made small gains in trading on Thursday October 15, with the red metal rising by 1%.The LME three-month copper price closed at $6,783 per tonne, after a moderate turnover of 14,665 lots during the day.Fastmarkets analyst Andy Farida noted in his "Copper Today" report the "nearby macro headwinds" supporting the copper price, "with...Read More
The spot market for copper scrap in the United States remained quiet week on week, with sellers finding it difficult to move material while discounts widen amid lukewarm demand. Meanwhile, the brass scrap market remained strong, supported by sustained domestic demand."The market is saturated with scrap, primarily due to soft domestic consumer demand as well as soft export demand," a major scrap co...Read More
Chinese alumina market buying interest in seaborne cargoes grew significantly this week following a steady appreciation of the yuan since Monday, with many hoping to lock in relatively cheaper material compared with the domestic market. A higher volume of inquiries and deals over the course of the week took the benchmark alumina index on an uptrend since Tuesday. Fastmarkets' alumina index, f...Read More
Chilean copper producer Codelco has offered a copper premium of $98 per tonne to its European clients on top of the London Metal Exchange price for 2021 contracts, Fastmarkets learned."We do not [think there will be any] significant changes in Europe," one company source said. Starting in 2019, Codelco introduced flexible terms...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange held on to gains made earlier in the week during morning trading on Thursday October 15, despite a downturn in Chinese producer and consumer prices last month prompting selling pressure, while a fresh cancellation in tin kept the metal's price elevated. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $15,395 per tonne, holding We...Read More
Prices for steel reinforcing bar in the United States again held steady week on week, with domestic mills still generally collecting the majority of their price increases announced in early September. Market participants said that last month's $40-per-ton ($2-per-cwt) price increase from US mills so far has resulted in transaction prices that are $12-35 per short ton ($0.60-1.75 per hundredweight)...Read More
ArcelorMittal Europe has announced details of the CO2 technology strategy that will enable it to offer its first 'green steel' solutions to customers this year, the company said on Tuesday October 13.A two-pronged approach to CO2 technology will enable it to offer 30,000 tonnes of green steel in 2020, which will be scaled up to 120,000 tonnes in 2021 and 600,000 tonnes by 2022, the company said."O...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices remained stable in Egypt in the week to Thursday October 15 while trading activity was modest amid a lack of clarity over market conditions, sources said.Several market sources reported that safeguarding duties for imported billet and rebar had been reduced in the country earlier in the week, although no official documents had been provided to Fastmarkets by the time...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were fairly stable day on day on Thursday October 15 with buyers preferring to hold back from making new deals until the price trend becomes clear, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?495.63 ($582.18) per tonne on Thursday October 15, up by ?,?0.63 per tonn...Read More
The domestic and export billet prices in Turkey have gone down slightly over the past week in line with the downturn in scrap costs, sources said on Thursday October 15.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey was $287.22 per tonne on Wednesday October 14, down from $291.59 per tonne on October 7.As a result, Turkish steelmakers reduced their offers for...Read More
Turkish steel producers went quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets once again on Thursday October 15 after the recent slight upturn in prices. The most recent cargo from the US marked the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price at $287 per tonne cfr on Wednesday October 14, compared with the previous US cargo sold at $285 per tonne on the same basis. But the prices of downstream rebar and billet exports were down in...Read More