A summary of the financial results for Egypt's biggest steelmaking group, Ezz Steel, for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2020.In briefEzz Steel said that its net sales were down because of, "the suspension of new building permits in particular and the drop-in construction activity in general."Egypt imposed a domestic construction ban on May 25, however, the...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices fell after news of a Baltic Sea cargo being sold into Turkey came to light on Thursday October 1.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked the Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 14,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $292 per tonne, 12,000 tonnes of shredded at $297 per tonne and 10,000 tonnes of bonus at $302 per tonne cfr.The date of the transaction, however, was...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 spread between the seaborne 62% and 65% Fe fines iron ore prices widened again in September reflecting a decision by Chinese steel mills to use a more cost-efficient blend of high grades with low grades. The average of Fastmarkets' daily 65% Fe Brazil-origin iron ore index rose by 3.8% to $136.50 per tonne cfr Qingdao in September, while the daily 62% Fe index was up by 0.5% to $123....Read More
The standstill in the CIS export market for steel billet has continued on a disparity between offers and bids, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday October 1.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was calculated at $409 per tonne on Thursday, up by $1 per tonne day on day, but stable week on week.Offers from producers varied within the range of $410-420 per tonne fob Bl...Read More
Polish ferro-silicon producer Huta Laziska is set to produce a volume close to its capacity for 80,000-90,000 tonnes per year of standard-grade ferro-silicon (Si 75%) this year, amid signs of a rise in European spot prices, an industry source has told Fastmarkets.Huta Laziska has made only minor adjustments to its output so far in 2020, due to annual planned maintenance measures that have meant on...Read More
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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 1 that are worth another look.The fast steel market recovery seen in Brazil in the past few months has led the country's steelmaker association, Instituto A??o Brasil, to revise its forecasts for 2020 up significantly from previous expectations set...Read More
A summary of the financial results for Egypt's biggest steelmaking group, Ezz Steel, for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2020.In briefEzz Steel said that its net sales were down because of, "the suspension of new building permits in particular and the drop-in construction activity in general."Egypt imposed a domestic construction ban on May 25, however, the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 30 that are worth another look.Bangladeshi conglomerate Bashundhara Group has decided to build a large steelmaking furnace that will boost the country's demand for imports of scrap steel over the coming years, sources...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 1 that are worth another look.The fast steel market recovery seen in Brazil in the past few months has led the country's steelmaker association, Instituto A??o Brasil, to revise its forecasts for 2020 up significantly from previous expectations set...Read More
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
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe were fairly stable day on day on Thursday October 1, with buyers holding back from making new deals until the market trend became clear, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?490.77 ($575.37) per tonne on Thursday, down by just ?,?0.14 per tonne from ?,?490.91 per ton...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe were fairly stable in the week to Wednesday September 30, with long lead times pushing buyers into backing away from new deals, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?560-590 ($657-692) per tonne on September 30, compared with ?,?560-580 per tonne a week earlier.The asses...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday October 1 that are worth another look.The fast steel market recovery seen in Brazil in the past few months has led the country's steelmaker association, Instituto A??o Brasil, to revise its forecasts for 2020 up significantly from previous expectations set...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange tumbled at the close of trading on Thursday October 1, while the rest of the complex reacted to news that US lawmakers remained at odds over the country's pandemic relief efforts. Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $6,387 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, declining from an intraday high of $6,710 per tonne, while turnover was at it...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price rose during morning trading on Thursday October 1, with a large fresh cancelation of some 15,075 tonnes supporting the incline while LME nickel futures similarly traded in positive territory despite thin volumes.LME lead's outright price was recently trading at $1,835.50 per tonne, climbing by 0.5% from a morning low of $1,811.50 per tonne, while tu...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and pre-market western equity index futures were for the most part firmer this morning, Thursday October 1, albeit in quiet conditions with China, Hong Kong and South Korea closed for holidays and technical problems meaning the Tokyo Stock Exchange could not open.Japan's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) climbed to 47.7 in September from...Read More
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