The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.There has been an increasing bullishness in Chinese steel market sentiment recently, with rising post-Covid-19 optimism about the country's economy for the second half of 2020, especially after the government announced an infrastructure spending boost. Although we believe that high prices are justified, they remain far from...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
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in the EU have moved up over the week to Wednesday September 30, despite trading activity remaining slow, market sources have said.Price recovery was supported by higher slab costs and a positive trend in the market for steel coil.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?480-490 ($562-574) per tonne on...Read More
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the publication time of its weekly steel billet and slab export prices for Iran-origin material in order to better capture the full extent of market activity, and to bring the specifications into line with the majority of Fastmarkets' other regional steel price assessments.The current publication time for both price assessments is Wednesday, 1-2pm London time.The prop...Read More
Arbitrage opportunities dictated metal stock movements in Shanghai's bonded zone over September, with substantial moves in copper, zinc and aluminium inventories.Aluminium in bonded warehouses is now at its highest in three years, while traders poured copper into warehouses rather than importing due to a negative arbitrage and weak demand. Shanghai bonded copper stocks grow by 15% on closed arbitr...Read More
Global zinc and lead premiums remained unchanged across all regions in the week to Tuesday September 29, although increased buying appetite from Indian battery makers supported the Indian lead premium, Fastmarkets heard.A favorable arbitrage gain attracted several thousands of tonnes of zinc into China last weekChina's zinc market quietens into this week ahead of the week-long national Golden Week...Read More
China nickel ore prices continued their ascent in the week to Tuesday September 29 - outstripping other regional prices - while United States briquette premiums narrowed at the bottom end of the range and consumers began to restock ahead of the fourth quarter, sources said.China's nickel ore price rally continues unabated while regional nickel sulfate prices downThe already-low US premiums narrow...Read More
The return of a contango across LME copper's benchmark cash/three-month spread prompted fluctuations across Asian physical premiums this week, after sizeable cargoes were delivered into LME-registered warehouses. Yet ample availability and lackluster demand in both the US and European grade A cathode markets saw premium levels hold while the metal's three-month LME price continues to trade fi...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have climbed to their highest since early March while some mills have been quoting higher yet again.Fastmarkets calculated the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US at $30.29 per hundredweight ($605.80 per short ton) on Wednesday September 30, up by 0.4% from $30.17 per cwt on Tuesday September 29 and up by 1.7% from $29.79 per cwt on September...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe inched up over the week to Wednesday September 30, driven by reduced output from domestic mills and a lack of competitive import offers, sources have told Fastmarkets.Sentiment in the market has been mixed because some participants expected prices to rise further, while others expected them to remain at their current level.Fastmarkets calculated its da...Read More
Prices in the Iranian export market for steel billet strengthened in the week to Wednesday September 30, supported by activity on the traders' side.Offers from Iranian mills have not been numerous because some of them have already sold out their October export allocations. Some mills have not placed any tenders for three consecutive weeks.Several cargoes of Iran-origin billet scheduled for product...Read More
A correction has been issued for this article.The...Read More
Steel H-beam prices in Europe remained flat this week despite more producers announcing fresh increases, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?530-570 ($620-667) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week."The market is a bit tricky - prices increase, but demand is low," a trader...Read More
The stainless steel scrap market in the United States has continued to deteriorate amid weakening nickel prices, with the official nickel cash contract on the London Metal Exchange declining by nearly 60 cents per lb over the month of September.Scrap processors and dealers reported a severe lack of supply, with many industries either shut down or greatly reducing production.The major stainless con...Read More
Turkish steel producers extended their absence from the deep-sea scrap market amid weak finished steel demand, sources said on Wednesday September 30.Two Baltic Sea cargoes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) were sold to Turkey at $296 per tonne cfr late last week, were the first deals heard since September 9, when the price was $301 per tonne cfr. ...Read More
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 have told Fastmarkets.Bashundhara will start work in January 2021 on a three-factory steelmaking complex to be located in a new economic zone in Mirsarai, Chattogram, according to a Bangladeshi steelmaker source.T...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices gained ground on Wednesday September 30 following the rise in futures prices, while the decrease in steel inventories and China's increasing manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) also supported prices, according to sources. Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.47 per tonne, up $5.86 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $123.49 per...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices across the board were relatively stable on Wednesday September 30 while the Golden Week holiday (October 1-8) in China approaches, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.55 per tonne, up $0.07 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $145.10 per tonne, up $0.13 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $112.26 per tonne, unchangedHa...Read More
All base metals, with the exception of lead, recorded further declines of deliverable stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses during the week to Wednesday September 30, according to the exchange's weekly inventory report.The decline in inventories for most base metals was mainly to cover production needs during the upcoming Golden Week holiday in China on October 1-7, according to...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices, with the exception of copper and tin, were trading down on the previous day's close on Wednesday September 30, with encouraging Chinese manufacturing data eclipsed by a stronger dollar and continued uncertainty regarding US economic fiscal stimulus. Chinese Caixin Manufacturing purchase managers' index (PMI) data remained in expansionary territ...Read More