China will be able to absorb the large volumes of ore and ferro-alloys supply it imported in the first half of this year, but supply concerns loom, Fastmarkets head of research Alistair Ramsay said during a recent Fastmarkets webinar on Covid-19 and what it means for trade flow and demand for key ferro-alloys and ores."It is been an extraordinary period with record levels of ores and ferro-alloys...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday September 16.Please click...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Wednesday September 16, with lower than expected US retail data doing little to slow the upward momentum in LME zinc futures.Despite the US Federal Reserve's continued efforts to bolster the US economy, projections for a continued low-interest rate strategy failed to stop a slip below $1,900 per tonne...Read More
Iron ore prices slumped further on Wednesday September 16, on weaker-than-expected demand for steel, raising concerns that the market could start to move into bearish territory as it did in 2019.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.20 per tonne, down $4.32 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $124.40 per tonne, down $4.50 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grad...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Prices for hot-rolled coil have performed in line with our expectations over the past month, with US domestic HRC prices finding a floor in July in line with the forecast, before improving in August. US HRC prices averaged $473 per short ton in August, compared with our forecast price of $470 per ton.Our prediction that an i...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday September 16.Please click...Read More
European heavy steel plate prices were fairly stable in the week to Wednesday September 16, with steelmakers insisting on higher offers due to high costs for raw materials and semi-finished products, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was ?,?480-500 ($570-593) per tonne on September 16, compared with ?,?485-500...Read More
The surprise removal of the Section 232 tariff on US aluminium imports from Canada caught aluminium traders in North America and Europe off guard, injecting enormous uncertainty into the market and into aluminium premium outlooks.Muted impact?Most US traders were hesitant to offer predictions about the action's impact on the market.Some traders anticipated little impact to the US Midwest alum...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Wednesday September 16, with lower than expected US retail data doing little to slow the upward momentum in LME zinc futures.Despite the US Federal Reserve's continued efforts to bolster the US economy, projections for a continued low-interest rate strategy failed to stop a slip below $1,900 per tonne...Read More
The world's top producing copper mine is still in the midst of a grade problem and Covid-19 is making that harder to counteract.Output at Chile's Escondida, which contributes almost 6% of global copper supply annually, will fall for the coming two years, primarily due to lower grades of ore being processed there, majority owner and operator BHP said in its annual results this week.The mine will pr...Read More
South Korea's Public Procurement Service (PPS) has now closed a tender to procure 500 tonnes of primary aluminium from a western origin, according to a notice published by the state agency on Tuesday September 15.The tender was issued on September 2 and sought high-grade aluminium of a London Metal Exchange-registered brand, for shipment to the port of Incheon. Material from China, India, Russia a...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view, including revisions to our copper, tin and zinc demand outlooks. We have also marked to market our copper and nickel price forecasts. Aluminium: Macro sentiment only temporarily negative Aluminium and the other base metals have been recently undermined by a pause in global risk-taking appetite and a rebound in t...Read More
JSW Steel Italia, part of Indian steelmaker JSW Steel, plans to resume liquid steel production at the former Aferpi mill in Italy by 2025 via construction an electric-arc furnace (EAF) with financial support from the Italian government, Fastmarkets has learned.Representatives of JSW Steel Italia earlier this week presented an industrial plan for the Piombino, Italy-based mill, formerly k...Read More
Italian steel re-roller Marcegaglia plans to revamp the furnace for one of the four galvanizing lines at its Ravenna plant in Italy, the steelmaker said on Tuesday September 15.The renovation will increase the production of rolled products to 160 tonnes per hour and will reduce emissions, it added.The producer also continues to work on the construction of two cogeneration plants in Ravenna and Gaz...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil jumped week on week across Europe on Wednesday September 16, driven by reduced output from domestic steelmakers and limited availability of imported coil, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?482.62 ($572.80) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?5.64 per tonne day on day from...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Prices for hot-rolled coil have performed in line with our expectations over the past month, with US domestic HRC prices finding a floor in July in line with the forecast, before improving in August. US HRC prices averaged $473 per short ton in August, compared with our forecast price of $470 per ton.Our prediction that an i...Read More
Hollow steel sections prices in Europe moved up this week, with feedstock costs rising at a fast pace due to raw materials shortages, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 16.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?570-585 ($677-694) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?550-570 per tonne a week ago. The price of hot-roll...Read More
While recyclers operating at East Coast docks have raised prices to fill existing orders, expectations have been growing that the international ferrous scrap market has peaked and is gearing up for a downward correction.Turkish steelmakers have been silent in the deep-sea scrap market since September 9, when mills bought four cargoes from Europe, Canada and the United States.The last US deals incl...Read More
Turkish steelmakers continued to hold back from deep-sea scrap purchases amid weak finished long steel demand, especially in the domestic market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 16.Steel producers in the country booked seven deep-sea scrap cargoes, totalling around 230,000 tonnes, in the first half of last week before stepping away from the market on September 10.The price of HMS 1...Read More
Prices for cargoes of steel scrap exported from Japan fell for most grades on Wednesday September 16 following a drop in appetite among South Korean steelmakers and a worsening of the market environment, sources have told Fastmarkets.Several producers in South Korea were undertaking maintenance work in September-October, reducing the requirements for scrap in the country and thus also reducing the...Read More