A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday August 25.Please click...Read More
Mexican steel scrap prices increased in the week ended Friday August 21, maintaining an uptrend started in late July, with the country's manufacturing sector continuing to recover gradually from the Covid-19 pandemic and companies expecting higher prices in the United States.Sources reported that at least one company in the region near the northern city of Monterrey increased its prices by around...Read More
The domestic price of hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was fairly stable day-on-day on Tuesday August 25, after a significant increase the previous day, sources have told Fastmarkets.But the region's steelmakers are targeting price further price rises.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?442.83 ($522.80) per tonne on Tuesday August 2...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday August 25 that are worth another look.Mexican steel scrap prices increased in the week ended Friday August 21, maintaining an uptrend started in late July, with the country's manufacturing sector continuing to recover gradually from the Covid-19 pandemic...Read More
Plans for a London Metal Exchange spot trading platform have sparked intense debate within the aluminium industry. But opponents and supporters don't necessarily fall into the camps that one might expect. For starters, a decision by the LME not to change its futures contract, establish a new green aluminium contract or set thresholds to define what constitutes low-carbon metal is proving key in st...Read More
Sometimes it is better to let a situation speak for itself. Alcoa, Rio Tinto Aluminium, Novelis, Constellium, Arconic, Kaiser Aluminum, Tri-Arrows Aluminum, American Metal Chemical Corp, Hydro Extrusion North America, JW Aluminum, Real Alloy, Reynolds Consumer Products, Scepter, Silberline Manufacturing Co, Smelter Service Corp and Wagstaff. The US Aluminum Association, which represents more than...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is looking for ways to boost its options market, which has been struggling for some years to replicate the growth seen in the same sector among its peers.The exchange has launched a consultation, scheduled to end on July 29, on developing electronic options via a new trading platform while retaining its current inter-office options trading structure.Items up for discussio...Read More
The apparent reaffirming of a phase one trade deal between the United States and China continued to drive an increase in London Metal Exchange three-month prices during the afternoon on Tuesday August 25, with LME base metals futures universally closing up at the 5pm kerb. The LME base metals complex has become prone to following macroeconomic developments, and today was no exception, with the lat...Read More
Prices for iron ore fines went down on Tuesday August 25, with market sources saying that the restrictions on sintering in the Tangshan area of northern China have affected demand expectations.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $122.99 per tonne, down by $2.24 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $121.20 per tonne, down by $3.58 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade pre...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices across the board remained flat on Tuesday August 25, while India was actively purchasing seaborne premium mid-volatility hard coking coal and Chinese market participants were looking forward to October, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $104.41 per tonne, up $0.32 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $114.64 per tonne, up $...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. We also review our price forecasting accuracy for the second quarter 2020.Q2 2020 price forecast performance review According to the results of Fastmarkets' Apex for the second quarter of 2020 published this week, Fastmarkets' base metals research team was the second most accurate price forecaster for nickel (99.06%), lead...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Comfortable consolidationAluminium appears comfortable consolidating for the moment, and this will leave prices in a stronger position to challenge overhanging long-term trend-line resistance from the May 2018 high, which stands at $1,670 per tonne currently.Copper: Consolidation unlikely to lastCopper reached its...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Upside breakout last weekThe price of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange surprised us with a break to the upside in the week ended July 10, when prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange raced to three-and-a-half-year highs. While we think there is more short-term upside potential if technical and liquidity fact...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Capped by oversupplyA lack of a meaningful supply adjustment to the Covid-19 demand hit is keeping the aluminium physical market oversupplied and weighing on prices, limiting the success of more buoyant macro and technical forces on prices. Our premium forecasts are under review in light of threats from the U...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.August 2020 has seen the prices of most steel products move up in tandem around the world, in contrast to recent months when steel prices have moved in different directions depending on the market.This dynamic has been seen in most coated steel markets as well, with the prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG), pre-painted...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US market at risk of slidingPrices for pipe products were at a floor in the United States in mid-August, and have been broadly stable at that level since the start of the second quarter, but they are at risk of declining further in the coming months.Drilling rig counts have yet to find a floor and have fallen below most esti...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 moved down in line with our expectations, averaging $461 per ton in July versus our forecast price of $460 per ton. Although domestic HRC prices slipped to less than $450 per ton in late July/early August, we maintain the view th...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.?EUR? US domestic prices for hot-rolled coil have moved down in line with our expectations, averaging $508 per tonne in July compared with our forecast price of $519 per tonne. While we are forecasting coil price increases in August, we have revised our expectations downward. Although steelmakers are reporting improving dema...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