Iron ore prices went down again on Wednesday September 15 with concerns about further steel production restrictions depressing iron ore demand outlook, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $116.65 per tonne, down $5.02 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $117.80 per tonne, down $4.83 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $88.53 per tonne...Read More
Following a trade of US-origin premium hard coking coal on Wednesday September 15, Fastmarkets' index for premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang registered its largest-ever daily increase.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $560 per tonne, up $66.83 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $464.78 per tonne, up $11.91 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $358.67 per...Read More
London Metal Exchange prices bounced back on September 15, with lead the only metal under selling pressure. Aluminium had an intraday high of $2,924 per tonne. This is its highest price since it touched $3,000 per tonne on Monday prior to the sell-off on Monday afternoon. Its closing price was lower, at $2,893 per tonne, but still 2.2% higher than Tuesday's closing price. Similarly, nickel's...Read More
London Metal Exchange ring dealing members have a decision to make - whether to remain one or not.The LME has just announced it will reopen the open outcry trading floor, which was temporarily closed due to Covid-19, on September 6.Its plan, however, comes with a twist; some ring dealers say, a knife.The official prices - which the global trade and industry use as the global reference for physical...Read More
Zinc producers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan should be able to fully resume their operations by mid-June, sources said.Yunnan will remove its power restrictions by the end of June that have stunted local zinc output, the provincial energy bureau said.A few zinc smelters in Yunnan have already resumed production, however, sources that spoke to Fastmarkets said.Production capa...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected the pricing rationale for MB-CO-0005 cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $ per lb, which was published incorrectly on Wednesday September 15 due to reporter errors.The range of offers was entered incorrectly for publication in the rationale as $24.30-24.80 per lb, and has been corrected to $24.60-24.80 per lb.One bid at $24.30 was discarded from the assessment due to...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Fastmarkets analysts were invited to present our outlook for the coking coal market at Coaltrans Asia, held online on November 23-25. One of the key topics at the event was the trade tensions between China and Australia, which overtook Mongolia to become the largest coking coal exporter to China this year...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Bulk ferro-alloy prices have shown impressive gains again this month, with ferro-silicon, silicon metal and manganese alloy prices all making significant increases. Noble alloy markets also enjoyed upward momentum, with both vanadium and molybdenum prices rising sharply.Recovering demand from steelmakers globally, together w...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in Europe remained flat in the week to Wednesday September 15, with trading activity slowing down ahead of the imminent renewal of quarterly European import quotas, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?1,400-1,430 ($1,654-1,689) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since...Read More
Inner Mongolia, China's ferro-chrome production heartland, has imposed restrictions on its metallurgical sector in a move that has fueled the high-carbon ferro-chrome markets in China and Europe, and although this may ease off, the gains were unlikely to be lost while alloy ramp-ups continue, sources have told Fastmarkets.The decision to restrict energy consumption in Inner Mongolia since December...Read More
Chinese heavy steel plate export prices edged up in the week to Tuesday September 14, despite only limited trading activity, possibly influenced by vessel shortages and higher freight fees, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for November-shipment steel heavy plate, export, fob China main port was $910-920 per tonne on Tuesday, up by $5-10 per tonne from a week earlier.Ying...Read More
The latest forecasts and analysis of the ferrous scrap and iron metallics market from the Fastmarkets research team are ready to be viewed.Stifled automotive output this year, driven by a supply shortage of semiconductor chips used in vehicles, has tightened prime scrap availability and widened the spreads between this grade of steelmaking raw material and obsolete scrap.While wide prime-over-obso...Read More
China's domestic spot market for high-carbon ferro-chrome went up in the week to Tuesday September 14, reflecting tight availability and an expectation of good consumer demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot, 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, rose by 100-200 yuan per tonne to 10,000-10,300 yuan ($1,553-1,599) per tonne on Tuesday, from 9,800-10,200 yuan per tonne previou...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday September 15.Please click...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Bulk and noble alloys both moved largely in line with our price forecasts globally over the past month, though several markets surprised to the upside, exceeding our forecast gains. Stronger-than-forecast pricing momentum was primarily triggered by supply shortages in numerous...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR? Impressive advances in ore and alloy prices persisted in March, with most markets posting significant price gains. Strengthening demand from steelmakers along with supply shortages and depleted inventories in numerous markets, as well as freight and transportation...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Alex Cook, Janie Davies...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Alex Cook, Janie Davies...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
Negative sentiment is prevailing among European buyers of hot-rolled coil, but mills managed to keep prices fairly stable in Italy and Northern Europe on Wednesday September 15, sources told Fastmarkets.Reduced demand from the automotive sector and cheap import material booked earlier this year that has arrived in the European Union and is awaiting customs clearance have been supporting the bearis...Read More