An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday September 3.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in Europe, China and the United States on Friday September 3.China The Chinese ferro-silicon market turned bullish following the news that Inner Mongolia may conduct a round of production cuts due to its electricity limits, with many producers holding offers firm. Ningxia's production cuts, intended to meet the energy consumption dual control targets, al...Read More
Chilean copper production in July was close to stability when compared with the corresponding month of 2020, amid increased output from Codelco and a drop reported by Escondida and Collahuasi, the country's copper commission, Cochilco, said on Thursday September 2.Chile produced 465,000 tonnes of copper in July, a slight decrease of 0.02% from 465,100 tonnes a year before but down by 2.58% from 47...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 North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? US sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum persisting into June. Actual US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $1,553 per ton in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,540 per ton. Prices remain supported by strong underlying sup...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.United States sheet prices hit record highs again in May, with upward momentum carrying into June. Actual US HRC prices averaged $1,712 per tonne in May, largely in line with our forecast of $1,698 per tonne. Strong underlying supply-and-demand conditions both in the US and globally are supporting prices as well as long lead...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: SHFE tailwind for LME pricesAs we are entering the traditional strong demand season, we expect Chinese aluminium demand to show further recovery, and we expect demand from existing end-user sectors, new infrastructure projects and the export sector to show some increases. As a result, we believe that 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
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday September 3.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Turkish prices for flat steel products kept decreasing during August because of the holiday season and a global downtrend in prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 2.Iron ore prices in particular decreased significantly in August, leading to price falls for steel end products. Fastmarkets' daily calculation of the index for iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao was $142.02 per tonne o...Read More
Three-month aluminium futures on the London Metal Exchange closed at their highest level for a decade on Friday September 3, with the base-metals complex broadly making gains despite jobs data from the United States coming in dramatically lower than expected.The LME aluminium contract closed at $2,727 per tonne on Friday, up by 1.1% from Thursday's close and its highest since May 3, 2011. This cam...Read More
Premium hard coking coal fob prices jumped on the latest trade on Friday September 3, indicating a promising outlook for the fob market. And the low-volatility pulverized coal injection (PCI) price in the cfr market soared due to tight supply from Russia, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $441.97 per tonne, down by $1.05 per tonneHard coking coal, cfr Jingtang...Read More
Switzerland-based metals trader MRI Trading has hired Anant Mishra to head its office in South Africa, Fastmarkets heard on Friday September 3.Mishra will join MRI later this month from Vedanta Resources, where he has worked since 2004,...Read More
Fastmarkets copper concentrate processing charges continued to rise in the week to Friday September 3.Copper smelters were buying a few spot parcels of concentrates, Fastmarkets heard, with transactions for October cargoes heard at $60s per tonne for standard clean concentrates.Miners have put more tonnages onto the spot market for sale. Some Escondida and Toromocho parcels were...Read More
The anticipated agreement between the European Union and the United States on Section 232 tariffs would boost flat-steel export sales to the US and, consequently, reduce domestic EU availability, triggering a price rise in Europe, European buyers told Fastmarkets.The US and EU will reach an agreement on the exemption from Section 232 of European imports of steel and aluminium by November 1. The US...Read More
The market for pig iron imports in the United States went down during the week to Friday September 3 on active bookings at lower prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $530-535 per tonne on Friday, down from $545-550 per tonne cfr a week before.Russia-origin pig iron was booked at $530-535...Read More
Three-month aluminium futures on the London Metal Exchange closed at their highest level for a decade on Friday September 3, with the base-metals complex broadly making gains despite jobs data from the United States coming in dramatically lower than expected.The LME aluminium contract closed at $2,727 per tonne on Friday, up by 1.1% from Thursday's close and its highest since May 3, 2011. This cam...Read More
The supervisory board of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe has extended Bernhard Osburg's contract as chairman for another five years to June 30, 2027, the company said earlier this week.Osburg has been chairman of the executive board since March 2020, succeeding Premal Desai. He has been a member of the executive board since June 2019 with a focus on sales and innovation.In a meeting on August 31,...Read More
Some flat steel prices in Turkey fell in the week to Friday, September 3, with demand starting to improve on buyer restocking activity, sources told Fastmarkets.But while some market participants said they now expect prices to fall further because of the global price downturn, others said prices were likely to remain stable because of the improvement in demand.Prices in the Commonwealth of Indepen...Read More
Prices in the Commonwealth of Independent States' pig iron export market fell during the week to Thursday September 2 on bearish buyers in all outlets.Fastmarkets assessed the price for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS at $490-505 per tonne on Thursday, down from $510-520 per tonne the previous week."Activity has appeared in China, that will stimulate sales in all othe...Read More