Nickel premiums in the US rose while premiums in Europe and Asia were stable, sources told Fastmarkets.US briquette premium rises 9%Demand continues to bolster European premiumClosed arbitrage in Asia keeps premium flatStrong fundamentals boost seaborne sulfate premiumPremiums rise as higher offers gain traction Nickel premiums in the United States rose, with the premium for nickel briquette up by...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices on Wednesday June 2 recovered most of the losses from a day earlier amid costlier raw materials such as iron ore and coke. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,000-5,020 yuan ($784-787) per tonne, up by 100 yuan per tonne Rising prices for steelmaking raw materials are making rebar mills lose money, an industry analyst said.Fastmarkets' index for iron ore 62% Fe fines,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have been expecting us to be reporting sharply-lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.This is not the case, at least in Europe and the Unite...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Recent weeks have brought two key developments with regard to trade policy on stainless steel products that will be to the detriment of consumers.In China, the country's stainless steelmakers no longer enjoy a 13% export rebate as of May 1, reducing greatly their incentive to export and instead leading them to focus on supply...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 2 that are worth another look.Recent weakness in Chinese export hot-rolled coil prices are likely to have minimal impact on prices in Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States - major flat steel suppliers - at least in the short term,...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The upward momentum in United States' flat product prices is yet to show any signs of slowing, with US HRC prices hitting new record highs during April. Steel supply is forecast to remain short of demand due to no improvement in underlying supply and demand fundamentals, which is propelling US flat product prices higher...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe rose on Wednesday June 2 after a rise in demand led to mills struggling to keep up, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,320-1340 ($1,614-1,638) per tonne on June 2, up from ?,?1,250-1,320 per tonne on May 26.Hollow section producers had less material to offer cust...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections in Europe rose on Wednesday June 2 after a rise in demand led to mills struggling to keep up, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?1,320-1340 ($1,614-1,638) per tonne on June 2, up from ?,?1,250-1,320 per tonne on May 26.Hollow section producers had less material to offer cust...Read More
An overview of the specialty steel raw materials markets in Europe and their latest price moves.Ewa Manthey, Charlotte...Read More
Domestic prices for European heavy steel plate were unchanged over the week to Wednesday June 2, due to holidays in a number of EU countries, sources have told Fastmarkets.Sentiment in the market remained positive, however, and demand was expected to recover next week, market sources said."Demand is fine. I think we will see it improving further due to [the emergence of new] projects and long-term...Read More
Fastmarkets has decided to revise the outlier detection method used in the calculation of its copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index. Following a one-month consultation, Fastmarkets will proceed to revise the outlier detection method used in the calculation of its copper concentrate TC/RC index to reflect spot market changes. Changes will take effect on Friday June 4. The p...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view, including an upgrade to our aluminium price forecasts.Aluminium: Price forecasts raisedWe correctly expected the macro reflationary theme to raise the prices for all base metals but, with it being the base metal with by far the weakest fundamentals, we had expected the price of aluminium to underperform relative...Read More
Nickel and zinc's three-month prices were the main metals to register small rises on June 2, while aluminium and copper futures contracts fell on a day of low volumes on the London Metal Exchange with the complex still finding its direction following a strong end to May. LME nickel's three-month price rose slightly to $18,236 per tonne on Wednesday from $18,130 per tonne on Tuesday, despite hittin...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday June 2.Please click...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.These include an increase in our copper mine disruption estimates, upgrades to our production outlook for Indonesian nickel pig iron (NPI), a smaller refined zinc surplus, and an upgrade to our zinc price forecasts.Aluminium: Big disconnect between price and fundamentalsAluminium has extended its uptrend on the London Metal...Read More
European steel H-beam prices moved up again on Wednesday June 2, with producers achieving continuous price increases with little resistance from customers, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?940-970 ($1,149-1,186) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?900-920 per tonne one week earlier. Some mills have steppe...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:Unprecedentedly high flat steel product pricing in the United States was forecast to persist through the current quarter and well into the second half of 2021.Actual US hot-rolled coil prices in April slightly outpaced our forecasts, with Fastmarkets' US HRC index ave...Read More
A Bangladeshi mill has returned to the United States deep-sea ferrous scrap market to secure two cargoes from separate shippers at a $70-per-tonne increase compared with the last-reported sale to the region.A West Coast exporter sold a cargo to Bangladesh comprising 7,000 tonnes of an 80:20 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap priced at $535 per tonne cfr and 25,000 tonnes of shredded scrap pric...Read More
European steel H-beam prices moved up again on Wednesday June 2, with producers achieving continuous price increases with little resistance from customers, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel beams, domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?940-970 ($1,149-1,186) per tonne on Wednesday, up from ?,?900-920 per tonne one week earlier. Some mills have steppe...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday June 2.Please click...Read More