Dollar Tree (DLTR), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $115.45 extending an intermediate uptrend.Pre-opening Comments for Monday March 29thU.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 19 points in pre-opening trade.Boeing gained $6.61 to $251.48 after Sourthwest Airlines placed new orders for 100 Boeing 737 Max 7 jets. Twitter advanced $1.31 to $62.57 after Truist r...Read More
The rapid increase in Covid-19 infections in Brazil, a shortage of auto parts and the decision by authorities to bring holidays forward prompted at least four more Brazilian automakers to suspend their production sites in the week to Friday March 26, Fastmarkets understands. Renault, Daimler under its Mercedes-Benz brand, Nissan and Toyota are the latest manufacturers to announce a suspension of a...Read More
The Hybrit joint venture in Scandinavia is to build the world's first production plant for fossil-free direct-reduced iron (DRI) in G??llivare, Sweden.Set up by Swedish steelmaker SSAB, and two state-owned entities - iron ore producer LKAB and energy group Vattenfall - Hybrit's demonstration plant will be ready to produce 1.3 million tonnes of fossil-free DRI in 2026, the companies said this...Read More
China exported 1.81 million tonnes of hot-rolled coil in the first two months of 2021, an increase of 150% from the same year-earlier period, according to the country's customs data.Vietnam was the biggest buyer of Chinese HRC in January and February with 709,228 tonnes, accounting for 39% of China's total exports. China's exports of hot-dipped galvanized flat steel also exceeded one million tonne...Read More
The Shanghai Futures Exchange's plans to list ferro-chrome futures, potentially this year, will bring welcomed hedging opportunities and may weaken the dominance of China's stainless steel mills in the ore and alloy markets, participants told Fastmarkets.While no definite date or specifications of the ferro-chrome futures have been announced, Fastmarkets asked participants what changes these contr...Read More
Usually after a London Metal Exchange discussion paper there is a decent idea of what the outcome is likely to be. But this time around, it seems much harder to tell which path the LME will take. The proposals under debate include the permanent closure of the exchange's open outcry trading floor, known as the ring, which dates back to 1877. They also include the incentivization of electronic trade...Read More
When considering the prospects for the new Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) copper contract, a senior executive at one of the world's largest metals trading companies quoted Hamlet's soliloquy in the Shakespearian play of the same name."In terms of promotion of the internationalization of the renminbi and weakening of the pricing power of the [London Metal Exchange] and CME: 'To be or...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.In both Europe and the United States, the prices of most flat steel products have pushed to record highs in the weeks to Monday March 22. They remain slightly below their mid-2008 peaks in China, but are at multi-year highs there too.This illustrates in part the heavier consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for steelmakers in...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese seamless linepipe prices have jumped by $120 per tonne over the past month because of rising costs. With iron ore prices remaining elevated, scrap costs on the rise, and activity at steel mills curbed by environmental measures, steel billet has become difficult to source, bolstering the prices for seamless linep...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. This month's key North American steel forecast highlights: US hot-rolled coil prices continued to move in line with our forecasts in February, although actual prices again modestly exceeded our forecasts. Domestic HRC prices averaged $1,194 per ton in February, exceeding our forecast price of $1,150 per ton for the month. U...Read More
The conclusion of various holiday seasons, the end of winter, the progress of Covid-19 vaccination programs, and the will to return to more normal ways of life were all strong positives for the global long steel products market, the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) said last week.The current situation and sentiment were generally very good in the world's long steel ma...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
The cargo ship traffic jam on the Suez Canal in Egypt is exacerbating the shortage of primary aluminium billet supplies in Europe, resulting in higher premiums on Friday, March 26. The canal, which is the key route for shipments between Europe and Asia, has been blocked by the large containership Ever Given since late on Tuesday, resulting in a floating traffic jam of more than 100 vessels. "...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price reached a new year-to-date high of $2,301 per tonne shortly before 5pm on Friday March 26 and was the only metal to record an increase from the start of the week. A surge in aluminium trading on Friday afternoon took the price to its highest since June 12, 2018, at the height of the US trade tensions. The price hit a peak of $2,353 per tonne in...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis declined to their lowest level since November 2020 on Friday March 26, with oversupply of units continuing to stoke bearishness.Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia was calculated at $274.50 per tonne on Friday, down by $5.57 from $280.07 per tonne the previous day. The index has dropped 5.1% since the start of the week when the index was at $289.09 pe...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Susan Zou and Sybil Pan...Read More
Key data from the Friday March 26 pricing session in London.Key drivers Ferro-molybdenum and molybdic oxide prices continue to fall in response to weeks of slow buying interest, and ample availability, particularly of alloy. Volumes picked up during the second half of the week ended Friday,...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in China, Europe and the United States on Friday March 26.China The China ferro-silicon price dropped after two weeks of plummeting futures and reduced demand from steel mills, but sentiment has improved slightly due to new production disruptions in Inner Mongolia, with some suppliers intending to stick with their current offers.Junzheng Group in In...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions on Friday March 26 in the Asia-Pacific region.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates treatment charge/refining charge (TC/RC) index, cif Asia-Pacific, resumed its downtrend this week after a slight rebound in mid-March.This was the third week the TC index has remained below the level of $30 per tonne.Smelters were less...Read More
Key data from pricing session in London on Friday March 26.Key drivers: Parcels of metal continue to be available below the previous range from those looking to take profit, with some traders now reporting being interested in buying now that the low end of...Read More