The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.We spoke in our previous tracker of stainless steel prices ending 2020 on a high. That trend has continued during early 2021 and, in fact, the upward rally in prices has increased its momentum.Compared with the monthly price increase of some 5% seen at the end of 2020, prices for grade-304 stainless steel in al...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Prices of stainless steel are generally set to reach highs for the year as 2020 comes to a close. For the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel, this upward trend is being driven above all by rising nickel prices, which themselves are hitting relatively high levels into the end of 2020.The price increases si...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While much commentary has been written about Asian economies performing far better than those elsewhere this year during the global Covid-19 pandemic, it is stainless steel markets in Europe and the United States that are ending the year in better shape than their Asian counterparts.We do not talk of demand levels or demand g...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.While a world leader in many areas, the United States is a relatively small player when it comes to stainless steel. It produces a small amount of material, both in absolute and relative terms (i.e. compared to the size of its population), while a large share of its industry is in the hands of bigger European companies. Never...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe increased day on day on Tuesday March 23, supported by strong demand combined with tight supply, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?808.33 ($962.95) per tonne on Tuesday March 23, up by ?,?10.33 per tonne from ?,?798.00 per tonne on March 22.The index was...Read More
All base-metals futures prices on the London Metal Exchange except for tin were down on the afternoon of Tuesday March 23, with the US Dollar Index at its highest in two weeks and some metals-related news pushing down prices - aluminium, in particular.Aluminium's price fell by the most in the complex on Tuesday, by 2.3% to $2,219 per tonne. This followed news that the Chinese government could rele...Read More
A summary of Belgian antimony chemicals producer and lead recycler Campine's financial results for the full-year 2020, as stated in its earnings report published on Tuesday March 23.In brief Campine's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) totaled nearly ?,?7.18 million ($8.55 million), down by 23.48% from ?,?9.38 million in 2019. Revenue totaled ?,?166.9...Read More
Aluminium consumers are stepping up demand for products that allow them to reduce their carbon footprint via metal produced using low emissions, the chief commercial officer of Alcoa Corp said. Tim Reyes, who is also executive vice president of the United States-based producer, said that the company's recent deal to supply a combination of low- and zero-carbon aluminium to produce the wheels on Au...Read More
China's bullish aluminium market sentiment was dampened amid rumors that the State Reserve Bureau (SRB) would dump its aluminium reserves to cool down an over-heated market, Fastmarkets learned on Tuesday March 23.SRB is rumored to be releasing 300,000-500,000 tonnes of aluminium stocks to the market soon, sources said.Shanghai Futures Exchange aluminium's front month contract touched its lowest a...Read More
Alcoa Corp is supplying low- and zero-carbon aluminium for the wheels on carmaker Audi's e-tron GT, which will make it the first vehicle to use metal from its Elysis joint venture.The wheels are being manufactured by Ronal Group using a combination of Alcoa's low-carbon aluminium, EcoLum, and metal produced using the Elysis zero-carbon emissions smelting technology. Elysis - a joint venture betwee...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States dropped slightly but were still near the all-time record, while spot-market availability was forecast to be tight through the current quarter. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated $65.69 per hundredweight ($1,313.80 per short ton) on Tuesday March 23, a slight decrease from a record-high $65.78 per cwt on Monday Marc...Read More
Usiminas' steel production and shipments rose during the first quarter, with the steelmaker increasing capacity to meet growing demand in Brazil, it said on Monday March 22.The Brazilian steelmaker produced 1.11 million tonnes of rolled steel in the first quarter up to March 20, or an average 14,038 tonnes per day - up by 18.84% from 11,813 tonnes per day in the whole first quarter 2020 and by 12....Read More
Steel sales volumes from distributors in Brazil rose by 9.80% during February 2021, compared with the corresponding month last year, with demand still strong, national distributors' association Inda said on Tuesday March 23.Brazilian distributors sold 312,300 tonnes of flat-rolled steel in February, up from 284,600 tonnes a year before. The February figure, however, was down by 3.80% from 324,600...Read More
The export market for CIS-origin steel billet remained quiet this week, with buyers adopting a wait-and-see stance while they await clarity on the direction of prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Billet buyers in Turkey, one of the major markets for CIS-origin semi-finished material have refrained from making any purchases since the sharp devaluation of Turkish lira at the weekend.The dramatic fall i...Read More
Flat steel import offer prices to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased sharply in the week to Tuesday, March 23, although only a few offers were received, sources told Fastmarkets."Most mills in China and India have stopped offering this week and any new offers are expected to be even higher, [but] demand is very weak in our region," a UAE-based trader said.China and India are the m...Read More
Demand for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates was poor during the week ending Tuesday March 23 with local rebar producers announcing unchanged prices, sources have told Fastmarkets.Rebar producers in the UAE rolled over their prices with effect from March 22.The country's steel producers were officially offering rebar at 2,530-2,545 dirhams ($689-693) per tonne ex-works, but deals...Read More
Turkish steelmakers have continued to hold back from the deep-sea scrap import markets after the unexpected sacking last weekend of the governor of the country's central bank, which caused a sharp decrease in the exchange-rate value of the lira, market sources said on Tuesday March 23.The Turkish lira crashed at the beginning of the week following the sudden decision by President Recep Tayyip Erdo...Read More
Bulk freight problems and strong billet demand from China have led to a sharp rise in the steel billet-scrap spread in recent weeks, Fastmarkets pricing data shows.The premium that Fastmarkets' assessment price for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast Asia carries over the assessment for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam rose to $165 per tonne on Friday March 19 - the highest level recorded...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices slipped in both the cfr and fob market on Tuesday March 23, with more trading activity at lower prices in the latter market.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $111.64 per tonne, down $2.26 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $212.59 per tonne, down $0.64 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $104.65 per tonne, down $1.60 per...Read More
Iron ore prices rose amid more active steelmakers at the Chinese portside because of re-stocking inventories, sources said on Tuesday March 23.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $161.80 per tonne, up $4.79 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $162.00 per tonne, up $4.88 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $146.17 per tonne, up $3.09 per tonne65% F...Read More