Tin's cash/three-month spread came to a new historic backwardation on Wednesday February 10, on the same day that a low dollar index propelled the futures contracts for all London metal Exchange base metals prices - except for zinc - to new 2021 highs. Tin's benchmark spread widened to a $2,490 per tonne backwardation during trading on Wednesday, the most on record, further proving the ongoing squ...Read More
Base metals prices were putting in a strong performance on the last trading day before the Chinese New Year holiday, with all the metals, with the exception of an already strong tin, seeing gains this morning, Wednesday February 10.Bank loans in China were at new highs in January, with aggregate financing of 5.17 trillion yuan ($802 billion)Optimism grows while focus is on vaccine rollout and US s...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The uptrend in European flat steel prices continued in January 2021 as expected, with the prices for hot-rolled coil in the North and South of the region averaging ?,?698 and ?,?686 ($840 and $826) per tonne respectively, within 1% of the Fastmarkets research forecasts.With European HRC prices climbing to their highest level...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The conequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on energy demand affected oil and gas prices through much of 2020 and weighed on drilling rates and demand for oil-country tubular goods (OCTG) in most regions.These effects were most likely to continue well into 2021 and perhaps longer, according to Fastmarkets OCTG Intelligence Serv...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. buoyant flat steel market and rising raw material prices resulted in large price rises for welded pipe products across all regions in January 2021.Increases in the price assessments for helical submerged arc-welded (HSAW) pipes were of the magnitude of $140-190 per tonne, with the exception of Europe, where prices were...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.It was only a couple of months ago that contract buyers of coated steels - represented in large part by market participants from the automotive sector - were grudgingly resigned to paying as much as ?,?100 ($120) per tonne more for their contracted shipments in 2021 compared with in 2020. Increases in contract prices of...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR?In a strong start to the year, January saw ore and alloy pricing gains across all markets priced by Fastmarkets - with the exception of Chinese silicon metal export prices, which retreated slightly last month after posting impressive gains in December 2020.The combination...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Key ferro-alloy forecast highlights for the coming months:?EUR? A strong recovery in both bulk and noble alloys is expected in 2021 but the markets are unlikely to return to the levels seen before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have seen a quicker-than-expected recovery across various regions amid the economic fal...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 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
Domestic prices in Europe for steel cold-rolled coil were fairly stable over the week to Wednesday February 10 because buyers have been holding back from making new deals until a settled price trend is seen, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?800-810 ($968-980) per tonne on February 10, unchanged over the week.The...Read More
Domestic prices for steel heavy plate started to decline across Europe over the week to Wednesday February 10 due to soft demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Heavy plate prices had gone up by ?,?50 per tonne in the South and by ?,?60-70 per tonne in the North of Europe from mid-January to the start of February this year, due to rising costs for slab feedstock and some demand recovery.Fastmarkets...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday February 10.Please click...Read More
Tin's cash/three-month spread came to a new historic backwardation on Wednesday February 10, on the same day that a low dollar index propelled the futures contracts for all London metal Exchange base metals prices - except for zinc - to new 2021 highs. Tin's benchmark spread widened to a $2,490 per tonne backwardation during trading on Wednesday, the most on record, further proving the ongoing squ...Read More
Waiting times for aluminium at warehouses across Asia increased throughout January, according to the London Metal Exchange's latest queue report. New queues have emerged in the aluminium hub of Port Klang, Malaysia, with Istim warehouses no longer having the longest wait time. Waiting times for aluminium at Istim warehouses in Port Klang were at 23 days at the end of January, from 20 days at the e...Read More
Fastmarkets will publish its first low-carbon aluminium differentials on Friday March 5, one for primary aluminium (P1020A) and one for aluminium value-added products (VAP). The new pricing mechanisms will bring transparency to the growing industry for low-carbon aluminium products as the market tries to meet increased demand for a sustainable supply chain. The below infographic highlights how the...Read More
Trafigura is set to open an office in Toronto, Canada, to help foster links with mining companies based in the region, sources told Fastmarkets.The office will be helmed by zinc and lead concentrates trader Daniel von Arx, the sources said.Trafigura declined to comment.The eastern city of Toronto acts as a home for the marketing departments of many global mining companies with listings on the Toro...Read More
ArcelorMittal and Thyssenkrupp Steel have both recently announced successful testing of methods to reduce carbon emissions in blast-furnace steelmaking via coke gas and hydrogen, the companies have reported separately.ArcelorMittal has completed its coke gas injection project at the Alto B Furnace at its Gij??n operations, Spain. This is intended to reduce its CO2 emissions by 125,000 tonnes per y...Read More