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
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Having found it easier to increase prices than their counterparts in Europe and the United States during the past few months, Asian stainless steelmakers now face a number of concerns.In the short term, Asian prices have moved down in recent weeks while those in Europe and the US are on the up. This is mostly a reflection of...Read More
The price of steel hollow sections in the European domestic market increased sharply because of rapidly rising feedstock hot-rolled coil prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 23. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe was ?,?800-820 ($976-1,001) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?60-70 per tonne from ?,?740-750 per tonne a...Read More
Egypt's steel rebar consumption could fall to 3 million tonnes per year in 2021 if restrictions on construction are not eased further, Ramy Saleh, chief business development officer at El Marakby Steel said during Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron and Steel virtual conference on Thursday December 17. Speaking on the Egypt panel, Saleh said Egypt's steel sector has suffered from low consumption this ye...Read More
The US Department of Commerce has officially adopted the Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis (AIM) system, which will publish data aggregated from licenses that US companies will soon be required to obtain before importing aluminium products."The new program will enable Commerce and the public to better detect potential transshipment and circumvention involving aluminum products - helping to e...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday December 23.Read More
Chilean state copper producer Codelco has increased the volumes sold into annual cathode supply contracts for 2021, its chief commercial officer Carlos Alvarado told Fastmarkets this week.Codelco produces around 1.7 million tonnes of copper per year - equivalent to 7% of the world's total. The company's regional offers to customers tend to set a benchmark for similar annual supply deals that...Read More
China will reduce the provisional import tariff on non-alloyed nickel, unwrought, with harmonized system code of 75021090, from January 1, 2021, the Customs Tariff Commission of China's State Council said on Wednesday December 23. The provisional import tax will be lowered to 1% from 2% at the start of 2021 in a bid to promote imports of the products to meet domestic demand, the commission said in...Read More
Base metals recovered some lost ground in non-descript trading on the morning of Wednesday December 23 on the London Metal Exchange, with zinc rising the most after two days of losses caused by the news of a new Covid-19 variant damaging sentiment.Three-month zinc was up by 1.37% from the Tuesday 5pm close at $2,813 per tonne. The metal had the biggest dip on Tuesday, ending 2% lower at $2,775 per...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly lower this morning, Wednesday December 23, while those on the London Metal Exchange were mixed.Metals and broader markets seem to be settling down and oscillating sideways ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, suggesting markets are content to consolidate while many cross currents muddy the waters. US President Donald Trump re...Read More
Steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States rose to a 32-month high following a second round of mill hikes and an ongoing supply shortage, but were eclipsed by higher import prices. Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US at $35.50 per hundredweight ($710 per short ton) on Wednesday December 23, up 2.9% from $34.50 per cwt the week before and the highest...Read More
Imports of finished steel to the United States fell month on month in November due to lower bloom, billet and slab volumes, according to US Census Bureau data.The US imported 1.24 million tonnes of steel products in November, down 9.5% from 1.37 million tonnes in October, preliminary Census data showed.Imports of bloom, billet and slab dropped 27.4% to 170,272 tonnes in November from 234,434 tonne...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Welded linepipe and OCTG prices have been rising globally despite weak demand - the recent surge in steel and raw material prices forced mills to raise their offers.While new prices were accepted by the available buyers in North America, demand for HSAW and ERW dried up in Europe while customers take a wait-and-see approach....Read More
Deep-sea ferrous scrap cargoes were sold off both US coasts at significantly higher prices over the past week, and global competition for raw materials shows no sign of cooling. Turkey is officially back in the US market, with one sale reported, but some participants have attributed the unusually quiet mood in recent weeks to clandestine deals being conducted quietly in an attempt to keep a lid on...Read More
Turkish steel producers made no deep-sea scrap purchases on Wednesday December 23 although prices remained firm thanks to the support of strong steel and billet values, sources said.Late on December 21, a steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 6,000 tonnes of plate & structural scrap (P&S) and 5,000 tonnes of a mixture of busheling and...Read More
Seaborne iron prices fell further on Wednesday December 23, in response to the downtrend in futures and rising rebar inventories in northern China.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $162.03 per tonne, down $2.50 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $162.36 per tonne, down $2.71 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $151.54 per tonne,...Read More
Sellers of Japanese scrap are looking to the domestic market instead of exports because of the higher margins that can be found there, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday December 23.The massive increases in domestic scrap purchase prices by major Japanese mini-mill Tokyo Steel have also supported sentiment.The price-benchmark setter increased its purchase price for the 10th time in...Read More
Demand for Turkish steel remains robust in export destinations despite the recent strengthening of trading regulations, speakers at Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron and Steel virtual conference Turkey panel session on Thursday December 17 said.On November 13, the European Commission (EC) made imports of hot-rolled flat steel from Turkey subject to registration upon arrival into the European Union; an...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal and hard coking coal cfr prices jumped on the latest transactions on Wednesday December 23. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $103.76 per tonne, up $1.08 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $195.76 per tonne, up $5.56 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $90.05 per tonne, unchanged Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $185 per tonne...Read More
China resuming steel scrap imports in 2021 will directly affect global steel markets because of supply shortages, speakers on the Turkey panel at Fastmarkets' recent Middle East Iron and Steel virtual conference said. China will end the ban on imports of ferrous scrap on January 1 after it reclassified certain qualities steelmaking raw materials under the new regulations. On Decemb...Read More