The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The bullish price run in the iron ore market continued for a sixth week in a row with the 62% Fe benchmark soaring to a near eight-year high. Looking ahead, iron ore demand in 2021 is projected to be stronger than initially expected earlier in the year. We not only anticipate continued demand growth in China, but a recovery...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices increased on Thursday December 17, amid rising concerns over limited supplies and low steel inventories, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $158.49 per tonne, up $2.04 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $158.89 per tonne, up $2.18 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $147.10 per tonne, u...Read More
Fastmarkets' premium hard coking coal cfr index jumped by more than $5 per tonne on Thursday December 17, while the fob price stayed flat due to no transactions being reported.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $101.46 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $188.42 per tonne, up $5.78 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.56 per tonne, unc...Read More
China is to classify ship scrap as a steelmaking raw material, with no need for industry participants to apply for solid waste licenses. There has previously been no classification for ship scrap originating from Chinese shipyards.The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China said this week that all steel scrap generated from the domestic repair and refitting of foreign...Read More
China's raw materials policies - including the ban of coking coal imports from Australia and the new recycled raw materials classification - will likely be among the key drivers of the global ferrous markets in 2021, market sources told Fastmarkets. Uncertainty over import policies caused by geopolitical tensions and supply have resulted in shifts in the consumption patterns of steelmaking raw mat...Read More
China's domestic rebar market maintained its upward momentum on Thursday December 17, supporting export prices that are still lower than those for products originating in other regions.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,210 -4,240 yuan ($645-649) per tonne, up by 50 yuan per tonneSteady purchasing rates among end users and active selling among stockists resulted in rebar inventories falling over...Read More
The Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lbtrade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it...Read More
The Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb trade log including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparencyinto the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed Cobalt standard grade,...Read More
Cobalt metal prices nudged higher during the first half of the week amid a slight improvement in spot inquiries but limited visibility on metal demand for 2021 is keeping the lid on more substantial gains, sources told Fastmarkets on December 16.Fastmarkets' price assessments for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam and cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam remained trading at parity and moved t...Read More
The spot cobalt sulfate price in the domestic Chinese market continued on its uptrend midweek after suppliers either held offers firm or held out for sales in expectation of extensive restocking in January, sources told Fastmarkets on December 17.Fastmarkets' cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China rose to 54,000-55,000 yuan ($8,269-8,422) per tonne on Wednesday December 16, up 0.5% from 54,000-5...Read More
Chinese stainless steel producer Delong Nickel Industry plans to increase its stainless crude steel capacity by 6 million tonnes per year by the end of 2021, local media reported on Wednesday December 17. The expansion will bring the company's capacity to over 8 million tpy. Location: Liyang city,...Read More
China's stainless steel prices increased sharply in both the domestic and export markets over the week ended Wednesday December 17 on nickel gains, but the increases led buyers to scale down their procurement rates.The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday's official session at $17,429 per tonne, up by $910 per tonne from $16,519 per tonne a week earlier.Domestic...Read More
The European ferro-titanium price has jumped to a peak last seen in January 2013, with strong demand from consumers for prompt deliveries and into February combining with a shortage of scrap to push the markets higher. Fastmarkets assessed the price for ferro-titanium 70% Ti, max 4.5% Al, ddp Europe at $7.00-7.50 per kg on Wednesday December 16, an increase of more than 11% from $6.25-6.75 pe...Read More
The European Commission has calculated preliminary anti-dumping duties for Turkish hot-rolled coil at 4.80-7.60%, it said in a letter sent to interested parties, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday December 17. Provisional measures in the case, if any, will be imposed by January 14 next year, and the calculated duties can be changed at any time up to this deadline. Definitive duties are sc...Read More
The year 2020 showed how resilient steel mills are and how important it is to diversify products, the chief executive officers of three major steel producers in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries said during the keynote CEO panel of Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron & Steel virtual conference on Tuesday December 15. CEOs on the panel Ravi Singh of Bahrain's structural steel producer Su...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were higher across the board on the morning of Friday December 18, with copper trading above $8,000 per tonne earlier for the first time since 2013.Infrastructure spending pledges, hopes for more stimulus, falling or low stocks and low Capex levels across the industry for several years all make for a bullish long-term backdrop for the metals.Base met...Read More
Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $127.50 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.Magna International (MG), a TSX 60 stock moved above $82.71 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend. Pre-opening Comments for Friday December 18thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 4 points in pre-opening trade....Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 16 that are worth another look.A collaboration between metals and mining companies including Anglo American, Glencore and Tata Steel have released a proof of concept carbon tracing platform to trace emissions across the value chain using distributed ledger...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday December 16.Please click...Read More
The London Metal Exchange tin price was the biggest riser on Wednesday December 16, coming close to the $20,000 per tonne mark and setting a new year-to-date high, spurring most of the complex along with it while market participants eyed a congressional deal for a coronavirus stimulus package in the United States. Tin's three-month price rose by 1.1% to $19,925 per tonne on Wednesday at 5pm agains...Read More