The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore remains the most bullish commodity of the year, with prices fuelled by Chinese demand and supply disruptions in Brazil, along with bullish sentiment. But prices are expected to come down because Brazilian exports have begun to recover, and have reached their highest level since the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019. W...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In the iron ore market, supply issues including heavy rains at the start of the year, followed by staffing problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, have affected exports from Brazil. This has helped Australia gain a larger market share, but since June, Brazilian export volumes have returned to levels last seen before the...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese blast furnace (BF) utilization rates have stagnated and iron ore port stock volumes are rising, reaching their highest levels since March, which suggests that iron ore supply is becoming excessive while demand is not growing. Unsurprisingly, prices dropped last week and we expect the trend to continue. The market has...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.We do not consider the average iron ore fines price for September so far above $125 per tonne cfr Qingdao to be sustainable. The bullishness is not likely to last in the long term as we expect Chinese demand growth to slow down. A key factor boosting Chinese steel demand so far has been the stimulus policies from the authori...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
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 latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. A look at stainless steel price movements through August reveals the ongoing battle being faced by stainless steelmakers in Europe and the United States while they try to pass on rising costs to consumers. In these regions, prices on most grades of stainless steel are little changed from July, rising by around 2% at most -...Read More
The latest forecast from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.As we enter the summer season across the northern hemisphere, almost half a year has passed since the Covid-19 pandemic began to seriously affect Europe and the United States.One would not really be able to tell that such a dramatic event had occurred by looking at stainless steel prices, however, because they are more or less...Read More
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil increased in Northern Europe in the week to Friday November 6, due to good order books at European mills amid long lead times and limited offers for imported coil.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?512.53 ($608.52) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?7.53 per tonne week on week and by ?,?16.07 per t...Read More
TradeCloud chief operating officer Matthew Botell says technology solutions are there to help commodity traders amid thinning margins and sliding credit availability, if market participants are just willing to give them a try.Botell - former Coo of Trafigura's metals and bulks division - set up the fintech company as a platform for securing commodity business in 2016 with Simon Collins who held th...Read More
Imports of standard P1020 aluminium to the United States from Canada continued to decline in September, while as demand for value-added products (VAP) has revived, US Census Bureau data shows.According to the data, imports of unalloyed, P1020 primary aluminium from Canada totalled 66,100 tonnes in September, down by 52.5% year-on-year and 48.7% compared with August. This was the thi...Read More
Metalex - an industrial aluminium recycling plant owned by Brazilian producer Companhia Brasileira de Alum?-nio (CBA) - will invest 50 million Reais ($9.3 million) to increase scrap treatment and add to its extrusion billet production capacity, CBA said.The expansion project for its plant in Ara??ariguama, a city in southeast Brazil, is divided in to two phases.First, Metalex will install a side w...Read More
Alumina exports from Brazil in October were significantly down by 32.9% year on year after both Alunorte and Alumar shipped less material, data from the ministry of economy published on Friday November 6 shows.Exports totaled 500,888 tonnes in October, down from 746,998 tonnes a year before, the ministry's data showed.The most pronounced fall came from Alunorte, the refinery owned by Norwegian com...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its zinc bonded stocks assessment, which was published incorrectly on Friday October 30 due to an input error.Fastmarkets' Shanghai bonded zinc stocks, tonnes assessment was incorrectly published as 66,000-73,000 tonnes, when it should have been 25,000-27,000 tonnes.Fastmarkets' price book and database has been updated to reflect this change.For more information or to pro...Read More
The three-month nickel price was the standout performer during morning trading on the London Metal Exchange on Monday November 9, with a continued fading of the United States dollar index supporting buying momentum, while US presidential candidate Joe Biden's nomination to the White House saw positive trading across the complex. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently seen at $15,835 per t...Read More
European distributors of flat steel products reported a 3.7% year-on-year rise in shipment volumes in September, regional steel industry association Eurometal said on Monday November 9.Over the first nine months of 2020, flat steel distributors' shipments, however, dropped by 16.1% year-on-year.Eurometal did not disclose individual product volumes.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe moved up slightly day on day on Monday November 9, supported by long lead times at European mills and a lack of import offers, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?513.13 ($609.23) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?0.60 per tonne from ?,?512.53 per tonne on Frid...Read More
Domestic steel rebar prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were broadly stable over the seven days to Monday November 9 in a seasonally slower market, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, remained at 40,000-41,000 roubles ($516-529) per tonne including 20% VAT on Monday.In US dollar t...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil increased in the week to Friday November 6 as buyers in the United States negotiate January-shipment batches.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, rose to $500-540 per tonne fob on Friday, up by $10-35 from $490-505 per tonne fob the previous week.Offers for Brazil-origin slab were reported as high as $540 per tonne fob.Al...Read More
Domestic flat steel prices in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow were largely flat over the week to November 9, despite producers' attempts to push for increases and a slow secondary market demand blocking that rise, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday.Hot-rolled sheetFastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled sheet, domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia remained at 43,000-44,000...Read More