Robust steel production rates in China kept seaborne iron ore prices above $100 per tonne cfr China for the whole of June, but meager profit margins are beginning to keep Chinese mills away from higher grades of the steelmaking raw material. Prices for 62% Fe iron ore averaged $102.49 per tonne cfr last month - a 10% month-on-month increases - while those for 65% Fe products averaged $115.45 per t...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More
With competition in the global steel markets remaining fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world for June 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for May, April, March, February...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices edged up over the past week due to stock replenishing activity, with export prices following the upward move.Steady nickel prices lent further support to stainless steel prices, market sources said on Wednesday July 1. The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday's official trading session at $12,620 per tonne, up by...Read More
With competition in the global steel markets remaining fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world for June 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for May, April, March, February...Read More
Global oil major BP's shift to renewable energy is set to significantly increase demand for steel. The company said it has added $5 billion as part of its planned $15 billion divestment target after selling its petrochemicals business to UK chemicals firm Ineos.The sale will let BP direct the capital to build new business areas such as renewable energy, with BP aiming to become a net-zer...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 2 that are worth another look.European importers of long steel and hot-rolled coil have claimed that this week's definitive decision in the EU steel imports safeguard case review ignored the interests of independent buyers and focused protection only on steelmakers, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.Chilean...Read More
Most Turkish flat steel prices hit a monthly peak on June 12, following feedstock prices, before edging back down when buyers concluded their procurement activity, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 2. Turkish flat steel producers are fully booked until mid-September. Feedstock scrap prices fluctuated in June. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), U...Read More
With competition in the global steel markets remaining fierce, Fastmarkets provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world for June 2020.The case list below includes only updates. For other continuing cases this year, see the updates for May, April, March, February...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 2 that are worth another look.European importers of long steel and hot-rolled coil have claimed that this week's definitive decision in the EU steel imports safeguard case review ignored the interests of independent buyers and focused protection only on steelmakers, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.Chilean...Read More
Chile produced 492,500 tonnes in copper content during May, up 1% from 487,800 tonnes in the corresponding month of 2019, according to data from the country's copper commission Cochilco on Thursday July 2.Chile has been increasing its copper production this year compared to falling volumes in other South American nations like Peru, where the Covid-19 pandemic forced units to close. Including May f...Read More
European domestic prices for cold-rolled coil moved up over the week ended Wednesday July 1, supported by a degree of demand revival and higher prices for hot-rolled coil feedstock, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?480-510 ($539-573) per tonne on July 1, up by ?,?10-20 per tonne week on week from ?,...Read More
The daily index for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe has inched up further supported by demand recovery and the continuing lack of competitive imports, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 2.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?401.52 ($451.17) per tonne on Thursday, up by ?,?1.52 per tonne day on day from ?,?400.00 per tonne on...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday July 2 that are worth another look.European importers of long steel and hot-rolled coil have claimed that this week's definitive decision in the EU steel imports safeguard case review ignored the interests of independent buyers and focused protection only on steelmakers, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 1.Chilean...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is looking for ways to boost its options market, which has been struggling for some years to replicate the growth seen in the same sector among its peers.The exchange has launched a consultation, scheduled to end on July 29, on developing electronic options via a new trading platform while retaining its current inter-office options trading structure.Items up for discussio...Read More
The mining industry does a huge amount of good for local communities, to say nothing of its essential contribution to society through the materials it produces. Unfortunately, it all too often manages to give itself a bad name, worsening negative perceptions of the sector through accidents, spills and a failure to act as a steward of the environments in which it operates. In the past month alone,...Read More
The threat of Section 232 tariffs on aluminium imports from Canada into the United States has, like the great white shark following the Brody family in the universally panned film, 'Jaws: The Revenge,' returned - akin to a truly awful horror movie franchise. And that's how Neil Herrington, senior vice president for the Americas, US Chamber of Commerce, views reports that the US administration is c...Read More
Three-month prices for base metals on the London Metal Exchange were higher at the close of trading on Thursday July 2, with positive employment statistics from the United States lending support to the complex, while forward-buying in LME copper futures prompted a tightening of the metal's forward curve.Economic data released in the afternoon from the US showed the country's unemployment rate for...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is looking for ways to boost its options market, which has been struggling for some years to replicate the growth seen in the same sector among its peers.The exchange has launched a consultation, scheduled to end on July 29, on developing electronic options via a new trading platform while retaining its current inter-office options trading structure.Items up for discussio...Read More
Iron ore prices maintained their current level on Thursday July 1 amid active trading in the seaborne market and the ports in China, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $99.47 per tonne, up $0.30 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $102.10 per tonne, down $0.40 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $90.97 per tonne, up $0...Read More