The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US flat product prices outperformed our expectations over the past month. In an attempt to lend the market confidence that sheet prices had reached a floor, US steel mills announced price increases of $50-60 per ton at the end of April. In the announcement, mills cited the expectation of higher scrap prices, tight domestic s...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The Covid-19 pandemic and the associated impacts on steel production, mining and manufacturing activity, end-use consumption, and trade and transportation continue to dominate ferro-alloy markets. US steel mills are operating at around 50% of capacity, with similarly low operating rates evident in Europe as well. Chinese ste...Read More
Ferro-alloys prices have generally retreated over the past month, with demand concerns gaining in prominence.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferro-alloy pricing trends have generally diverged ove the past month, depending on the security of the supply-side position of the market. With most supply concerns fading with the resumption of industrial activity i...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:While the ferro-alloy industry's initial response to the Covid-19 outbreak was marked by rising prices primarily in response to supply-side concerns, focus has now shifted somewhat. As Chinese activity slowly returns to more normal levels, for alloys with a strong Chinese prod...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron ore prices have shot up as market participants have judged the supply risks from Covid-19 higher at this point in time when there is already a tight seaborne market. Despite the efforts to ramp up, Vale is struggling to catch up with its pre-dam disaster export volumes and its slow recovery has only been hit further by...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Iron oreSentiment in the iron ore market continues to be dominated by concerns about supply disruptions in Brazil. Prices spiked above $100 per tonne after reports that there had been a recent surge of Covid-19 cases at Vale's three mines in Itabira. A...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferrous scrap consumption rates of Chinese integrated mills appear to have declined this year on a per-tonne basis. This year has seen the ratio of pig iron to steel output tighten, leaving increasingly less room for scrap consumption. Over the first four months of 2020, the pig iron-to-steel ratio has been above the pr...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Lockdowns and restrictions of movement in several cities in Brazil have increased worries about the potential impact on iron ore export volumes. The situation has already had an impact on the market sentiment. These concerns, combined with strong demand from China, have boosted iron ore prices. The fall in shipments from Bra...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are on the increase in June. As far as this market is concerned, it appears as though the Covid-19 pandemic has had little impact so far, with prices on the most common grades of stainless steel just 2-4% lower than they were at the turn of the year in most markets.Even in Asia, a region often talked ab...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Having first hit Asia during early 2020, the Covid-19 viral outbreak is now having an even bigger impact on European countries and the US. Widespread lockdown measures have been put in place on people and industry, and economic activity has slowed markedly.For now, stainless steel markets in Europe and the US are yet to show...Read More
The new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More
Primary foundry aluminium premiums in Europe and the United States were flat on Friday June 12, with little demand from the automotive sector last month, market participants said. "PFA is a core business of ours and to not have any schedules for a month is quite concerning," one producer in Europe said. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium wheel alloy silicon 7 ingot premium, ddp Germany at $27...Read More
Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Friday June 12. The index dipped slightly on Friday after hitting $254.55 per tonne on June 11 - the highest since March 30. Key drivers: London Metal Exchange aluminium prices fueled some uptrend for alumina prices this week, participants said. The three-month aluminium price hit an intraday high...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday June 12China The five-week uptrend in UG2 chrome ore prices stalls on softer buying interest, with market participants on both sides reporting a slowdown in inquiriesThe domestic spot ferro-chrome price narrowed downward on...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the session ending Friday June 12China Domestic market remains stable amid positive sentiment following higher June tender prices. China's Hesteel set its June tender price for 72-grade ferro-silicon at 5,930 yuan ($839) per tonne for cargoes delivered to warehouse, which includes value-added tax...Read More
Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Friday June 12. The index dipped slightly on Friday after hitting $254.55 per tonne on June 11 - the highest since March 30. Key drivers: London Metal Exchange aluminium prices fueled some uptrend for alumina prices this week, participants said. The three-month aluminium price hit an intraday high...Read More
Primary foundry aluminium premiums in Europe and the United States were flat on Friday June 12, with little demand from the automotive sector last month, market participants said. "PFA is a core business of ours and to not have any schedules for a month is quite concerning," one producer in Europe said. Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium wheel alloy silicon 7 ingot premium, ddp Germany at $27...Read More