Key data from the pricing session in London on Wednesday June 3.Key drivers: Standard-grade cobalt prices drifted further on the low-end of the quote, on continuing good availability, despite the suspension of production at Ambatovy. Offers were being revised to the low side, and sellers opened to bids, in light of thin demand refently, and uncertain...Read More
Demand for flat steel products in Turkey was moderate in May because of low stocks in the country and the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 3.Turkish flat steel producers were fully booked until late July and have started to accept orders for August production.Steel trading was limited in May because of various curfew orders and national holida...Read More
The publication of some Fastmarkets noble alloys price assessments for Wednesday June 3 was delayed due to technical issues.The Fastmarkets price book and database have both since been updated.The noble alloy price assessments affected by the delay were:MB-FEO-0001 - Ferro-molybdenum 65% Mo min, in-whs Rotterdam, $ per kg MoMB-FEO-0003 - Molybdenum drummed molybdic oxide 57% Mo min, in-whs Rotterd...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday June 3 that are worth another look.Mills in India and Pakistan have returned to the market for bulk scrap and have booked cargoes from the United States over the past few days, sources told Fastmarkets on June 3.Primary aluminium stocks at the three main Japanese ports (MJP) of Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama rose by 4% mont...Read More
The government of South Africa has eased the country's lockdown, yet the continued threat of Covid-19 will dampen the recovery in chrome and manganese ore supply.The government of South Africa hopes its miners will ramp up production and bolster the flagging South African economy following the lowering of the nationwide alert on Monday June 1, easing restrictions to combat the Covid-19 virus. "Und...Read More
How long it will take the global economy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic is anyone's guess right now.Could the world's major economic regions be in for an "LUV" recovery similar to the one they saw after the global financial crisis of 2008-09?That was the format of recovery that was expected in 2009 by former Rio Tinto chief executive officer Tom Albanese, who was at the helm of the mining g...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to lead to another casualty: the mega mine. The volatility created by crises like Covid-19 is adding a layer of uncertainty to the development of large-scale projects that take a decade or more to progress and are highly capital intensive, according to Tom Albanese, the former chief executive officer of Rio Tinto.This means that mining projects are likely to be deve...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday June 3.Please click...Read More
Base metals price on the London Metal Exchange had moved sideways at the close of trading on Wednesday June 3, with most of the complex maintaining gains made earlier in the week against a steady improvement in risk-appetite.Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,524 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, while turnover was moderate at just over 15,000 lots exchanged by the close. Similarly, L...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices dropped on Wednesday June 3 after a transaction was completed at $107.33 per tonne cfr China on Tuesday. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $106.46 per tonne, down $2.51 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $114.95 per tonne, down $1.93 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $87.66 per tonne, down $1.91 per tonn...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Consolidation needed after technical gainsDespite structural oversupply, the London Metal Exchange aluminium price has enjoyed a technical rebound since the mid-May lows, which was in line with our short-term forecasts. But technical indicators now look overbought and the price must consolidate its recent gai...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Early signs of post-lockdown demand recoveryWith major economies outside China reopening after the easing of their Covid-19-related restrictions on movement and industrial activity, last week's jump in the number of cancelled aluminium warrants on the London Metal Exchange may be an early sign that the post-lockdo...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: 'Sell the rally' mentality here to stayAlthough the London Metal Exchange aluminium price has managed to recover modestly from recent lows, we suspect this is mostly short-covering. The lack of producer restraint, growing exchange inventories, a weak demand outlook and the 7 million tonnes of oversupply forecast f...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: 4-million-tonne surplus for 2020We have made further downward revisions to our aluminium demand expectations for 2020 and, although there have been smelter capacity reduction in China too, the net effect is that our forecast for the global surplus this year has swelled to 4 million tonnes, from 2.7 million tonnes...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.US demand shrinksDemand projections call for a continued retreat in US electric-resistance welded (ERW) line pipe and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption as drill rigs and the number of wells drilled per rig are cut. Project demand in the large-diameter line pipe market is also shrinking with deferred or canceled pro...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.A couple of months into the global Covid-19 pandemic, the sell-off in steel markets appears to be abating.In parts of Asia, where the outbreak first occurred, steel prices - including those for coated steels - have rebounded since late April. The same is true of the US market as well. As we detail in our Americas analysis thi...Read More
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
Global markets are contracting in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the prices for flat steel products continue to retreat, with prices for coated steels down by a further 5% since late March in most of the markets that Fastmarkets tracks.The latest edition of Fastmarkets' Galvanized Steel and Tinplate Market Tracker, for April 2020, is now available to view.Further price falls are almost cer...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