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.Despite these unprecedented times, US sheet prices moved in line with our expectations over the past month. While we maintain our view on the direction of pricing during 2020 and the length of the pricing downturn, as the Covid-19 crisis deepens we have increased the magnitude of the price declines through the second quarter...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.As oil price stumbles, outlook for welded markets weakensIn February, oil prices, already hit by the economic slowdown in Asia, turned lower on the failure of OPEC+ to reach an agreement on production cuts. This was enough to shake oil markets, but the collapse of global demand due to the pandemic has driven Brent below $30/...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.Activity in China has picked up, and although the impact from the Covid-19 did not spare the country with its gross domestic product contracting at its largest rate since recording began in the 1990s, the latest crude steel output figures for April from China's National Bureau of Statistics show a strong recovery, albeit sti...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The first quarter continued the trend of 2019 - for China to actively import relatively cheap metallics and semi-finished steel - but can this be sustained? The answer to this question will come down to the price competitiveness of the products, we believe. One additional incentive to continue to import metallics this year -...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The recent decline in Chinese scrap prices - to their lowest in a couple of years - even as demand rises, suggests that Chinese scrap supply is increasingly sufficient. In terms of scrap demand, the question is more about price attractiveness. Mini-mills were reducing demand in February, largely because steel margins on scra...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.While downward pressure mounts on the steelmaking raw material markets, premiums for higher-grade iron ores have been sustained despite narrowing operating margins at Chinese steelmakers. Chinese mills are operating with shrinking margins since the end of last year but the premium for high-grade ores remains high. Historical...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
Broad markets were stronger this morning, Tuesday May 26, with many Asian-Pacific equity indices up by around 2%, while pre-market major western equities were up by around 1% but metals prices were mixed.Hopes that the reopening of economies will lead to an economic recovery are boosting equities but the United States-China trade dispute is worsening, which is not going to help the global economy...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 55 points in pre-opening trade.Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS $51.99 Cdn) is expected to open higher after reporting higher than consensus fiscal second quarter earnings. Merck gained $2.33 to $78.70 after announcing a deal to develop coronavirus vaccines. Autozone added $41.06 to $1164.00 after reporting higher than consens...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday May 22 that are worth another look.NLMK, Russia's largest steelmaker, has started hot testing the new beneficiation section at its Stoilendkiy mining and beneficiation plant, the company said on May 22.Metals traders have begun to feel the pinch after a turbulent period in commodity markets have caused some banks to step back from f...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday May 22 that are worth another look.NLMK, Russia's largest steelmaker, has started hot testing the new beneficiation section at its Stoilendkiy mining and beneficiation plant, the company said on May 22.Metals traders have begun to feel the pinch after a turbulent period in commodity markets have caused some banks to step back from f...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday May 22 that are worth another look.NLMK, Russia's largest steelmaker, has started hot testing the new beneficiation section at its Stoilendkiy mining and beneficiation plant, the company said on May 22.Metals traders have begun to feel the pinch after a turbulent period in commodity markets have caused some banks to step back from f...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday May 22 that are worth another look.NLMK, Russia's largest steelmaker, has started hot testing the new beneficiation section at its Stoilendkiy mining and beneficiation plant, the company said on May 22.Metals traders have begun to feel the pinch after a turbulent period in commodity markets have caused some banks to step back from f...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday May 22 that are worth another look.NLMK, Russia's largest steelmaker, has started hot testing the new beneficiation section at its Stoilendkiy mining and beneficiation plant, the company said on May 22.Metals traders have begun to feel the pinch after a turbulent period in commodity markets have caused some banks to step back from f...Read More