The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This week Fastmarkets' analysts and price reporters shared their views and recent findings in a webinar revealing some distinct fundamental tensions for steel, refining alloys and, of course, steelmaking raw materials such as iron ore.While the outlook for chrome and manganese ores and alloys is balanced, as far as market pa...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
Mexican scrap prices were stable or higher last week as low availability for some grades led to exceptional deals at increased prices, according to sources.Market participants reported that some scrap buyers had planned a 200 pesos ($8) price cut for last week, but by the end of the week such changes were not applied."In the whole month of April, buyers announced price cuts of around 1,000 pesos,...Read More
The Egyptian parliament has this week requested the government add a 10% import duty on finished steel products to protect local steel production, Egyptian market sources told Fastmarkets.The government has not yet approved or rejected the proposal but, if accepted, flat steel producers will benefit from the new duties, sources said.Egypt already imposes a definitive safeguard duty of 16% of the c...Read More
London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices rose on Tuesday May 5, buoyed by increasing optimism for an increase in demand amid expectations that Covid-19 trade restrictions will continue to be eased in some parts of Europe while China's restart gathers momentum. China's market absence - due to the Labor Day public holiday from May 1 to May 5 - failed to dampen upward price momentum acros...Read More
The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange was higher across morning trading on Tuesday May 5, supported by the largest fresh cancelation in the tin market this year, while climbing exchange stocks and lackluster trade continues to pressure the aluminium price. The LME tin price was recently at $15,165 per tonne, up 0.5% from Monday's closing price of $15,085 per tonne. The price spike...Read More
Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Friday May 8. After that, because of the UK's early May bank holiday, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Tuesday May 12. Read More
Broader markets are looking a bit brighter this morning, Tuesday May 5, with equity indices and base metals prices firmer while participants look forward to better demand once more plans are announced about lifting lockdown restrictions.The Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed from being down by 1.5% to close positively on Monday.US factory orders dropped by 10.3%, but this data was for March; by...Read More
Car manufacturer Groupe PSA - maker of the Peugeot, Citroen, Opel and Vauxhall brands - has announced a "progressive and secured restart of Groupe PSA manufacturing sites."The restarts would be guided by the resumption of commercial activities, the company said on Monday May 4.Its various sites across Europe closed from March 18 because of the disruption affecting its majo...Read More
Indian steel producer Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) has reported a huge increase in steel exports for April 2020, despite the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown significantly reducing the steel output of other domestic producers.India entered a 21-day lockdown on March 25 - which has since been extended twice and now runs to May 18 - to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus, with man...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe have been stable day on day on Tuesday May 5 in a slow market, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe was ?,?423.00 ($462.10) per tonne on Tuesday May 5, down by only ?,?0.13 per tonne day on day from ?,?423.13 per tonne on Monday.Tuesday's index was calculated based on "workable" prices a...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia decreased, with the market still very slow amid concerns over the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus as well as the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, sources said on Tuesday May 5.No deals were heard during the week while steel consumption was very slow amid Ramadan - when steel consumption traditionally falls be...Read More
Some of the prices for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates decreased over the past week, with demand weak because of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources said on Tuesday May 5.Authorities in the United Arab Emirates announced a curfew from 10pm until 6am local time for the Ramadan period, which started on April 23.Market participants in...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets remained quiet with the mills seeking lower prices amid weak finished steel markets, sources said on Tuesday May 5.The most recent cargo deal was recorded on Friday May 1 when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo comprising 17,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $236 per tonne cfr and 7,000 tonnes of bonus at $246 per tonne cfr, sendi...Read More
The trend for China to actively import relatively cheap iron metallics and semi-finished steel products seen in 2019 continued into the first quarter of this year, but can this be sustained? The answer to this question will come down to the price-competitiveness of the products, as Fastmarkets' research team detailed in the 2020 preview series earlier in the year. As the chart below illustrat...Read More
The Singapore Exchange's (SGX) 65% Fe iron ore derivatives contract registered another strong month with 3.3 million tonnes traded in April, according to SGX data published on Tuesday May 5. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.04 per tonne, unchanged. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.70 per tonne, unchanged. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qing...Read More
Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest redirected its merchant pig iron production to hot-rolled coil output in the first quarter of this year, the company said on Monday May 4.In January-March, the company produced just 108,000 tonnes of merchant pig iron. This was 74% less than in the October-December quarter of 2019, when the corresponding output was 416,000 tonnes.This tonnage was produced at Ilyich S...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were unchanged on Tuesday May 5 in the absence of Chinese market participants observing a holiday for Labor Day, but pessimism is growing amid a negative outlook for Indian demand.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $107.12 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $117.33 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.26 per to...Read More
The spread of the Covid-19 virus is causing disruption to immediate supply chains and future demand forecasts across the technology and consumer electronics sector. Since the outbreak gathered pace in January 2020, companies including Apple and Samsung have closed plants, shifted production, and in some cases, revised revenue forecasts. The far-reaching effects of the virus on the global economy a...Read More