The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This year has come with several unexpected events which increased the bullish case for iron ore prices, while the Chinese government's spending on infrastructure is likely to boost iron ore demand and add upside support to prices. But supply disruptions and a demand surge which caused price spikes are now easing. We do not e...Read More
High demand in Brazil's export and domestic markets pushed pig iron export prices up during the week to Friday September 4.Fastmarkets assessed the price of pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, at $350-360 per tonne on Friday, up by $10 per tonne from $340-350 per tonne one week earlier.A new sale was heard to China...Read More
Access our research platformsSign-in to our platforms to access our extensive research, our latest insight, data and analytics and to connect to our industry experts.Metals enable the energy transition through their use in low-carbon technologies. Rising demand means metal production needs to grow while simultaneously reducing absolute emissions if the Paris Agreement goals are to be met. Carbon t...Read More
The import pig iron market in the United States went up during the week to Friday September 4 on new bookings after several months of silence.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, went up to $360-365 per tonne on Friday, from $355-360 per tonne a week before.One US buyer booked...Read More
Secondary aluminium alloy prices in the United States rose to their highest level in months on Thursday September 3, including the benchmark price for A380.1 grade material. This strengthened to a near-14-month high, with producers raising their offers while demand strengthened and input costs squeezed margins.Producers successfully tested higher offers across alloy grades this week, with demand c...Read More
Aluminium scrap prices in the United States continued to rise this week, albeit at a slower pace, while limited trucking availability due to the Covid-19 pandemic put pressure on the market, according to sources.Fastmarkets assessed the aluminium scrap mixed low copper clips, buying price, delivered Midwest secondary smelters at 44-46 cents per lb on Thursday September 3, up by a penny from the we...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.Read More
Ernst van Amen has joined warehousing and logistics company Pacorini Global Services (PGS) after 16 years as head of metals at C. Steinweg Rotterdam, the company said. Van Amen will be based in Rotterdam and work closely with Mario Casciano, chief executive officer of North America; Daniel Saez, CEO of Africa, East Asia, Netherlands and Spain; and...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) hit new Fastmarkets record lows in the week to Friday September 4 after some smelters purchased cargoes for nearby arrival in the high $40s per tonne / 4 cents per lb. Smelters are said to be well stocked with concentrate, but deals reported to Fastmarkets with TCs between $47 and $49 per tonne indicate that those in need will have to pay...Read More
China's copper imports have fueled the metals roaring price recovery from multi-year lows in March, but the traders who had brought the material into the country say they are no longer buying, Fastmarkets heard.Records for monthly copper imports were initially smashed in June with 656,483 tonnes, only to be gazumped in July when 762,211 tonnes crossed the China border.This comes at a time when the...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices mostly increased during morning trading on Friday September 4, after steady recoveries in both copper and nickel futures, while a fresh cancelation of some 1,825 tonnes allowed LME lead gains to lead the complex. LME lead's outright price was recently at $1,962 per tonne, up by some 1.1% from a morning low of $1,936 per tonne, while turnover...Read More
US hot-rolled coil prices continue to hover around $26.50 per hundredweight, and prices could shoot sharply higher again over the next week on an increasingly tight spot market, market participants said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $26.40 per hundredweight ($528 per ton) on Friday September 4, little changed from $26.44 per cwt on Thursday and...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled coil and galvanized steel sheet in the United States climbed after more customers made restocking commitments, pushing lead times out at the mills.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US rose to $34 per hundredweight ($680 per short ton) on Thursday September 3, from $33 per cwt ($660 per ton) on August 27.Fastmarkets' price assessme...Read More
Vehicle output recovered month-on-month in Brazil during August, but was still down by 21.8% in comparison with the same month in 2019, the national automakers association, Anfavea, said on Friday September 4.The country produced 210,860 vehicles in August, compared with 269,758 units in August 2019. Production, however, was up by 23.6% compared with July's 170,651 units.O...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe continued to rise on Friday September 4, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?464.39 ($549.39) per tonne on Friday September 4, up by ?,?4.89 per tonne from ?,?459.50 per tonne on Thursday.The index was up by ?,?13.94 per tonne week on week and by ?,?51.89 per...Read More
Turkish prices in the domestic market for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) increased in the week to September 4, while demand was moderate, sources told Fastmarkets.Demand was better when compared with last week after buyers decided to secure bookings before prices increase further, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel HDG, domestic, exw Turkey was $670-675 per tonne on Sept...Read More
Turkish hot- and cold-rolled coil prices continued to rise in the week to Friday September 4, with further price hikes expected because of rising production costs, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, was calculated at $294.78 per tonne on Friday September 4, up from $280.15 per tonne on August 28.Domestic pri...Read More
Scoped for growth: Nevada Copper shifts into production modeSPONSOREDnevada copper corp.AVZ closes on financing for tier-one lithium projectSPONSOREDavz mineralsThe discovery was made on a 75m step-out drill hole which intercepted 282m grading 0.7% copper and 0.49 grams per tonne gold for 1.16% copper-equivalent, including a 45.7m intercept grading 1.Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals prices were firmer this morning, Friday September 4, but this appears to be early bargain-hunting/consolidation after Thursday’s 1.5% average decline. Asian equities and base metals prices were weaker while they followed yesterday’s weakness in western markets.We wait to see if this weakness was the result of some book squaring ahead of the much-watched...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 4 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures recovered slightly following release of the U.S. August Employment Report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for August Non-farm Payrolls was 1.400 million versus revised 1.743 million in July. Actual was 1.371 million. Consensus for August Unemployment Rate was 9.8% versus 10.2% in...Read More