The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:Upward momentum in US domestic sheet steel prices came to a halt in the second half of June, wiping out earlier gains. Although the prices of hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) increased on a monthly average basis, the d...Read More
In light of the recent turmoil in the oil market, the Fastmarkets research team has closely examined the correlations between the price of oil and the prices for ferrous scrap and finished steel products, to discover nuanced relationships and their changes over time.It is common for steel market participants to refer to high correlations between oil prices and the prices for scrap and steel. Among...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Price uptrend stumbles, but expected to resumeAs we expected, Chinese export and domestic steel prices moved upward in June, settling within the 2% range of our forecasts. Rebar prices trended downward in the second half of the month while heavy rains and floods in parts of the country meant that some construction sites had...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In previous reports, we noted that upside risks to our forecasts existed. These were based on Chinese steel production, and in turn alloy consumption, outperforming our expectations.Chinese crude steel production is rising each month in a year-on-year comparison, prompting our revised view that Chinese alloy consumption will...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' teamof analysts are ready to view.Chinese crude steel production outperformed our expectations with its recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Crude steel output was up by 2.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to 503 million tonnes, and we have revised upward what was initially a more bearish forecast for this year. We now estimate that product...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Prolonged flooding in China could limit the use of construction steel and drag down demand for steel rebar in the short term, which in turn could damp the demand for iron ore. So far, it has been reported that steel mills in the affected regions have continued to operate as normal. The floods have, however, caused a few days...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.In a webinar we conducted on Asian ferro alloys, our research team discussed the Chinese authorities' announcing some major infrastructure investments that will increase demand for steel and steel raw materials, including iron ore. Our research shows that the recent infrastructure investment announcements are equal to about...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices are relatively stable this month, showing little change since our previous tracker. Such stability masks growing issues for stainless steelmakers, however, who are increasingly unable to pass on rising costs to consumers and are, thus, facing cuts to their margins.In general, this is due to an excess of...Read More
PRIVATE BLOG - Gold into JulyPrivate blog posts are exclusively available to Socrates subscribers. To sign-up for Socrates or to learn more, please visit Ask-Socrates.com.https://ask-socrates.com/Read More
The last greenfield refinery was built in the continental United States was opened 43 years ago when Marathon Petroleum opened its spanking-new 200,000 barrel of oil per day (bopd) plant in Garyville, Louisiana.Read full newsRead More
Will Tesla face a Nickel shortage? Why Elon made a pitch for more Nickel. To help give an insight into Nickel I interview Rodney Hooper from RK Equity. www.p...Read full newsRead More
Gold is receiving support from the coronavirus spike, ultra-low interest rates, a weak dollar and other factors.Read full newsRead More
Venezuela's interim president, Juan Guaid??. (Image by Renew Europe, Flickr). A decision regarding Canadian miner Crystallex's request to sell the shares of PDV Holdings, the parent company of refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp., which is owned by Venezuela, was expected by the end of July. Now it is likely to be made sometime in August. This, after US Justice Department lawyers asked District Judge L...Read More
Hydrogen tank for the Toyota Mirai. (Reference image by Mario Roberto Dur??n Ortiz, Wikimedia Commons). Researchers from the Czech Republic and Russia have developed a new material that uses gold, platinum and chromium to generate hydrogen molecules from fresh, salt, and polluted water by exposure to infrared sunlight.The objective behind this development is that the solution becomes another gree...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday July 24 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal M?(C)xico's integrated steel mill at L??zaro C??rdenas, in the country's western Michoac??n state, has been partly closed by local municipal officials because of alleged tax irregularities, the company said on...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday July 24 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal M?(C)xico's integrated steel mill at L??zaro C??rdenas, in the country's western Michoac??n state, has been partly closed by local municipal officials because of alleged tax irregularities, the company said on...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday July 24 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal M?(C)xico's integrated steel mill at L??zaro C??rdenas, in the country's western Michoac??n state, has been partly closed by local municipal officials because of alleged tax irregularities, the company said on...Read More
YESTERDAY in GOLD, SILVER, PLATINUM and PALLADIUM25 July 2020 -- SaturdayThe gold price traded quietly and unevenly sideways until around noon China Standard Time on their Friday. It was sold down to its low tick of the day by shortly after 1:30 p.m. CST -- and its subsequent rally was capped just minutes after 9 a.m. in London. From that point it was sold lower until around 11:45 a.m. BST....Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday July 24 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal M?(C)xico's integrated steel mill at L??zaro C??rdenas, in the country's western Michoac??n state, has been partly closed by local municipal officials because of alleged tax irregularities, the company said on...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday July 24 that are worth another look.ArcelorMittal M?(C)xico's integrated steel mill at L??zaro C??rdenas, in the country's western Michoac??n state, has been partly closed by local municipal officials because of alleged tax irregularities, the company said on...Read More