Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed at the close of trading on Monday September 7, with trading volumes across the day thin because of the Labor Day national holiday in the United States, while LME nickel futures topped losses over the afternoon.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $15,186 per tonne on Monday afternoon, dipping from an intraday h...Read More

European steelmakers have pushed official offers for domestic hot-rolled coil upward on a positive trend that has settled in the market, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday September 7.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?467.39 ($553.28) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?3 per tonne from ?,?464.39 per tonne on September 4.The index was als...Read More

The domestic price of steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow was fairly stable in the week to Monday September 7, supported by good buying, Fastmarkets has heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, cpt Moscow, Russia, remained at 37,000-37,500 roubles ($491-497) per tonne on September 7, including 20% VAT.Key domestic suppliers...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday September 7 that are worth another look.The Labor Day holiday in the United States meant that three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed at the close of trading on Monday, with trading volumes thin. LME nickel futures showed the biggest losses over the afternoon.In Asia, Vietnamese buyers remaine...Read More

Plans for a London Metal Exchange spot trading platform have sparked intense debate within the aluminium industry. But opponents and supporters don't necessarily fall into the camps that one might expect. For starters, a decision by the LME not to change its futures contract, establish a new green aluminium contract or set thresholds to define what constitutes low-carbon metal is proving key in st...Read More

Sometimes it is better to let a situation speak for itself. Alcoa, Rio Tinto Aluminium, Novelis, Constellium, Arconic, Kaiser Aluminum, Tri-Arrows Aluminum, American Metal Chemical Corp, Hydro Extrusion North America, JW Aluminum, Real Alloy, Reynolds Consumer Products, Scepter, Silberline Manufacturing Co, Smelter Service Corp and Wagstaff. The US Aluminum Association, which represents more than...Read More

The London Metal Exchange is looking for ways to boost its options market, which has been struggling for some years to replicate the growth seen in the same sector among its peers.The exchange has launched a consultation, scheduled to end on July 29, on developing electronic options via a new trading platform while retaining its current inter-office options trading structure.Items up for discussio...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday September 7 that are worth another look.The Labor Day holiday in the United States meant that three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed at the close of trading on Monday, with trading volumes thin. LME nickel futures showed the biggest losses over the afternoon.In Asia, Vietnamese buyers remaine...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed at the close of trading on Monday September 7, with trading volumes across the day thin because of the Labor Day national holiday in the United States, while LME nickel futures topped losses over the afternoon.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $15,186 per tonne on Monday afternoon, dipping from an intraday h...Read More

Fastmarkets' seaborne premium hard coking coal cfr index increased on Monday September 7, after the latest transaction, with market participants agreeing that demand from China will be the key factor in any further spot market price increases. Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $110.05 per tonne, up $0.05 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $115.88 per t...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view, including an upgrade to our aluminium price forecasts.Aluminium: Price forecasts raisedWe correctly expected the macro reflationary theme to raise the prices for all base metals but, with it being the base metal with by far the weakest fundamentals, we had expected the price of aluminium to underperform relative...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.These include an increase in our copper mine disruption estimates, upgrades to our production outlook for Indonesian nickel pig iron (NPI), a smaller refined zinc surplus, and an upgrade to our zinc price forecasts.Aluminium: Big disconnect between price and fundamentalsAluminium has extended its uptrend on the London Metal...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. We also review our price forecasting accuracy for the second quarter 2020.Q2 2020 price forecast performance review According to the results of Fastmarkets' Apex for the second quarter of 2020 published this week, Fastmarkets' base metals research team was the second most accurate price forecaster for nickel (99.06%), lead...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: Comfortable consolidationAluminium appears comfortable consolidating for the moment, and this will leave prices in a stronger position to challenge overhanging long-term trend-line resistance from the May 2018 high, which stands at $1,670 per tonne currently.Copper: Consolidation unlikely to lastCopper reached its...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US market under pressureUS prices for welded pipe products were under pressure because market participants, especially distributors, have started to take steps to generate cash and were moving material if they were able to do so, even if it meant selling at low prices.We expect more such "fire sales" in the coming months, bu...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.August 2020 has seen the prices of most steel products move up in tandem around the world, in contrast to recent months when steel prices have moved in different directions depending on the market.This dynamic has been seen in most coated steel markets as well, with the prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG), pre-painted...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.US market at risk of slidingPrices for pipe products were at a floor in the United States in mid-August, and have been broadly stable at that level since the start of the second quarter, but they are at risk of declining further in the coming months.Drilling rig counts have yet to find a floor and have fallen below most esti...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US domestic prices for hot-rolled coil moved down in line with our expectations, averaging $461 per ton in July versus our forecast price of $460 per ton. Although domestic HRC prices slipped to less than $450 per ton in late July/early August, we maintain the view th...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Prices across most ferro-alloy markets trended stable to lower in August as demand remained subdued in major markets, apart from China where steel output continues to rise at a rapid pace, supporting demand for ferro-alloys. As alloy makers seek to remedy supply/demand imbalan...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:Numerous ore and alloy markets enjoyed upward pricing momentum in the first half 2020, with supply-side constraints supporting prices despite collapsing demand from steelmakers and other key end users. While supply side issues related to Covid-19 lockdowns have been resolved,...Read More