China's crude steel, hot metal and finished steel output continued to grow on a year-on-year basis in November, but fell month on month, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday December 15.November outputCrude steel: 87.66 million tonnes, up 8% from a year earlier, down 4.9% from OctoberHot metal: 72.01 million tonnes, up 4.7% year on year, down 5.5% mo...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday December 15 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel sales from distributors fell in November compared with the previous month due to limited supply from steelmakers but increased on an annual basis, according to national flat steel...Read More

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday December 15.Please click...Read More

The vaccines are coming – we’re saved! Although the arriving vaccines are great for humanity, they are bad for the price of gold.In November, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, had demonstrated evidence of an efficacy rate above 90% against COVID-19, in the first interim efficacy analysis. As Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO, said...Read More

Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico continued to increase in the week ended on Friday December 11 amid high demand from steel producers and a narrowing price gap between the north and central regions.At least two major steelmakers in the region near the country's northern Monterrey city announced increases in their scrap buying prices amid high competition to secure supply. A third steel producer...Read More

Brazilian flat steel sales from distributors fell in November compared with the previous month due to limited supply from steelmakers but increased on an annual basis, according to national flat steel association Inda.Sales of flat steel products totaled 339,400 tonnes last month, down by 8.7% from 371,700 tonnes in October but up by 15.8% from 293,200 tonnes in November 2019, Inda said...Read More

Thefinal weeks of the tumultuous year that has been 2020 present opportunities forinvestors to get their financial houses in order ahead of the New Year.Nobodyknows what 2021 will bring. But new political risks are likely to emerge –including the threats of higher taxes and a more punitive IRS.Withcontrol of the U.S. Senate still up for grabs pending runoff elections inGeorgia next month, an...Read More

Brace yourselves, winter is coming! It may be a harsh period for the United States, but much better for gold.Some of you may have seen snow this year already, but the astronomical winter is still ahead of us. Unfortunately, it could be a really dark winter. Instead of joyful snowball battles and making snowmen, we will have to contend with the coronavirus . The vaccines will definitely help (the f...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday December 15 that are worth another look.Brazilian flat steel sales from distributors fell in November compared with the previous month due to limited supply from steelmakers but increased on an annual basis, according to national flat steel...Read More

China Copper became the head negotiator in the settlement of the 2021 copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) benchmark following years of expansion in copper capacity.On Monday December 14, the subsidiary of Chinalco - which has outgrown its state-owned peers - became the first smelter to secure a deal with US copper miner Freeport-McMoRan at $59.50 per tonne/5.95 cents per lb....Read More

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday December 15.Please click...Read More

LME base metals prices were mixed on Tuesday December 15, with three-month copper and lead prices rising, while nickel fell below Monday's close despite setting a new year-to-date high earlier in the day.Nickel's three-month price failed to hold at the new year-to-date high of $17,880 per tonne reached during the day and fell back to $17,557 per tonne by 5pm - 0.2% lower than Monday's cl...Read More

Premium hard coking coal cfr and fob prices diverged slightly on Tuesday December 15, with the premium hard coking coal cfr price up and fob price down, sources told Fastmarkets. Some coke producers in China proposed a ninth round of price increases - with an increase of 50 yuan ($8) per tonne starting from December 15 - and some steel mills accepted the proposal, sources said.Fastmarkets ind...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US flat product prices maintained momentum through November, with increases accelerating in early December in response to supply shortfalls, rising scrap prices, and improving demand.While we correctly forecast further pricing gains in November, actual prices surpasse...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Chinese domestic and export flat steel prices surged in November 2020, with the export hot-rolled coil index rising to $592 per tonne during the month from $519 per tonne previously, and the monthly average increasing by 7.5% over October.Economic activity in China continued to expand, with manufacturing output rising by 7.5...Read More

Almost EVERY RECORD in the history of Silver was broken this year, and there are still 2 weeks left!by Bix Weir of Road to RootaAlmost EVERY RECORD in the history of Silver was broken this year from the most COMEX silver delivered, the most mines shuttered, the most extreme highs & lows, the highest silver ETF inflows, the highest Silver/Gold Ratio (125-1!) and of course...the biggest FINES EVER i...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Key ferro-alloy forecast highlights for the coming months:?EUR? A strong recovery in both bulk and noble alloys is expected in 2021 but the markets are unlikely to return to the levels seen before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have seen a quicker-than-expected recovery across various regions amid the economic fal...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Fastmarkets analysts were invited to present our outlook for the coking coal market at Coaltrans Asia, held online on November 23-25. One of the key topics at the event was the trade tensions between China and Australia, which overtook Mongolia to become the largest coking coal exporter to China this year...Read More

Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy increased significantly in the month to Tuesday December 15, supported by the global uptrend as well as a material shortage in the domestic market, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap, No E3 (old thick scrap), domestic, delivered mill, Italy was ?,?260-265 ($316-322) per tonne on  December 15, up b...Read More

Domestic ferrous scrap prices in Germany increased significantly in the month to Tuesday December 15, following the trend in the international market and supported by limited supplies, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap No E3 (old thick steel scrap), domestic, delivered mill, Germany, was ?,?285-310 ($346-376) per tonne on December 15, up by ?,?240-245 p...Read More