The global direct-reduced (DR) iron-ore pellet market - which has traditionally faced shortages - may face a material oversupply by 2025, Chris Barrington, chief advisor of the International Iron Metallics Association (IIMA), said during Fastmarkets' Middle East Iron and Steel virtual conference on Wednesday December 16. "There will be significantly more than enough potential supply to meet demand...Read More

Alcoa is halting plans to curtail its San Cipri??n aluminium smelter in Spain after a Spanish court ruled in favor of the workers on Thursday December 17."The workers' representatives filed a lawsuit with the High Court of Justice of Galicia... In the court's ruling, it declared the collective dismissal process 'null...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States continued to climb toward $50 per hundredweight ($1,000 per short ton), with little spot availability and relatively long lead times maintaining record-high prices, according to market participants. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil price, fob mill US was calculated at $49.22 per cwt ($984.40 per ton) on Thursday December 17, up by 0.68% from $48....Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday December 17 that are worth another look.Usiminas increased its output and domestic sales volumes over the past 45 days from first-quarter and 2019 volumes, the Brazil-based flat steel producer said in a filing to Brazilian securities and exchange commission CVM.The Shanghai...Read More

Jakob Stausholm will become the new chief executive officer of mining major Rio Tinto at the start of next year, the company announced on Thursday December 17.Currently chief financial officer, Stausholm joined Rio Tinto in 2018, having previously held senior positions at shipping company AP Moeller-Maersk and at oil producer Shell. The appointment comes as Rio Tinto faces a series of corpora...Read More

The Shanghai Futures Exchange aluminium price will maintain its upward momentum in the first half of 2021 due to strong demand before trending gradually lower in the second half of the year on increased supply, market participants and analysts told Fastmarkets.The aluminium front month contract demonstrated great resilience in 2020 by recovering quickly from the impact of Covid-19 on consumption t...Read More

China's raw materials policies - including the ban of coking coal imports from Australia and the new recycled raw materials classification - will likely be among the key drivers of the global ferrous markets in 2021, market sources told Fastmarkets. Uncertainty over import policies caused by geopolitical tensions and supply have resulted in shifts in the consumption patterns of steelmaking raw mat...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium and tin prices set new year-to-date highs during trading on Thursday December 17, while the whole complex is continuing to hold high prices on hopes of a positive outcome in negotiations for a United States economic stimulus package to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The aluminium price hit a new 2020 high of $2,096 per tonne at around 2pm on Thursd...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices increased on Thursday December 17, amid rising concerns over limited supplies and low steel inventories, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $158.49 per tonne, up $2.04 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $158.89 per tonne, up $2.18 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $147.10 per tonne, u...Read More

Fastmarkets' premium hard coking coal cfr index jumped by more than $5 per tonne on Thursday December 17, while the fob price stayed flat due to no transactions being reported.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $101.46 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $188.42 per tonne, up $5.78 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.56 per tonne, unc...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

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:?EUR? Flat steel product prices in the United States moved largely in line with our expectations in October, although the increases slightly outpaced our projections. US hot-rolled coil prices averaged $655 per ton in October, exceeding our forecast price of $640 per...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 is ready to view.While much commentary has been written about Asian economies performing far better than those elsewhere this year during the global Covid-19 pandemic, it is stainless steel markets in Europe and the United States that are ending the year in better shape than their Asian counterparts.We do not talk of demand levels or demand g...Read More

JP Morgan says an end to Chinese credit stimulus will result in price declines for copper, aluminium and zinc over 2021.Analysts at the bank led by Natasha Kaneva noted in a report on Wednesday December 16 that demand risks in main consumer China would likely outweigh the recovery expected across the rest of the world next year."While we think prices could have further to run in early 2021 as upsi...Read More

Forecasts for growth in electric vehicle (EV) use set the scene for increased cobalt demand, but they have become the backdrop for increased volatility in prices.The mismatched timing of increased supply for, and demand from, the growing EV sector has seen cobalt prices swing to highs of nearly...Read More

Positive sentiment in final week before Christmas as Covid-19 vaccine receives FDA approval. Holiday season successful for e-commerce businesses. Online sales now slowing as delivery deadlines approach. US Nov. retail sales -1.1% vs. previous month after boost from early holiday shopping in Oct. Chinese demand driving polished market ahead of Feb. 12 lunar festival. Dealers anticipate good invento...Read More

RAPAPORT... Mountain Province reported strong sales during the fourth quarter, noting that rough prices surpassed pre-Covid-19 levels in most categories.Revenue for the final three months of the year reached $61.7 million, the Canada-based mining company said Thursday. That represented an increase of 25% compared to the same period a year earlier. Sales volume grew 24% to 956,348 carats, while the...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers' rough sales rose in December, albeit at a slower rate than in previous months, as steady retail demand ahead of the holidays supported trading at the rough and polished levels.The final sales cycle of the year brought in $440 million, up 3% from the $426 million the miner recorded a year earlier, it reported Thursday. However, the figure was 5% lower than the November cy...Read More