A summary of aluminium producer Alcoa's preliminary second-quarter results, to June 30, 2020.In brief Alcoa said it is expecting a net loss attributable to Alcoa Corp of between $190 million and $205 million, as compared to net income attributable to Alcoa Corp of $80 million in the first quarter of 2020.For the second quarter, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortizati...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil have moved further upward over the past week across Europe, supported by a lack of competitive import offers and a slow revival of demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 8.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?404.00 ($456.17) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?0.87 per tonne day on day from...Read More

Steel rebar prices were largely steady in Europe in the week to Wednesday July 8 with buying activity reported to be satisfactory in most regions. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was ?,?425-435 ($480-492) per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing from ?,?420-435 per tonne delivered last Wednesday. The assessment was based on...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesOverall, some 1.5 million people have lost their jobs in the past year in Chile, a 16.5% fall, bringing employment rates back to levels last seen in September 2010."This is a clear example of the impact of the [COVID-19] pandemic on employment," said Sonami research manager Alvaro Merino.Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPO...Read More

ArcelorMittal Brasil will restart activities of the No2 blast furnace (BF) at its Tubar??o mill, in the Brazilian south-eastern state of Esp?-rito Santo, on July 26, after more than a year of downtime, the company said on Wednesday July 8.Production from the No2 BF is solely export-oriented and the decision to reignite it was taken after a demand recovery in external markets, ArcelorMittal added.T...Read More

The price of hollow steel sections in Northern Europe widened on Wednesday July 8 with mills seeking to fill their order books before the seasonal summer slowdown, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?540-560 ($610-632) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward from ?,?550-560 per tonne a week earlier.F...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesData from state copper agency Cochilco shows output was maintained at normal levels during the first five months of the year, averaging 473,200 tonnes per month.Chile produced 432,500t of red metal in May, but market observers are expecting these figures to fall as mining operations slow due to COVID-19 cases among miners increasin...Read More

With the exception of China’s CSI 300, Asian-Pacific equities and pre-market major western equity futures were weaker this morning, Wednesday July 8, while base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed and those on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally firmer.We wait to see if the halt in the rise in equities is just a pause, or whether focus is turning to the rap...Read More

After rising last week, stainless steel scrap prices in the United States have hit a wall even as the nickel cash contract on the London Metal Exchange climbed above $13,230 per tonne ($6 per lb) for the first time since late January.The typical summer slump has started, and steel mill operations have continued at a slow pace while stainless scrap flows remain limited. At the same time, market par...Read More

The US East Coast ferrous scrap export market has gone quiet with no cargoes sold over the past week, although an underlying stability was present while exporters worked to fill vessels to Turkey.While Turkish steelmakers bypassed the East Coast over the past week, mills in that country have continued to purchase scrap. One such cargo booked out of Texas, which Fastmarkets reported on July 2, cont...Read More

Turkish steel producers have continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market so far this week because of weak demand for finished long steel, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday July 8.Mills in Turkey booked five deep-sea cargoes late last week, totalling around 140,000 tonnes.However, they went quiet at the beginning of the week after struggling to sell finished long steel products i...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

Fastmarkets' iron ore index for 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao rose to its highest level in 2020 on Wednesday July 8, with iron ore prices continuing to strengthen amid the recovery in Chinese domestic demand for rebar. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $106.50 per tonne, up $3.49 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $108.28 per tonne, up $2.97 per tonne. 58% Fe fines...Read More

Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday July 8thU.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 4 points in pre-opening trade. Apple ( AAPL $372.69) is expected to open higher after Deutsche Bank raised its target price to $400.Air Products and Chemicals advanced $3.20 to $268.33 after Deutsche Bank raised its target price from $250 to $300.Walgreen Boots gained $1.48 to...Read More

The seaborne coking coal market was quiet on Wednesday July 8, with prices flat. Apart from one transaction for hard coking coal, the market has seen no trading activity so far this week.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $113.36 per tonne, down by $0.50 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $125.22 per tonne, down by $0.04 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $93.83...Read More

South Korean steelmaker Posco has returned to the market for steel scrap from Japan and Korea in the past week after taking a hiatus of around three months, market sources told Fastmarkets.Korea's largest steel producer stopped buying scrap in April amid dismal steel demand, particularly in the higher-grade steel segment. Since then, the steelmaker has also delayed the resumption of production fro...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices surged on Wednesday July 8 amid financial market gains, which revived imports, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,840-3,860 yuan ($547-550) per tonne, up 60-70 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said sellers in the city offered HRC at 3,840 yuan per tonne in the morning before raising this amount to 3,860 yuan per tonne in response to act...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices increased further on Wednesday July 8 on restocking demand and rising futures. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,560-3,590 yuan ($507-511) per tonne, up by 30 yuan per tonneRising futures encouraged some buyers to start replenishing their stock in the past couple of days, sources said. A trader in eastern China said he sold 30% more rebar on Wednesday than each day...Read More

The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log, including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies. Fastmarkets assessed cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at$13.80-14.20 per lb...Read More

The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log, including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trade logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it...Read More