Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday February 19 that are worth another look.Mexican integrated steelmaker Altos Hornos de M?(C)xico (Ahmsa) said it was able to partially resume operations on February 19 after being forced to stop output at its steel unit...Read More

There has been quite a bit of chatter related to precious metals lately.  The rally in Cryptos, particularly Bitcoin, and various other stocks have raised expectations that Gold and Silver have been overlooked as a true hedging instrument. As these rallies continue in various other stocks and sectors, Gold and Silver have continued to trade sideways over the past 6+ months – when and ho...Read More

Peter Krauth, editor of Gold Resource Investor, delves into the movement among some companies to hold Bitcoin and gold rather than cash.Imagine your favorite company getting sued for holding too much cash.I know, that's a big statement. But hear me out.Corporations, pension funds and insurance companies—anyone responsible to stakeholders—could one day face class action lawsuits if they...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday February 19 that are worth another look.Mexican integrated steelmaker Altos Hornos de M?(C)xico (Ahmsa) said it was able to partially resume operations on February 19 after being forced to stop output at its steel unit...Read More

A key topic reverberating around the Asian steel market over the past month has been the possibility of China reducing steel export rebates to 9% from the current 13%, or possibly axing them altogether.Market chatter on this topic has grown increasingly louder, with industry sources in China hearing more and more details about these plans from late January onward."This is likely in line with China...Read More

A shortage of containers to ship commodities around the world and the consequent soaring in associated freight rates have led to a revival of interest in breakbulk cargoes. Producers and physical traders of metals, agricultural, chemical and timber products have been starting to book shipments in breakbulk vessels, which cost far less and doesn't require vast amounts of equipment in port. On the m...Read More

The Biden administration's focus on US manufacturing and domestic supply chains will benefit established and developing minerals and metals sectors, including steel, rare earths, graphite and lithium.US President Joe Biden's executive order on the strengthening of American manufacturing, which he signed during his first week in office, is expected to have a direct effect on demand for US-produced...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of base metals analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: SHFE tailwind for LME pricesAs we are entering the traditional strong demand season, we expect Chinese aluminium demand to show further recovery, and we expect demand from existing end-user sectors, new infrastructure projects and the export sector to show some increases. As a result, we believe that S...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.This month's key North American steel forecast highlights:US hot-rolled coil prices moved in line with our forecasts in January, with actual prices modestly exceeding our forecasts for the month. Fastmarkets' US HRC index averaged $1,099 per ton in January, slightly above our forecast price of $1,075 per ton for the month. W...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The uptrend in European flat steel prices continued in January 2021 as expected, with the prices for hot-rolled coil in the North and South of the region averaging ?,?698 and ?,?686 ($840 and $826) per tonne respectively, within 1% of the Fastmarkets research forecasts.With European HRC prices climbing to their highest level...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The conequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on energy demand affected oil and gas prices through much of 2020 and weighed on drilling rates and demand for oil-country tubular goods (OCTG) in most regions.These effects were most likely to continue well into 2021 and perhaps longer, according to Fastmarkets OCTG Intelligence Serv...Read More

Palladium was manipulated for years. It had the largest short position relative to its size, while physical demand rose inversely to...by David Morgan of The Morgan ReportPalladium was manipulated for years. It had the largest short position relative to its size, while physical demand rose inversely to decreasing supply. Could Silver be next?Watch this video on Is Silver the next Palladium, then p...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view. buoyant flat steel market and rising raw material prices resulted in large price rises for welded pipe products across all regions in January 2021.Increases in the price assessments for helical submerged arc-welded (HSAW) pipes were of the magnitude of $140-190 per tonne, with the exception of Europe, where prices were...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:?EUR?In a strong start to the year, January saw ore and alloy pricing gains across all markets priced by Fastmarkets - with the exception of Chinese silicon metal export prices, which retreated slightly last month after posting impressive gains in December 2020.The combination...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.Prices for most ferro-alloys maintained their upward momentum into October, solidifying previous gains and reflecting the improved demand from steelmakers, the rebuilding of depleted inventories, and the supply-side concerns following both planned and unplanned outages. Gains were noted for ferro-silicon, silicon metal, mang...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloys forecast highlights:Prices across most ore and alloy markets trended higher in September, buoyed by improving demand from steelmakers with the end of the summer holiday season in Europe and the United States, as well as maintained demand from Chinese steel mills. Tightening of alloy inventories...Read More