China’s metals industry returned from holiday to find metal prices were higher and it would appear have chased prices higher, with all the base metals on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange showing gains this morning, Thursday February 18.

The Indian export price for silico-manganese jumped by nearly 9% on Friday March 19 to the highest since Fastmarkets started to assess the market in June 2014.

Following an extended consultation period, Fastmarkets is to discontinue four Argentinian steel price assessments from Friday October 9, following a long period of low liquidity and an inactive spot market.

China's new tax regime for ferrous raw materials and steel exports will kick off a new era for the steel sector, one in which demand and supply will become more balanced and the country cuts its dependency on iron ore at a faster pace.

Steel market participants often identify iron ore as the key driver of steel prices because mills typically formulate their pricing strategies based on raw material costs - but this appears to have changed in 2020.

Brazil-based steelmaker Gerdau expects the metal spread in its North America division to remain stable in the coming months after the company was able to secure ferrous scrap at competitive prices, chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said on Wednesday August 5.

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets’ team of analysts are ready to view.

Following a consultation period, Fastmarkets will change the publication time of its Latin American steel price assessments to Friday, 2-3pm New York time, from 2-3pm London time, with effect from Friday August 14.

Fastmarkets’ 62% Fe iron ore fines index just experienced its most volatile week on record: a biggest-ever daily gain of $18.31 on Monday May 10 came before a new high of $237.57 per tonne on May 12, followed by a record daily loss of $28.78 on May 14.

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets’ team of analysts is ready to view.