Price data, forecasts, insights and events for commodity markets

Fastmarkets has decided to launch a bi-weekly price assessment for Chinese grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) on Friday April 17. The decision follows a one-month consultation period which ended on April 4. The demand for GOES grew alongside the rapid expansion of industries such as power transmission, energy storage, artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, and electric vehicle (EV) […]

Logistics disruptions, sharply higher freight costs and limited raw materials supply are among the main impacts from the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran on the Middle East’s steel market, Asam Hussain, the chief executive officer of Arabian Gulf Steel Industries (AGSI), told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 1.

See how surging fuel costs and inflation reshape North American paper and board markets. Read our analysis of the oil shock impact on paper packaging. Read more.

Growing uncertainty over Guinea’s bauxite export policy, alongside severe disruption to alumina supply chains caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, emerged as key themes at the Fastmarkets Bauxite & Alumina Conference in Miami on March 24-25, with delegates warning of heightened price volatility and shifting trade flows.

Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.

European sawn timber markets moved into February 2026 in a broadly cautious mood, with price stability across most grades and destinations masking a more anxious undercurrent driven by the eruption of the Iran conflict and its mounting consequences for global freight markets.