Last week's weaker tone in the metals has flowed through into morning trading on Monday May 4, with the three-month base metals on the London Metal Exchange down by an average of 0.6%, led by a 0.9% fall in copper to $5,061 per tonne. With Japan and China closed trading volumes are thin.Market participants likely to focus on European purchasing manager's index (PMI) data and US factory orders. Bas...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 4 that are worth another look.Flat-rolled steel import prices were mostly stable week on week in South America on Friday May 1, after deals became scarce and negotiations for June-shipment cargoes finished with low interest from clients.The European Commission's (EC) antitrust authorities granted Europe's largest copper smelter...Read More
Exporters of flat steel from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were calm during the week ended Monday May 4 due to the large gap between offers and the workable level for buyers, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $350-365 per tonne on Monday, down by $5 per tonne from $355-370 per tonne a week befor...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in both Northern and Southern Europe dropped over the week ended Friday May 1 due to supply exceeding demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?425.63 ($467.04) per tonne on May 1, down by ?,?17.50 per tonne week on week and down by ?,?46.87 per tonne since the start of April.Friday's index was calculated b...Read More
The price of steel rebar in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow was slightly lower week on week on Monday May 4 due to slow demand due to the extended Covid-19 lockdown, sources told Fastmarkets this week.Trading activity in the region has been severely hampered by the measures imposed to combat the Covid-19 virus and Russian public holidays.On April 28 Russia'...Read More
India has announced that it will extend its countrywide lockdown under the Covid-19 pandemic for a second time, but the creation of high- and low-risk zones in the country has meant that some steel producers were now increasing production levels once more.Indian steelmaking giant JSW has started to ramp-up steel output again after receiving government approval and instituting social-distancing pro...Read More
Singapore's rebar import market continued to see limited trading activity in the past week due to an extension of Covid-19 measures.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) import, cfr Singapore, which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical-weight basis, was $390-410 per tonne on Monday May 4, unchanged from a week earlier.Singapore has extended...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 4 that are worth another look.Flat-rolled steel import prices were mostly stable week on week in South America on Friday May 1, after deals became scarce and negotiations for June-shipment cargoes finished with low interest from clients.The European Commission's (EC) antitrust authorities granted Europe's largest copper smelter...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market opened the week quietly on Monday May 4 after an expected drop in prices late on Friday May 1, sources told Fastmarkets.On Friday, a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo comprising 17,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $236 per tonne cfr, and 7,000 tonnes of bonus at $246 per...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.The first quarter continued the trend of 2019 - for China to actively import relatively cheap metallics and semi-finished steel - but can this be sustained? The answer to this question will come down to the price competitiveness of the products, we believe. One additional incentive to continue to import metallics this year -...Read More
Brazilian slab export prices narrowed upward in the week to Friday May 1, with producers trying to push offers higher amid lower global slab supply.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil, moved up by $10 on the low end to $330-345 per tonne, from $320-345 per tonne a week earlier.Offers from Brazil to Asia were reported within the range of $330-335 per tonne fob...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia fell slightly over the past week amid sluggish trading activity.Market participants were also concerned about a decline in downstream hot-rolled coil prices.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel slab imports, cfr Southeast Asia and East Asia was $345-355 per tonne on Monday May 4, down by $5 per tonne from $350-360 per tonne a week ear...Read More
A summary of the financial results of German metals distributor Kl??ckner & Co for the first quarter of 2020.In brief Continued weakness in the automotive, machinery and energy sectors, especially in Germany and the United States, weighed on Kl??ckner's results for the first quarter of 2020 Around 90% of Kl??ckner's branches are still operational, with the majority of closures in France&...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 4 that are worth another look.Flat-rolled steel import prices were mostly stable week on week in South America on Friday May 1, after deals became scarce and negotiations for June-shipment cargoes finished with low interest from clients.The European Commission's (EC) antitrust authorities granted Europe's largest copper smelter...Read More
Exporters of flat steel from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were calm during the week ended Monday May 4 due to the large gap between offers and the workable level for buyers, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $350-365 per tonne on Monday, down by $5 per tonne from $355-370 per tonne a week befor...Read More
The three-month price of copper on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday May 4, pushing above nearby resistance levels despite the lowest daily trading volumes since April 6, while tin similarly staged a modest recovery in afternoon trading.Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,123 per tonne, recovering from an intraday low of $5,060 per tonne, while just...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in both Northern and Southern Europe dropped over the week ended Friday May 1 due to supply exceeding demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?425.63 ($467.04) per tonne on May 1, down by ?,?17.50 per tonne week on week and down by ?,?46.87 per tonne since the start of April.Friday's index was calculated b...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 4 that are worth another look.Flat-rolled steel import prices were mostly stable week on week in South America on Friday May 1, after deals became scarce and negotiations for June-shipment cargoes finished with low interest from clients.The European Commission's (EC) antitrust authorities granted Europe's largest copper smelter...Read More
Christine Keener has been appointed Alcoa's vice president of operations for Europe and North America, in a new role combining the two operating locations, Fastmarkets understands. The consolidation, effective from Friday May 1, will streamline the management of operating Alcoa's assets and ensuring alignment among common markets, the company said. Keener replaces Jean Francois Cyr and...Read More
The three-month price of copper on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Monday May 4, pushing above nearby resistance levels despite the lowest daily trading volumes since April 6, while tin similarly staged a modest recovery in afternoon trading.Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,123 per tonne, recovering from an intraday low of $5,060 per tonne, while just...Read More