British Steel is set to restart production at its North Yorkshire special steel mill, on Monday April 27, following a three-week shutdown the company announced on April 24.In addition to the 240,000 tonnes-per year special steel mill at Skinningrove in Redcar & Cleveland, the company said it also plans to reopen its Lisburn service centre in Northern Ireland."Whi...Read More
A summary of Spain-based stainless steel producer Acerinox's financial results for the first quarter of 2020. In brief The company said the stainless steel market recovery in the first quarter was cut short by the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus, with profits down 14% year on year. The company had paused operations in Spain for four days in April and will resume...Read More
Vietnamese buyers continued to focus on Japanese scrap imports this week, and eschewed deep-sea bulk cargoes due to their high offers.Transactions involving individual shipments comprising 8,000-15,000 tonnes of Japanese H2 scrap were concluded at $234-235 per tonne cfr Vietnam.Bids for such cargoes were made at $230 per tonne cfr Vietnam, while offers were at $234-245 per tonne cfr Vietnam. Fastm...Read More
Taiwanese buyers continued to chase after imports of heavy melting scrap (HMS) imports this week, which caused prices to increase amid limited supply.Transactions were being concluded at increasingly higher prices throughout the week.They went from $220 per tonne cfr, $221 per tonne cfr and $222 per tonne cfr in the first half of the week to around $226-227 per tonne cfr in the second half. Offers...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 23 that are worth another look.Anglo American has lowered the 2020 production guidance for its Kumba iron ore operations to 37-39 million tonnes, down from a previous guidance of 41.5-42.5 million tonnes, due to the lockdown in South Africa, the miner said on April 23.South Africa is to end its nationwide lockdown and ease r...Read More
The three-month copper price on the LME climbed by just over 1% on Thursday April 23 to settle at its highest level since April 14, while nickel futures gained ground in the afternoon despite low turnover. Copper's outright price on the London Metal Exchange closed at $5,160.50 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, gaining some $30 per tonne from Wednesday's closing price, while turnover in the re...Read More
Total zinc inventory in London Metal Exchange warehouses has risen by 37% since the start of April to 100,075 tonnes as of April 23. Market sources attribute the rise in stocks to producers shipping their stock into warehouses to wait out the storm that is Covid-19. Demand for the galvanizing metal, like many other commodities, has fallen due to Covid-19 related lockdowns, leaving traders and prod...Read More
Anglo American has put its Quellaveco copper project in Peru on standby for up to three months while the government continues to restrict people movements to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.Most of Anglo American's on-site staff at the project in southern Peru have been under lockdown since March 17, when the Peruvian government declared a national emergency, the UK-based miner said on...Read More
Tungsten concentrates and ammonium paratungstate (APT) prices in China inched up this week after declining steadily since early March, but whether this minor recovery turns into a uptrend depends greatly on downstream demand, market sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for tungsten concentrate 65% WO3, in-whs China was 76,000-77,000 yuan ($10,726-10,867) per tonne on Wednesday April 2...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 23 that are worth another look.Anglo American has lowered the 2020 production guidance for its Kumba iron ore operations to 37-39 million tonnes, down from a previous guidance of 41.5-42.5 million tonnes, due to the lockdown in South Africa, the miner said on April 23.South Africa is to end its nationwide lockdown and ease r...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 23 that are worth another look.Anglo American has lowered the 2020 production guidance for its Kumba iron ore operations to 37-39 million tonnes, down from a previous guidance of 41.5-42.5 million tonnes, due to the lockdown in South Africa, the miner said on April 23.South Africa is to end its nationwide lockdown and ease r...Read More
Turkish steel mills extended their absence from the deep-sea scrap markets due to a public holiday in the country on Thursday April 23, keeping any possible trading opportunities on hold.Thursday marked the National Sovereignty and Children's Day public holiday in Turkey, with most people in the country away from work. In addition to this, the country has imposed a lockdown from April 23 to April...Read More
Prices for deep-sea bulk cargoes of ferrous scrap in Bangladesh have stayed largely flat over the past week amid a continued standoff between mills and suppliers, sources said on Thursday April 23.More stability in the Turkish import scrap market, a plunge in the price of crude oil and the continuation of Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions in Bangladesh were three reasons highlighted by marke...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 23 that are worth another look.Anglo American has lowered the 2020 production guidance for its Kumba iron ore operations to 37-39 million tonnes, down from a previous guidance of 41.5-42.5 million tonnes, due to the lockdown in South Africa, the miner said on April 23.South Africa is to end its nationwide lockdown and ease r...Read More
A summary of the first quarter production results for 2020 from British multinational mining company Anglo American, as stated in its latest production report released on Thursday April 23. In brief Anglo American recorded a 16% increase in production at the Collahuasi mine in Chile, offsetting the expected impact of water shortages at the Los Bronces mine, which sits 65 kilometers from the...Read More
Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange are firmer this morning, Thursday April 23, but the price pullbacks in recent days have questioned the robustness of the earlier rebounds. Oil futures' dip into negative territory raised concerns, especially in financial markets, because it meant there was no longer a finite amount of risk in holding the commodity....Read More
The spread of the Covid-19 virus is forcing shutdowns and a reassessment of consumers' cobalt requirements. Prices of cobalt - metal, intermediates and salts - have so far taken a hit amid concerns of a general, global economic slowdown caused by the virus; a slower uptake in electric vehicle usage; and disrupted demand from the aerospace sector. But lockdowns aimed at limiting the spread of the v...Read More
European buyers of hot-rolled coil expected that domestic prices would slide due to the current poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets in Thursday April 23.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?447.00 ($484.68) per tonne on Thursday, up by only ?,?2 per tonne day on day from ?,?445.00 per tonne on April 22.Official offers have been heard at ?,?455-465...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were largely stable on Thursday April 23 despite falling futures. Some exporters have become more optimistic about overseas prospects amid reports of an easing of a lockdown in Vietnam to contain the Covid-19 virus.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,300-3,320 yuan ($466-469) per tonne, narrowing upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,240 yu...Read More
Demand for imported steel billet and domestic rebar in Egypt was soft in the week ended Thursday April 23 and was unlikely to improve in the short term because of the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, sources have told Fastmarkets.No new billet deals have been heard since April 12, when the Egyptian ministry of trade postponed the reduction of the duty i...Read More