Brazilian miner Vale has said it may have to implement contingency measures or eventually suspend operations due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic around the world.The miner made it clear, however, that "as of today, we have not suffered any material impact to our operations, logistics, sales or financial position, nor [have] any of our employees tested p...Read More
The price of steel slab from Brazil has edged downward over the past week, with sellers attempting to put limits to a downtrend in the market amid growing uncertainty in the United States.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, fell to $460-470 per tonne on Friday March 13, from $470-475 per tonne in the previous week.The market was shaken when many custo...Read More
Aluminium primary foundry alloy premiums were stable in Europe and the United States this week, with market participants pondering the long-term effects of the outbreak of 2019-nCoV coronavirus on the market's fundamentals and supply chain.EuropePremiums in Europe were steady, with market participants uncertain about the direction the market might take due to the measures being taken to try to con...Read More
Steel import prices in South America were mixed over the past week, with some suppliers taking advantage of lower availability to present more expensive offers, while China-origin material was offered at lower levels, source told Fastmarkets.Market participants noted an unusual scenario of flat-rolled steel being offered to Brazil at lower levels than South American Pacific countries. Chinese stee...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets andthe reasons for any price moves.Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price maintained its level on Friday March 13, closing at $5,460, with almost 31,000 lots traded on the day.The copper price touched a high of $5,589 per tonne but also fell to a low of $5,319.50, before consolidating around the $5,400-per-tonne mark.The copper price was also supported by the fresh cancellation of 1,150 tonnes on Friday, bring...Read More
The main coking coal exports hub of Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) in Queensland, Australia, declared force majeure after vessel loading operations were suspended earlier this week, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 13.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $162.13 per tonne, up $2.57 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $166.68 per tonne, up $1.82 per...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices moved higher on Friday March 13 as portside iron ore stocks fell, steel and steelmaking raw materials futures rose, China's central bank provided another boost to the economy and global equities market found a footing following a rout earlier this week.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.71 per tonne, up $0.96 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday March 13. United States Thin available inventory pressured prices upward. Consumer interest was still limited but suppliers drove liquidity...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States has weakened during the week to Friday March 13, under pressure from the general economic uncertainty caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' price assessment of pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $345-347 per tonne on Friday, down from $360-363 per tonne a week ago."We are concerned about the effects...Read More
Most mill-grade aluminium scrap prices fell in the United States this past week, encouraged by weaker London Metal Exchange aluminium prices and uncertainty resulting from the spread of the novel coronavirus."The mill-grades are down this week. The LME dropped a lot, and scrap hasn't fallen as much but it's down a bit," one US scrap seller said.Fastmarkets assessed the segregated low copper alloy...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price maintained its level on Friday March 13, closing at $5,460, with almost 31,000 lots traded on the day.The copper price touched a high of $5,589 per tonne but also fell to a low of $5,319.50, before consolidating around the $5,400-per-tonne mark.The copper price was also supported by the fresh cancellation of 1,150 tonnes on Friday, bring...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
A summary of UC Rusal's financial results for the full year to December 31, 2019. In brief: Rusal recorded a net profit of $960 million in the 12 months to December 31, 2019 compared with $1.698 billion in 2018, a fall of 43.5%. The company's revenue fell by 5.5% to $9.711 billion from $10.28 billion over the same period of 2018. Rusal attributed the fall in profit to a 15.1% decrease...Read More
A summary of Hydro's financial results for 2019 up to December 31. In brief: Hydro's underlying earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) decreased to 3.36 billion Norwegian kroner ($336 million) from 9.07 billion Norwegian kroner for 2018. The decrease mainly reflects lower aluminium and alumina prices. It was partly offset by increased production in Brazil, lower raw material costs a...Read More
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Institutes (ISRI) has decided to cancel the annual recycling event in Las Vegas next month, the biggest of its kind in the scrap industry, citing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV).ISRI Convention and Exposition - the largest event in the recycling industry - was originally scheduled to take place on April 25-30 in Las Vegas, United States. The...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange recouped the previous day's losses during morning trading on Friday March 13, while zinc futures also made a 3.6% recovery to push back above nearby resistance levels. Nickel's outright price on the LME was recently at $12,545 per tonne, with trading volumes over the morning exceeding 8,300 lots, second to copper's 15,300 lots exchanged as...Read More
Hot band prices in the United States took a drop on Friday March 13, with market participants unsure about how to navigate the potential impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $28.25 per hundredweight ($565 per short ton) on Friday March 13, down by 2.9% from $29.09 per cwt the day before and down 6.5% fro...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized sheet in the United States weakened after the spread of coronavirus and financial-system volatility convinced market participants that inventory buys will dry up until American businesses can better measure health and economic outcomes.Some sources said they spent more time this week assessing the impact of the broader economic events on their companies than t...Read More
The hot-rolled coil market in Northern European weakened slightly on Friday March 13 on negative sentiment due to uncertainty relating to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?481.18 ($540.29) per tonne on Friday March 13, down by ?,?1.32 per tonne from ?,?482.50 per tonne on M...Read More