Turkish steel producers continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes for June shipment on Wednesday May 13, but prices started to show signs of a downturn due to the weak rebar market, sources told Fastmarkets. A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 12,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $252 per tonne and 18,000-20,000 tonnes of shredded at $257 per tonne cfr.But another s...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market largely maintained current levels on Wednesday May 13, with good demand for steel and consumption of iron ore continuing to support prices. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.63 per tonne, down $0.04 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $94.36 per tonne, up $0.16 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $78.88 per t...Read More
Export prices for steel billet from Iran narrowed downward slightly over the week to Wednesday May 13 amid limited trading.Demand faded from Southeast Asian customers which had been actively booking material earlier in the month.One cargo of 20,000 tonnes was reported sold within the range of $335-340 per tonne fob, with the desitination presumed to be China.Some demand was seen among the Gulf Co-...Read More
Novolipetsk (NLMK) Lipetsk, the main production site of NLMK Group, has completed assembly of the main process equipment at its continuous casting machine No.9, the company told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 12.Commissioning and start-up are currently in progress at the machine, which has a production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes per year of heavy slab.NLMK will produce heavy slab with increased ch...Read More
The European steel market will not recover from the drastic drop in demand caused by the measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus until late 2020-early 2021, the European steel association Eurofer said this week."Although the wide uncertainty and the unprecedented nature of the crisis make it rather complicated to produce a reliable forecast at the time of writing, market conditions are...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe moved down this week because of poor demand, with eyes now turning to the upcoming renewals of the EU import quotas, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 13.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?580-590 ($628-639) per tonne, down from ?,?580-595 per tonne one week before.The EU i...Read More
Turkish pipe export prices declined over the past month, in line with falling raw materials costs and with demand still weak due to Covid-19 lockdowns in the country's major markets, sources said on Wednesday May 13.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel structural pipe, export, S235JR grade, EN10219, 2mm wall thickness, fob main port Turkey, was $460-470 per tonne...Read More
Car manufacturer Ford has announced that it intends to restart initial production at two plants in the UK and one in Valencia, Spain, from May 18, which will complete the restart of all its European units, it said on Wednesday May 13.The UK production sites at Dagenham and Bridgend will restart from May 18, as will the Valencia Engine Plant. These will be the last of the Ford sites to restart, wit...Read More
The European steel market will not recover from the drastic drop in demand caused by the measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus until late 2020-early 2021, the European steel association Eurofer said this week."Although the wide uncertainty and the unprecedented nature of the crisis make it rather complicated to produce a reliable forecast at the time of writing, market conditions are...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Europe have fallen further over the week despite limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 13.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?500-520 ($542-563) per tonne on May 13, compared with ?,?500-525 per tonne a week earlier. The assessment, however, was down by ?,?30-40 per tonne sin...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Europe dropped again over the past seven days due to poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 13.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?413.50 ($447.96) per tonne on Wednesday, down by ?,?0.50 per tonne from ?,?414.00 per tonne on Tuesday. The index was down by ?,?8 per tonne week on week and down b...Read More
A summary of German steelmaker Salzgitter's financial results for the first quarter of 2020.In brief The impact of Covid-19 on Salzgitter's operations has been limited in the first quarter of 2020 but the situation remains tense. Industrial orders, revenues and production started to rise in January, but the recovery was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The effects of the Covid-19 pan...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 13 that are worth another look.China's Sichuan province is to implement an inspection regime to ensure steelmakers comply with the nationwide policy requiring the increased use of alloys to improve the quality of any rebar produced in the region.Glencore, Anglo American and Vale have been excluded from Norway's oil fund while...Read More
Europe's domestic prices for heavy steel plate have dropped again over the past week due to poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 13.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw northern Europe was ?,?470-490 ($509-531) per tonne on May 13, widening downward by ?,?10 per tonne from ?,?480-490 per tonne on May 6.The assessment is based on off...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was the underperformer at the close of trading on Wednesday May 13, slipping below nearby support levels against broad risk-off sentiment, while zinc futures similarly struggled over the afternoon.Lead's underlying price on the LME closed at $1,599.50 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, falling from an intraday high of $1,632 per tonne, while t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 13 that are worth another look.China's Sichuan province is to implement an inspection regime to ensure steelmakers comply with the nationwide policy requiring the increased use of alloys to improve the quality of any rebar produced in the region.Glencore, Anglo American and Vale have been excluded from Norway's oil fund while...Read More
The three-month lead price on the London Metal Exchange was the underperformer at the close of trading on Wednesday May 13, slipping below nearby support levels against broad risk-off sentiment, while zinc futures similarly struggled over the afternoon.Lead's underlying price on the LME closed at $1,599.50 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, falling from an intraday high of $1,632 per tonne, while t...Read More
Zinc premiums in Shanghai and Northern Europe were on an uptrend in the week to Tuesday May 12, driven by an open arbitrage window and increased liquidity in both markets, while the market in the United States remained subdued amid a continued slump in the country's automotive sector.SHFE import arbitrage window opensEasing of lockdown measures boosts European liquidityUS buyers reluctant to commi...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday May 13.Please click...Read More