Turkish steel producers avoided the deep-sea scrap market on Wednesday May 6, amid lower finished steel output in Turkey, due to the measures introduced to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus, sources told to Fastmarkets.The most recent deep-sea transaction took place at the end of the last week when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo at $236 per tonne for HMS 1&2...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market uptrend resumed on Wednesday May 6 due to more active trading after Chinese market participants returned from the Labor Day holiday on May 1-5. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.35 per tonne, up $0.31 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.24 per tonne, down $0.46 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $72.81 p...Read More
Steel billet producers in Iran have been active in the Southeast Asian market in the week to Wednesday May 6, Fastmarkets has learnt.Several cargoes of Iranian billet scheduled for production and shipment in May were reported sold within the range of $340-342 per tonne to Thailand and Indonesia, sources said.A cargo scheduled for the Indonesian market was reported sold at $365-367 per tonne cfr, w...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved up on Wednesday May 6 after a five-day break for Labor Day amid a drop in spot market inventory levels and rising futures. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,430-3,460 yuan ($486-490) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonne China's 20 biggest rebar markets had 8.31 million tonnes of the product at the end of April, down by 610,000 tonnes (6.8%) from April 20,...Read More
High-carbon ferro-chrome traded in a wider range last week as market participants weighed the impact of a near-term pick-up in demand against the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on the alloys markets. The price spread for high-carbon ferro-chrome in Europe widened by a couple of cents per lb to $0.17 per lb in the week ended Friday May 1. Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome high carbon 6...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 6 that are worth another look.Mining operations at Anglo American's Grosvenor coal mine in Queensland, Australia, have been suspended following an incident on the afternoon of Wednesday May 6, which led to its evacuation.Stainless steel prices in China were largely unchanged in the week to May 6, with market participants in t...Read More
A summary of stainless steel producer Outokumpu's results for the first quarter of 2020. In brief Sales and deliveries decreased year on year because of the coronavirus pandemic and its effect on the market. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) for the quarter increased on an annual comparison because...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe were unchanged this week because trading remained flat despite mill restarts and the easing of some Covid-19-related lockdown restrictions, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?580-595 ($630-647) per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on we...Read More
BMW has restarted vehicle production at some of its sites in Europe and the UK this week, while other locations would make similar moves next week, the company confirmed to Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 6.In late April 2020, the BMW Group began a staggered approach to restarts at its production locations, it said, with plant ramp-ups oriented toward the market. The exact dates for restarts would de...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.An uneven recovery in Chinese construction and manufacturing sectors meant that rebar prices performed better than hot-rolled coil prices in April. Although domestic and export HRC prices in China were higher than we forecast, we expect the downward trend to last into May and will not be upwardly adjusting...Read More
New orders in May are set to fall by 25% from a typical month - less than the 60% decrease seen at the end of March and in April - as steel demand starts to recover from the Covid-19 crisis in Brazil, Gerdau chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said on Wednesday May 6.Construction site work in Brazil was down by 6% from the period before regional government quarantines to prevent the Covid-19 s...Read More
Demand for flat steel products in Turkey was moderate in April despite the Covid-19 pandemic due to low stocks in the country, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 6.Turkish flat steel producers are fully booked until late June.Several carmakers stopped production in the country in March and April, but most have now resumed, or are planning to resume output in April and May.Steel output was a...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market uptrend resumed on Wednesday May 6 due to more active trading after Chinese market participants returned from the Labor Day holiday on May 1-5. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.35 per tonne, up $0.31 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.24 per tonne, down $0.46 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $72.81 p...Read More
High-carbon ferro-chrome traded in a wider range last week as market participants weighed the impact of a near-term pick-up in demand against the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on the alloys markets. The price spread for high-carbon ferro-chrome in Europe widened by a couple of cents per lb to $0.17 per lb in the week ended Friday May 1. Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome high carbon 6...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 6 that are worth another look.Mining operations at Anglo American's Grosvenor coal mine in Queensland, Australia, have been suspended following an incident on the afternoon of Wednesday May 6, which led to its evacuation.Stainless steel prices in China were largely unchanged in the week to May 6, with market participants in t...Read More
New orders in May are set to fall by 25% from a typical month - less than the 60% decrease seen at the end of March and in April - as steel demand starts to recover from the Covid-19 crisis in Brazil, Gerdau chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said on Wednesday May 6.Construction site work in Brazil was down by 6% from the period before regional government quarantines to prevent the Covid-19 s...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe have decreased over the past week due to poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe was ?,?480-490 ($522-532) per tonne on May 6, down by ?,?10 per tonne from ?,?490-500 per tonne on April 29.The assessment is based on lower offers heard in t...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 6 that are worth another look.Mining operations at Anglo American's Grosvenor coal mine in Queensland, Australia, have been suspended following an incident on the afternoon of Wednesday May 6, which led to its evacuation.Stainless steel prices in China were largely unchanged in the week to May 6, with market participants in t...Read More
If ever there was a masterclass in the need to disaster-proof a supply chain, then the Covid-19 pandemic has provided a harsh reminder to the automotive sector that it's failing. It's a wake-up call for the industry, which, after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in March 2011, had vowed to end its "just in time" production philosophy and diversify its supply chain in orderto limit a repe...Read More
Christophe Koenig has been appointed head of global sales and marketing at Nornickel, the world's largest nickel and palladium producer. He will also become chief executive officer of Metal Trade Overseas AG, Nornickel's Switzerland-based sales division. Koenig previously managed sales...Read More