Swedish mining company Boliden increased its concentrate stocks of zinc, copper and lead during the first quarter of 2020 to ensure supplies of raw materials for its smelters amid the growing market uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic."The company is planning for normal business operations during the coming quarters," Boliden said in its interim report for the January-March quarter on Tue...Read More
Zambia is highly unlikely to impose restrictions on the mining sector during the Covid-19 pandemic because current practices are working very well, a senior executive at First Quantum said. Hannes Meyer, the company's chief financial officer, said Zambia's population demographics have also aided the limited spread of the virus in the copper-rich country. "I don't think for one minute that we will...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 28 that are worth another look.Swedish special steel producer Ovako has used hydrogen to heat steel before rolling for the first time, the company announced on April 28.Over the past month, Chinese importers have been keen to buy overseas copper scrap at more competitive prices, with scrap production shrunk by the effects of...Read More
Rwanda has allowed some mines and exporters in the country to resume operations starting from Tuesday April 28, sources told Fastmarkets. Five of the 19 export organizations in the country in eastern Central Africa will be allowed to ship out material from today and 20 mines - including those producing tantalum, tungsten and tin - will be allowed to slowly resume operations. Ta...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have again gone quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets despite the sharp decrease in prices seen at the beginning of this week, sources said on Tuesday April 28.After around 10 days of silence, a Turkish steel mill booked a Baltic Sea cargo on April 27 at $242 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and $252 per tonne cfr for bonus, which sent the daily scrap indices down by mor...Read More
The impact of Covid-19 is undeniably huge. It continues to make its presence felt across all commodity markets, including the ferrous supply chain, from raw materials down to finished steel products. One significant impact that can be tracked closely through spot pricing is the increasing disarray in price correlations between various segments of the ferrous supply chain after the Covid-19 pandemi...Read More
Metals prices were consolidating during morning trading on Tuesday April 28 after the promising start to the week faded on Monday, but talk that Chinese provincial governments are offering to subsidize inventory accumulation could well turn out to be a supportive factor. The mixed performance this morning is widespread with Asian-Pacific and pre-market western equity indices on divergent paths, wh...Read More
A summary of Australian lithium spodumene concentrate producer Pilbara Minerals operational results for the first quarter of 2020, as stated in its operational report on Tuesday April 28.In brief The Australia-based company said it pursued a moderated production strategy and cost reduction initiatives to maintain a positive cashflow and capitalize on the market turnaround in the medium-to-long ter...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 28 that are worth another look.Swedish special steel producer Ovako has used hydrogen to heat steel before rolling for the first time, the company announced on April 28.Over the past month, Chinese importers have been keen to buy overseas copper scrap at more competitive prices, with scrap production shrunk by the effects of...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe moved down slightly day on day due to low demand, sources told Fastmarkets in Tuesday April 28.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?440.00 ($476.70) per tonne on Tuesday April 28, down by ?,?1 per tonne from ?,?441.00 per tonne on April 27.Tuesday's index was calculated based on official offers hear...Read More
Some flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia decreased this week, with the markets very slow because of concerns about the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the start of Ramadan, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 28.No deals were heard during the week, with steel consumption reduced because the Islamic holy month of Ramadan started on April 23, when a...Read More
The prices for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates fell over the past week due to weak demand during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as well as the continued effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources said on Tuesday April 28. Authorities in the UAE announced a curfew from 10pm to 6am for the month of Ramadan, which started on April 23. Traditionally consumption of steel pr...Read More
The impact of Covid-19 is undeniably huge. It continues to make its presence felt across all commodity markets, including the ferrous supply chain, from raw materials down to finished steel products. One significant impact that can be tracked closely through spot pricing is the increasing disarray in price correlations between various segments of the ferrous supply chain after the Covid-19 pandemi...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices fell on Tuesday April 28 amid lower buying interest following the weakness experienced in the futures market. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,400-3,430 yuan ($480-484) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneTwo days of declines in the futures market this week led to lower buying interest in the spot market on Tuesday, sources said.Customers have cut their procuremen...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have again gone quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets despite the sharp decrease in prices seen at the beginning of this week, sources said on Tuesday April 28.After around 10 days of silence, a Turkish steel mill booked a Baltic Sea cargo on April 27 at $242 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and $252 per tonne cfr for bonus, which sent the daily scrap indices down by mor...Read More
Seaborne iron ore market prices fell on Tuesday April 28, following the momentum in the iron ore futures curve on the Dalian Commodity Exchange. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.20 per tonne, down $1.28 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.60 per tonne, down $0.90 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $71.97 per tonne, down $0.50 per t...Read More
BHP is consulting with relevant stakeholders on options to increase its licensed iron ore export capacity to over 290 million tonnes per year from Hedland, the shipping hub in Western Australia, it told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 28.Tim Day, BHP acting asset president for Western Australia iron ore, said BHP's focus remains on reaching 290 million tonnes per year in the medium term, but improvem...Read More
Prices in the market for steel billet exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to soften in late April, with some cargoes heard sold to customers in the Middle East with discounts.A large cargo of Ukraine-origin billet was reported sold to Saudi Arabia for around $360 per tonne cfr. According to various sources, the cost of freight would vary within the range of $20-25 p...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices fell on Tuesday April 28 amid lower buying interest following the weakness experienced in the futures market. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,400-3,430 yuan ($480-484) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneTwo days of declines in the futures market this week led to lower buying interest in the spot market on Tuesday, sources said.Customers have cut their procuremen...Read More
The Indian silico-manganese export price and European domestic high-carbon ferro-manganese price rose in the past week amid tight alloy availability and hefty increases in the cost of ore. The silico-manganese 65% Mn min, min 16% Si, fob India price jumped by 13.5% to $1,000-1,100 per tonne in the week ended Friday April 24 from $900-950 per tonne on April 17. This is the assessment's highest...Read More