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
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 hot-rolled coil prices weakened on Tuesday April 28, with sentiment dampened by futures losses amid a drop in raw materials costs. Exporters, meanwhile, expect sellers globally to cut their offer prices amid bid drops, especially when mills remain in pressure to reduce inventories.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,260-3,280 yuan ($460-463) per tonne, down 30-40 yuan pe...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
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico largely decreased in the week ended Friday April 24, with steelmakers applying reductionsfollowing lower monthly settlements in the United States' domestic scrap market.Three major scrap buyers were said to have cut prices by 200 pesos (about $8) per tonne last week. This follows a previous round of price cuts a week earlier. At the same time, two Mexican scrap...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
Seaborne coking coal prices dropped on Tuesday April 28, with muted trading activity outside of China.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $115.53 per tonne, unchanged.Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $120.18 per tonne, down by $0.88 per tonne.Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $102.01 per tonne, unchanged.Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $105.94 per tonne, down by $3.50 per tonne...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
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
Ferro-alloys prices have generally retreated over the past month, with demand concerns gaining in prominence.The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Ferro-alloy pricing trends have generally diverged ove the past month, depending on the security of the supply-side position of the market. With most supply concerns fading with the resumption of industrial activity i...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
Swedish special steel producer Ovako has used hydrogen to heat steel before rolling for the first time, the company announced on Tuesday April 28.It claims to be the first company in the world to heat steel using hydrogen instead of liquefied petroleum gas before rolling, in a full-scale trial with its partner Linde Gas.Good results were achieved in the trial in one of the company's pit furnaces a...Read More
Metals prices generally seem to be consolidating this morning, Wednesday April 29, and for the most part look well placed to extend gains, but whether underlying confidence is strong enough in these uncertain times remains to be seen. * Asian-Pacific and pre-market major western equity indices are all positive, as are oil prices that are up around 3%.* Market participants likely to focus on US gro...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 44 points in pre-opening trade. Investors are waiting for news from the Federal Reserve at 2:00 PM EDT. Consensus is that the Fed Fund Rate will remain unchanged.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of first estimate of U.S. first quarter GDP at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop of 4.0% versus a gai...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 27 that are worth another look.The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a shortage of ferrous scrap in many key supply locations, provoking a 21% rise in international scrap prices in just 12 days from April 3 to April 15. But despite this, domestic prices in many areas were settled lower in April's monthly negotiations.The Itali...Read More
First Quantum has cut its 2020 copper production guidance by 75,000 tonnes to 755,000-805,000 tonnes as a result of a reduction in production expectations at Cobre Panama due to the Covid-19 pandemic.This guidance range is dependent upon the Toronto, Canada-listed company receiving approval from Ministry of Health of the Republic of Panama (MINSA) to commence the restart of operations before or by...Read More
Peruvian copper mine Antamina is still uncertain when it will be able to resume operations following a workforce demobilization due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Monday April 27.The mine underwent a stoppage on April 13, under which most workers still on-site were removed. Up to that date, around 2,700 people were still working at Antamina - an already reduced figure from the 6,000...Read More
First Quantum has cut its 2020 copper production guidance by 75,000 tonnes to 755,000-805,000 tonnes as a result of a reduction in production expectations at Cobre Panama due to the Covid-19 pandemic.This guidance range is dependent upon the Toronto, Canada-listed company receiving approval from Ministry of Health of the Republic of Panama (MINSA) to commence the restart of operations before or by...Read More
Brazilian base metals producer Nexa Resources will prepare to resume normal operations during the latest extension of Peru's quarantine measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the company said on Monday April 27.Metal concentrate production at the Atacocha, Cerro Lindo and El Porvenir mines will remain halted, while the Cajamarquilla zinc-copper smelter will continue to run at lower capacity u...Read More