ArcelorMittal plans to temporarily idle the second blast furnace (BF) and coking plant at its Fos-sur-Mer flat steel plant in France due to the economic downturn resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the company told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 22.The hot idling of the equipment will "take a few weeks," the company said.The steelmaker had already stopped the other BF, and the converter and cont...Read More
Like all other flat-rolled steel products in the United States, coated products have also felt the burn from the Covid-19 pandemic with prices tumbling month on month. While crude oil prices have dropped sharply and automakers have put their production in North America on pause, flat-rolled steel markets as a whole have been hurt - despite mills' efforts to cut production and capaci...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe moved downward this week, with demand almost non-existent despite restarts by Italian mills, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?585-600 ($634-651) per tonne on Wednesday, down from ?,?590-610 per tonne one week before.This week, all ey...Read More
While some Type 300 stainless steel scrap prices in the United States rose slightly week on week due to an uptick in London Metal Exchange nickel prices and the continued shortage of material in the supply chain, sources were cautious about referring to the increase as a recovery while the Covid-19 pandemic continues."Supply is still the fundamental factor supporting stainless prices. Scrap flow h...Read More
Turkey has gone quiet in the international ferrous scrap export market, but exporters operating at docks in the United States have been scurrying to find enough material to fill vessels scheduled to ship in May and June.East Coast recyclers booked six scrap cargo sales to Turkey totaling an estimated 200,000 tonnes between Monday April 6 and Thursday April 16. Of this, an estimated 130,000 to...Read More
Turkish steel producers continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap import markets amid weak finished steel demand and lower steel output because of the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said on Wednesday April 22.Having booked at least seven deep-sea cargoes last week, totaling almost 220,000 tonnes, market participants believe the mills have enough scrap for now."I can say there is no trad...Read More
Japanese ferrous scrap export prices rose again on Wednesday April 22 with lower availability and more sales to Taiwan driving prices up, market sources said.One scrapyard source reported gradually decreasing scrap supply in Japan amid slowing economic activity in a similar development to the low-availability environment in both the United States and Europe, Fastmarkets was told.Japan announced it...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices mostly dropped slightly on Wednesday April 22, with some market sources expecting steel mills located outside China to offer materials to the East Asian country due to lackluster demand in other markets.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $124.02 per tonne, down by $1.03 per tonne.Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $135.70 per tonne, up by $0.66...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices recovered from losses seen the previous day amid active portside trading on Wednesday April 22.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.04 per tonne, up $0.67 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.66 per tonne, up $0.70 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $67.40 per tonne, up $0.82 per tonne. 65% Fe Brazil-ori...Read More
Aluminium stocks on the London Metal Exchange continue to rise and there is now a lack of warehouse space in key Asia locations in a situation that mirrors issues during the 2008 financial crash, sources told Fastmarkets. With a number of aluminium producers switching their value-added product production to primary aluminium and end-user demand increasingly weak due to Covid-19 shutdowns, storing...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices edged up on Wednesday April 22 amid a recovery in the futures market and increased trading in comparison with the past two days. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,430-3,450 yuan ($483-488) per tonne, narrowed upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,430-3,460 yuan per tonne, widened upward by 10 yuan per tonne Rebar futures rose in tandem with the rising...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were largely stable on Wednesday April 22 amid increased trading activity, while exporters continued to wait for opportunities to sell their products abroad after other countries issued offers similar to theirs.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,290-3,320 yuan ($465-469) per tonne, widening downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,240 yuan...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday April 22.Key drivers: Spot market sees thin trade but steady inquiries with buyers hoping to keep abreast of price changes in the context of supply cuts at CTT and Ambatovy, and upstream logistical pressures in Africa. Sellers...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday April 22.Key drivers Europe ferro-titanium market extends steady trend for a third consecutive week while supply worries support prices amid reduced production both within the continent and abroad. UK-based sources say domestic production has been cut up to as much as 20% from some furnaces due to reduced staffing levels while worke...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday April 22 pricing session in Shanghai.Key drivers Cobalt metal price drops in line with weak domestic futures market; cobalt prices on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange wiped out the gains made earlier in the week, falling to a near one-month low.Market participants attributed...Read More
Hsikwangshan Twinkling Star Co, a major Chinese antimony producer, suspended production last week due to a fatal safety accident, giving antimony suppliers in the country the confidence to raise offer prices on expectations of reduced supply, market participants told Fastmarkets. The Lengshuijiang-headquartered company ceased production soon after the accident that caused one death and could be of...Read More
China's Zhejiang Yongjin Metal Technology plans to build a stainless steel cold-rolling mill in Thailand as part of a joint venture with Foshan Lianhongyuan Stainless Steel, the company said on April 20. The company is in the process of obtaining approvals from the relevant authorities and...Read More
The European charge and high carbon ferro-chrome benchmark has jumped by 13 cents, or 12.9%, to $1.14 per lb for the second quarter of 2020. The settlement is announced every quarter by Merafe Resources, which operates a chrome joint venture with trader-miner Glencore in South Africa. The benchmark is settled via negotiations between a leading South African ferro-chrome producer and a major Europe...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic could nudge Chinese steelmakers toward using more electric-arc furnaces (EAF) to produce steel, market sources say.This is especially due to the huge market uncertainty caused by the ongoing global economic crisis. EAF-based production could offer mills - most of which are still heavily reliant on blast furnaces (BFs) - the flexibility they need in such circumstances to reduc...Read More
Vietnam's Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp will not announce its monthly offer prices for its steel supply for the first time in history."The company will engage in private price negotiations with individual customers based on their demand and inventory levels," a source told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 22.Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp is one of two major blast furnace-based producers in Vietnam, togeth...Read More