Base metals prices on both the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange are firmer this morning, Thursday April 23, but the price pullbacks in recent days have questioned the robustness of the earlier rebounds. Oil futures’ dip into negative territory raised concerns, especially in financial markets, because it meant there was no longer a finite amount of risk in holding the commod...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were slightly higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 5points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the Weekly Jobless Claims report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was 4.300 million versus 5.245 million last week. Actual was 4.427 millionTarget (TGT $106.84) is expected to open higher after reporting higher than consensus sam...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 21 that are worth another look.The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Italian long steel producer Alfa Acciai Group has resum...Read More
Miners are cautious about a full ramp-up in production even as Peru's Covid-19 pandemic-related state of emergency is expected to lift after Sunday April 26.An immediate ramp-up to pre-quarantine levels will not be possible for small to mid-size miners in Peru, a producer told Fastmarkets, given that restrictions on the movement of people as well as logistical disruptions are expected to continue...Read More
Tantalum prices have found support due to tightness of supply and concerns about obtaining material during the continued lockdowns in central African countries imposed to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.Prices have been moving up over the past month, with buyers struggling to find cheap prompt units due to the increased worries about the future availability of material, market sources...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 21 that are worth another look.The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Italian long steel producer Alfa Acciai Group has resum...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday April 21.Please click...Read More
Glencore's Mopani Copper Mine in Zambia could continue to operate under certain conditions after the company's decision to shut the mine led to strong opposition from the the country's government.A company statement, dated Monday April 20, said that the mining operations could restart if an agreement were reached between government officials and Glencore, but did not give details of the necessary...Read More
Over two million tonnes of copper mine supply could be temporarily lost this year due to disruptions related to the Covid-19 pandemic and other non-virus factors, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group Benedikt Sobotka said.This is equivalent to around 10% of 2020 copper mine supply and is double the roughly 5% of planned copper mine production that is typically lost due to unfore...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 21 that are worth another look.The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Italian long steel producer Alfa Acciai Group has resum...Read More
Tantalum prices have found support due to tightness of supply and concerns about obtaining material during the continued lockdowns in central African countries imposed to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.Prices have been moving up over the past month, with buyers struggling to find cheap prompt units due to the increased worries about the future availability of material, market sources...Read More
Mexican steel scrap prices decreased in the week ended April 17, with some buyers applying the first round of a series of price cuts planned for the month, and a second group of buyers keeping their prices stable.In Mexico's central Baj?-o region, steelmakers applied price cuts of 200-400 pesos ($8-17) per tonne last week, and have announced a second round of price cuts of 200 pesos per tonne to s...Read More
The Turkish steel producers went through the second working day of the week with no deep-sea bookings and they were expected to remain quiet for the rest of the week, sources said on Tuesday April 21.The mills in the country booked at least seven deep-sea cargoes last week, totaling almost 220,000 tonnes.Market participants believed that those cargoes will be enough to cover mills' urgent needs."I...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were weaker this morning, Tuesday April 21, and Asian-Pacific and pre-market major western equity indices were weaker too. On Monday we had thought poor corporate earnings data had the potential to rattle markets, but it seems that negative oil futures prices were the catalyst that caused traders concern. The soon-to-exp...Read More
The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Benedikt Sobotka said that although the world is currently facing distressing times, it was also a chance to restructure supply chains and to take more decisiv...Read More
Chinese lithium producer Tianqi is exploring asset or equity sales, or the possibility of bringing in new domestic or foreign investors, due to continuing problems with liquidity, it has announced.The Shenzhen-listed firm said on Saturday April 18, however, that a final decision had yet to be taken.Earlier in April, the company announced that it expected to report a net loss of 450-510 million yua...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 21 that are worth another look.The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Italian long steel producer Alfa Acciai Group has resum...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were stable day on day on Tuesday April 21, although sentiment in the market remained downbeat, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?445.63 ($484.15) per tonne on Tuesday, up by only ?,?0.63 day on day from ?,?445 per tonne on...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were stable this week, with market activity close to none because of the precautions taken due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 21.No deals or new prices were heard during the week and steel consumption was very slow because of the curfew orders in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, sources said.The UAE...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 21 that are worth another look.The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Italian long steel producer Alfa Acciai Group has resum...Read More