Despite signs of the Covid-19 virus being brought more under control with daily death tolls in most major economies now in decline, the rebound in demand is slow and this seems to be weighing on metals prices this morning, Wednesday April 22.But with broader markets starting to pick up, the metals may shake off their early weakness.One of the problems is that while manufacturing and industry can r...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 34 points in pre-opening trade. The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at U.S. 70.70 cents following release of Canada's March Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a decline of 0.4% versus a gain of 0.4% in February. Actual was a decline of 0.6%.Netflix slipped $3.83 to $430.00 despite announcing a h...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 20 that are worth another look.Last month, analysts started warning that oil prices could fall below zero. On Monday, they did.Iron ore fines output at Brazil-based miner Vale fell by 18.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2020, while the company has cut its guidance of iron ore and pellet production for 2020, the company...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout metal at the close of trading on Monday April 20, while the rest of the base metals complex remained pinned down amid broad risk aversion. Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $12,505 per tonne on Monday afternoon - its highest closing price since March 13 - with daily turnover notching a three-week high w...Read More
China's production of refined copper in March dropped marginally from a year ago while charges to turn concentrate into copper metal rebounded during the month. Home of half of the world's copper smelting capacity, China generated 771,000 tonnes of copper cathodes last month, representing a drop of 2.5% from a year ago, the country's statistics bureau said on Monday April 20. The largely stable op...Read More
China's production of refined copper in March dropped marginally from a year ago while charges to turn concentrate into copper metal rebounded during the month. Home of half of the world's copper smelting capacity, China generated 771,000 tonnes of copper cathodes last month, representing a drop of 2.5% from a year ago, the country's statistics bureau said on Monday April 20. The largely stable op...Read More
Low-grade and high-grade seaborne manganese ore prices diverged in the latest assessments on Friday April 17 with the former continuing to move up amid lingering concerns over supply tightness while the latter corrected downward amid relatively abundant supply. Fastmarkets' manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin rose by 1.8% or 9 cents per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) to $5.14 per dmtu on Fr...Read More
Chinese domestic portside manganese ore prices of both high and low grades registered significant increases in the latest assessments on Friday April 17, after the country's ore traders raised offer prices notably in response to a 14-day extension of the lockdown in South Africa. On April 9, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced he would extend the nationwide lockdown in place sin...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 20 that are worth another look.Last month, analysts started warning that oil prices could fall below zero. On Monday, they did.Iron ore fines output at Brazil-based miner Vale fell by 18.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2020, while the company has cut its guidance of iron ore and pellet production for 2020, the company...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Europe, the United States and Asia for the week ended Friday April 17.United States Silicon prices hold week on week in the US, with a standoff reportedly in effect between sellers and buyers. Producers are not lowering their quotes because they do not trust any business to materialize. Ongoing automaker shutdowns during...Read More
Turkish steel producers exited the deep-sea scrap import market on Monday April 20, after booking seven cargoes last week, sources told Fastmarkets.The seven deep-sea scrap cargoes totalled almost 220,000 tonnes."I think Turkish steel producers have booked enough cargoes for now. This week will probably be slow for trading," a source in Turkey said.Another...Read More
Turkish domestic auto-bundle scrap prices increased over the past week due to rising imported ferrous scrap costs, sources said on Monday April 20.Deep-sea scrap import prices increased by more then $15 per tonne at the beginning of last week because of the limited supply coming from Europe and the United States, sources said.Following the upturn in the deep-sea scrap values, auto bundle scrap...Read More
The Indian Steel Association (ISA) has revised downward India's steel demand growth forecast for 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country and the subsequent lockdown. The association, which represents some of the country's biggest steel companies, said predictions of steel demand growth of 5.1% this year - made in February - have now been revised down to -7.7%. The main downstream...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 20 that are worth another look.Last month, analysts started warning that oil prices could fall below zero. On Monday, they did.Iron ore fines output at Brazil-based miner Vale fell by 18.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2020, while the company has cut its guidance of iron ore and pellet production for 2020, the company...Read More
Last month, analysts started warning that oil prices could fall below zero. On Monday April 20, they did.The May futures contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell as low as minus $37.63 per barrel, the first time ever that the price of the commodity has entered negative territory. By contrast, the June WTI contract is trading at around $20 per barrel, marking the biggest perce...Read More
The base metals on the London Metal Exchange and on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mainly firmer this morning, Monday April 20, but broader markets were mixed with equities braced for the release of corporate earnings. With some countries and regions looking to lift restrictions, while others are extending restrictions and with uncertainty about whether reopening will lead to second waves of t...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have dropped again due to low market activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 20.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?445.00 ($483.66) per tonne on Monday, down from ?,?453.33 per tonne last Friday.Domestic HRC prices in the region have fallen due to poor demand, and the negative price...Read More
Prices for flat steel in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow stabilized over the past week with trading activity limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 20.Buying in Russia's flat steel market was slow over the assessment week, with traded volumes minor amid the pandemic, sources said."The number of new orders dropped, with some buyers trying eith...Read More
Defaults among overseas buyers have become a problem for Chinese steel exporters in recent weeks, with falling prices and weakening demand triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic leading to an increase in export credit insurance claims.When contacted by Fastmarkets two weeks' ago, a source at a steel mill in northern China said he was having to deal with a shipment of 5,000 tonnes of hot-dipped galvani...Read More
Both cold-heading quality (CHQ) and high-carbon (HC) wire rod prices have fallen due to declining raw material costs and a downturn in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Fastmarkets has learned.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel wire rod cold-heading quality, ddp settled at $36 per hundredweight ($720 per short ton) on Friday April 17, down by 4% from $37.50 per cwt during the previous mont...Read More