Steel mills in India have kept the price for hot-rolled coil stable for April sales while starting shipments to direct users despite the nationwide lockdown intended to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic."We have been using railways since late last week to transport HRC to our direct customers and to warehouses closer to the point of consumption," an official from a private sector mill sa...Read More
Prices for flat steel in Turkey were mixed in the week to Friday April 17, with some prices moving higher and others lower, while demand improved slightly from last week, market participants said.Demand strengthened because stocks among buyers were low, Turkish sources said.Scrap prices continued to increase during the week on reduced availability. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have moved down again due to low market activity and decreasing import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 17.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?453.33 ($492.61) per tonne on Friday April 17, down by ?,?1.67 per tonne from ?,?455 per tonne on April 16.Domestic HRC prices in t...Read More
More Italian steel producers have resumed operations in the week ended Friday April 17 despite the Covid-19-related lockdown in the country being extended until May 3.European steelmakers have been reducing output and temporarily idling equipment due to the poor demand resulting from lockdown orders and other quarantine measures implemented across the region with the intention of preventing the sp...Read More
Prices for steel rebar in Poland were unchanged over the past seven days, while demand slowed down toward the end of the week, sources told Fastmarkets on April 17.Trading activity in the Polish rebar market declined at the end of the week end, with most buyers already well stocked for material, sources said.Additionally, construction activity was also reported to be slightly weaker due to the ong...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices increased on Friday April 17 amid strong demand, although futures prices dropped after China's first-quarter economy data was released, Fastmarkets heard. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,450-3,480 yuan ($488-492) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,450-3,480 yuan per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneChina's gross domestic production (GDP) dropped by...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom inched up over the past week following an ongoing shortage of supply and rising global markets, sources said on Friday April 17. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK moved up by ?5 per tonne to ?50-60($62-75) per tonne on April 17, up from ?45...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States was dead during the week to Friday April 17, with buyers showing little interest in purchases while suppliers were not in a rush to stimulate sales by lowering offers to other outlets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was stable week on week at $285-290 per tonne on Friday."The steel mills [which are the m...Read More
UK suppliers of steel scrap to domestic consumers have reported a decrease in their prices in the latest monthly settlements in April, following poor market conditions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 17.Fastmarkets assesses the prices of trend-indicating grades in the UK such as HMS 1&2 (old steel) and OA plate and structural (P&S) scrap.The pr...Read More
Prices paid for Brazil-origin steel slab in export deals have narrowed in the week ended on Friday April 17, with recovering demand in Asia and Europe resulting in increased numbers of deals, sources said.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the price of steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil narrowed to $320-345 per tonne on Friday, from $310-355 per tonne a week before.New bids and orders for Bra...Read More
Trading activity in the CIS export billet market was limited in the week to Friday April 17, with customers in most outlets preferring to take a wait-and-see approach amid a lack of clarity over the future price trend.Market sentiment has not been helped by the approaching religious holidays in the Middle East and the weak demand for finished steel products resulting from the global response to th...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market were stable on Friday April 17, despite an upturn in global ferrous scrap prices, with demand in the region remaining weak.Market participants were doubtful that suppliers could push through price increases for sales to Southeast Asia due to lackluster billet demand with most countries in the region still under restrictions imposed by their respective...Read More
The price of vanadium pentoxide in Europe jumped by more than 25% in the week ended Friday April 17 due to concerns over obtaining the material during the continued lockdown in South Africa. Fastmarkets assessed the vanadium pentoxide 98% V2O5 min, in-whs Rotterdam price at $6.90-7.45 per lb on Friday, up 25.3% from the previous week's assessment of $5.2-6.25 per lb and at a three-month high....Read More
Volvo Cars announced on Friday April 17 that it will restart production at its plant in Torslanda, Sweden, on April 20 after several weeks of suspended activity under lockdown measures brought in to help stem the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.The company closed three sites in Sweden on March 26, which it originally planned to reopen on April 14.Volvo's plant in Ghent, Belgium, will also reopen o...Read More
Sales of passenger cars in the EU tumbled by 55.14% year-on-year in March 2020, making it the third consecutive month to show a decline.New car sales in Europe totalled 567,308 vehicles in March 2020, down from 1,264,569 units sold in the corresponding month of 2019, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Friday April 17."The EU passenger car market recorded a...Read More
Prices for flat steel in Turkey were mixed in the week to Friday April 17, with some prices moving higher and others lower, while demand improved slightly from last week, market participants said.Demand strengthened because stocks among buyers were low, Turkish sources said.Scrap prices continued to increase during the week on reduced availability. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2...Read More
China's crude steel output edged up in the first quarter while finished steel production fell slightly, according to data released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday April 17.January-March output Crude steel: 234.45 million tonnes, up by 1.2% from a year earlier Hot metal: 199.74 million tonnes, up by 2.4% year on yearFinished steel: 267.42 million tonnes, down by 1.6%...Read More
Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) raised their steel and hot-metal output rates in early April from the preceding 11 days, while the pace of decline for their finished steel inventories slowed down, according to data released on Friday April 17April 1-10 outputCrude steel: 1.95 million tonnes per day, up by 6.5%Finished steel: 1.82 million tpd, down by...Read More
Steel mills in India have kept the price for hot-rolled coil stable for April sales while starting shipments to direct users despite the nationwide lockdown intended to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic."We have been using railways since late last week to transport HRC to our direct customers and to warehouses closer to the point of consumption," an official from a private sector mill sa...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom inched up over the past week following an ongoing shortage of supply and rising global markets, sources said on Friday April 17. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK moved up by ?5 per tonne to ?50-60($62-75) per tonne on April 17, up from ?45...Read More