First Quantum Minerals has put its Cobre Panama operation into care and maintenance following orders from the government to suspend activities to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Mining and processing operations will be halted, but the company said it is expected that the port and power plant will continue operations to supply electrical power into the Panama national grid as well as t...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have plunged below $25 per hundredweight ($500 per short ton) on fears that demand won't recover in the first half of 2020.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil price, fob mill US, was calculated at $24.68 per cwt ($493.60 per ton) on Tuesday April 7, down by 3.6% ($0.93 per cwt) from $25.61 per cwt on Monday April 6 and down by 8% ($2.15 per cwt) fro...Read More
Romanian flat steel producer Liberty Galati has reduced production and implemented "partial technical unemployment" due to the economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the company told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 7."The purpose of the measure is both to protect the interests of employees and ensure the long-term sustainability of the steel plant's operations," Liberty said. "We look for...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Uncertainty and a near complete stop of economic activity in numerous countries around the world froze steel markets and seaborne trade. This has led to sharp price falls or created expectations that prices will drop as soon as markets reopen. The fast-moving nature of events made forecasting particularly challenging, and th...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were stable this week after the sharp fall last week, with the market very slow amid concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 7.Only one hot-rolled coil booking was heard, with nobody wanting to place new orders because of the current situation in around the world and sharply falling prices...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone up strongly, as expected, with news of fresh cargo deals, sources said on Tuesday April 7.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $235 per tonne, 20,000 tonnes of shredded at $243 per tonne, 4,000 tonnes of a mixture of HMS 1 and plate and structural scrap (P&S) at $248 per tonne, a...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices went down on Tuesday April 7 from the levels seen at the end of last week, but high-grade ore performed well in portside trading. The Chinese markets had been closed on Monday for the Qingming Festival holiday.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.73 per tonne, down by $0.57 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.11 per tonne, down by $0....Read More
Improved market sentiment due to the containment of Covid-19 across the United States and Europe boosted buying momentum in copper and pushed the three-month copper price higher during morning trading on Tuesday April 7. Copper's outright price was recently at $5,074.50 per tonne, climbing more than 3% from an intra-morning low of $4,937 per tonne, while trading volumes topped 10,000 lots as of 9:...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board this morning, Tuesday April 7, with gains averaging 1.2% and 1.4% respectively.Broader markets are in a firmer tone following a 7.7% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday and after this morning's announcement of a record breaking 108 trillion yen ($990 billion) stimulus package by Ja...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 28 points in pre-opening trade. The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at U.S. 71.30 following release of March Canadian Housing Starts report at 8:15 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop to 180,000 from 210,100 units in February. Actual was 195,200 unitsGeneral Motors added $0.19 to $21.49 despite a downgrade by Deutsche...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 6 that are worth another look.Italian stainless steelmaker Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) has resumed production, following a week of downtime in response to the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on April 6.The Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity.Chile's s...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month tin price closed trading higher on Monday April 6, with thin volumes across the complex allowing it capture the bulk of price gains, while aluminium entering LME warehouses put the light metal under pressure. LME tin's underlying price closed at $14,280 per tonne on Monday afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $14,140 per tonne, while just 188 lots of ti...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity. At under $1,500 per tonne, aluminium cash prices on the London Metal Exchange are at levels last seen in 2015 and not far shy of the lows seen during the 2008-09 financial crisis. Estimates are that as much as half the world's smelters are now under water, meaning cuts and/or closures are inevita...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 6 that are worth another look.Italian stainless steelmaker Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) has resumed production, following a week of downtime in response to the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on April 6.The Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity.Chile's s...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore prices in China soared in the week ended Friday April 3, driven by strength in the portside market following supply concerns after South Africa's nationwide lockdown permeated the seaborne market. South Africa entered a 21-day nationwide lockdown on Thursday March 26 and ordered the country's metals and mining operations to be placed on care and maintenance. South Afric...Read More
The European high-carbon ferro-chrome market cemented its recovery over the past week, with industry sources reporting higher spot prices amid supply worries from South Africa and India, both of which are on multi-week lockdowns. The low-phosphorous price also ticked up week on week, as did Turkish lumpy chrome ore, while the UG2 index to China remained flat. Sources attributed the price rises to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 6 that are worth another look.Italian stainless steelmaker Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) has resumed production, following a week of downtime in response to the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on April 6.The Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity.Chile's s...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have started to rebound on tightening supply, although no transactions have been made, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 6.Several sources reported a Baltic Sea offer at $240 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), while mills' bids were no higher than $220 per tonne.The most recent deep-sea transactions were heard at the start of last week and put the HMS 1&...Read More
The Turkish domestic scrap market was stable over the past week but prices are expected to increase soon due to tightening supply, sources said on Monday April 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was 1,380-1,515 lira ($206-226) per tonne on Monday, unchanged week on week.Long and flat steelmaker ??olakoglu maintained its buy price...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices continued to move downward in the week ended Friday April 3, with reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic responsible for further lockdowns around the world, bringing trading to a halt in key export markets.Turkish import prices plungeUS export market pausesTaiwan import price dips on lower demandTrading remains at a halt in India.TurkeyPrices for scrap imported into Turkey f...Read More