European Aluminium is contesting the launch by the United States of an anti-dumping investigation into common alloy aluminium sheet from various European countries and has instead called for the European Commission to address subsidized Chinese overcapacity. The investigation concerns Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey and was opened earlier this month. "W...Read More
Aluminium stocks on the London Metal Exchange have risen by 16% over the past week, with market participants taking a risk-off approach due to weak physical demand and concerns about the coronavirus outbreak.On-warrant aluminium stocks on the LME now sit at 929,675 tonnes, up from 798,200 tonnes at this time last week. More than 120,000 tonnes were delivered between March 19 and March 24.The major...Read More
The ramping-up of copper production at First Quantum Minerals' Cobre Panama project may be slower than expected, with output in the first half of this year likely to be affected by the health protocols designed to prevent the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic.Cobre Panama, the only major greenfield project in the copper industry, has been specifically authorized by the government of Pan...Read More
US hot-rolled coil prices have been eerily stable because sources along the supply chain fear that lower tags would not increase activity in a market paralyzed by the Covid-19 pandemic.Fastmarkets daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $28.06 per hundredweight ($561.20 per short ton) on Tuesday March 24, up by 2 cents from $28.04 per cwt on Monday March 23 and down b...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau has temporarily halted operations in Argentina and Peru following lockdowns in both countries to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic.Gerdau's activities in Brazil have been affected, but have not been suspended so far, the company said on Tuesday March 24.Capital expenditure initiatives around the globe have been put on hold to reduce on...Read More
Austrian steelmaking group Voestalpine will enforce shorter working hours across its operations in Europe as part of short-term work model amid the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic, the company said on Monday March 23.The coronavirus pandemic has already hit the heart of the European economy. Widespread closures of car-manufacturing sites across Europe, as well as shutdowns and capacity cuts in th...Read More
German steelmakers Saarstahl and Dillinger, both part of Stahl Holding Saar (SHS), have cut production amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, although blast furnace (BF) and coking plant operations will both be maintained, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday March 24.The increasingly tough market situation in Europe, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, has forced regional steelma...Read More
The export market for flat steel exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) fell during the week ended Monday March 23 on the pervading uncertainty in the global economy.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $435-445 per tonne on Monday, down from $455-460 per tonne a week before."Prices are falling but they're...Read More
Production cuts, closures and weak steel trade resulting from the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) sent Turkish scrap import prices sharply down again on Tuesday March 24.News of a trade from March 19 emerged today, when a steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a UK cargo of 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $226 per tonne cfr.That was substantially lower than&nbs...Read More
Metals scrap processor Sims UK has stopped taking in material at its Sheerness processing plant near London due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, the company told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 24.Sims is the second-biggest ferrous scrap company in the UK, with around 42 metal recycling plants in the country, and has the capacity to process about 300,000 tonnes of scrap metal at th...Read More
Mining giant BHP has seen no decline in demand for its products despite the continuing spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, and the company will remain resilient to any future drop in consumption or commodity prices, its chief executive officer has said.As the pandemic situation evolves, Mike Henry said, the company will take even stronger measures to protect its workforce, the communitie...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices strengthened on Tuesday March 24 after a massive drop of nearly $7 per tonne the previous day, with market participants awaiting clarity on the impact of the 21-day lockdown in South Africa on iron ore operations in the country. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.97 per tonne, up $2.90 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.50 per ton...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices dropped further on Tuesday March 24 amid bearish sentiment among traders and consumers based on the bleak global economic outlook due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).Chinese customs clearance hurdles and a narrowing spread between seaborne and Chinese domestic coking coal prices also added to the downbeat market mood.Fastmarkets IndicesPremium ha...Read More
The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange improved during morning trading on Tuesday March 24, wiping out Monday's losses in a 5% rally, while copper futures similarly found support in a steady push above $4,800 per tonne. Tin's underlying price on the LME was recently seen at $13,880 per tonne, climbing from Monday's closing price of $13,250 per tonne, while turnover was high, with&n...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were mixed on Tuesday March 24, with those in the eastern region dipping while the northern market held steady amid fluctuating futures. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,450-3,480 yuan ($486-490) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,360-3,400 yuan per tonne, unchangedRebar futures dropped to a low of 3,373 yuan per tonne in the first 10 minutes of...Read More
Northern China's hot-rolled coil prices were stable on Tuesday March despite drops in the eastern region, with construction demand keeping the market supported.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,360-3,380 yuan ($473-476) per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,280 yuan per tonne, narrowing upward by 20 yuan per tonneMills in the northern region kept ex-works prices stable...Read More
The three-month London Metal Exchange tin price has fallen by more than 33% since the start of the year, rendering it the laggard among its peers in a market-wide sell-off that has seen commodity prices tumble. The LME's smallest market however, which today boasts an open interest count of just 19,041 active positions - a three-month low - has some way to go before price recovery, according to mar...Read More
Asian Pacific equity indices and most metals prices are stronger this morning, Tuesday March 24, boosted by a combination of broad-based fiscal and monetary policy, and for the metals, announcements of production cuts. The base metals were for the most part stronger on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange, while gold is up too, having rallied by 4.6% on Monday. But, without want...Read More
Minor metals trading house Wogen Resources, which has its headquarters in London, will be the sole distributor in the US market for privately owned Canadian producer Alliance Magnesium, Fastmarkets has heard.The announcement came from Wogen director Laura Bell after Alliance Magnesium closed the funding for construction of a commercial demonstration magnesium plant in the Les Sources region, in th...Read More
South African platinum and chrome miner Tharisa will cease mining after its night shift on Wednesday March 25 in response to a government-imposed three-week lockdown amid the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the lockdown on the evening of Monday March 23, saying all mines would be required to shut down by midnight on Thursday. "Tharisa fully sup...Read More