China will raise the export rebate to 13% from 10% for a large number of steel products from March 20, according to a notice released by the Ministry of Finance late on Tuesday March 17. The rate increase concerns major steel products such as hot-rolled coil, wire rod, cold-rolled strip, hot-dipped galvanized strip and stainless steel strip.Mixed outlook on export offersSome market participants ex...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 18 that are worth another look.More European steel producers have announced production cuts and equipment stoppages because of the measures being taken to combat the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on March 18.The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic is starting to hit mine supply o...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday March 18.Please click...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons behind the latest price moves.Read More
More European steel producers have announced production cuts and equipment stoppages because of the measures being taken to combat the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 18.The outbreak continues to hamper steel output in Europe with more producers announcing either stoppages or production slowdowns this week, sources said.The largest European steel produce...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 18 that are worth another look.More European steel producers have announced production cuts and equipment stoppages because of the measures being taken to combat the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on March 18.The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic is starting to hit mine supply o...Read More
Chris Walton has joined Italian bank Unicredit to build out the company's metals financing book, Fastmarkets understands.Walton, who previously was director of base metals physical trading at ICBC Standard Bank, arrives...Read More
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic is starting to hit mine supply of metals after months of affecting refined demand, sources told Fastmarkets.Across South America, the world's largest copper-producing continent, countries including both Peru and Chile have closed borders to contain the outbreak, Fastmarkets understands.While mine disruptions are yet to be reported in Chile, the world's to...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday March 18.Please click...Read More
The LME copper price was sharply lower at the close of trading on Wednesday March 18, dropping by more than 8% because of broad-based risk-aversion, but the LME lead price surprisingly made gains over the afternoon. The three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange at its lowest since October 2016 at $4,745 per tonne in high volume-trading - on electronic trading platform LMEselect, mor...Read More
Nickel briquette premiums fall in the United States on declining spot demand, while all Chinese premiums rose on better arbitrage opportunities and European premiums were flat amid little trade in the week to Tuesday March 17.US briquette premiums slip while the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic on Wednesday March 10.Premiums rise in China, where the novel coronavirus (...Read More
The new issue of Aluminium Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into aluminium markets around the world.Aluminium price down 2.3% week-on-week amid stock market sell-offGlobal markets remain rattled by the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) across Europe and the United States. Panic-sellin...Read More
The new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More
The new issue of the Steel Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into the long and flat products markets.This week's risks to our latest flat-rolled forecasts:The Chinese government is stepping up help to the economy, increasing banks' liquidity. But the spread of the coronavirus worldwide is likely...Read More
The mood in the European hot-rolled coil market has been negative since the announcements of plant closures by a number of major car manufacturers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 18.This week, most major European car makers were set to close production units in response to the effects of the spread of 2019-nCoV coronavirus.Market activity, in the meantime, has been low due to risks re...Read More
Sales of passenger cars in the EU dropped by 7.41% year on year in February 2020, the second consecutive monthly decline.New car sales in Europe totalled 957,052 vehicles in February 2020, down from 1,033,608 units sold in the corresponding month of 2019, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Wednesday March 18."This...Read More
Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States are being driven downward amid a major lockdown of essential industries as a result of efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).Scrapyards, like so many other businesses around the US, are feeling the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with one large scrap facility closing retail buying, restricting all travel, requiring...Read More
Workers' trade union No1 for Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, has demanded that main owner and operator BHP adopt preventive measures for its employees in light of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, and could go as far as requesting government intervention or going to court."We call on workers' organizations in general to demand that companies and the government prioritize health condi...Read More
Aurania Resources is pulling its staff from its copper and precious metals projects in Ecuador while the country enters lockdown mode in an effort to tackle the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic. The company's flagship asset, the Lost Cities copper-gold project, is located in Cordillera de Cutucu in southeastern Ecuador.All employees have returned to their homes except for two field teams that were e...Read More
The LME copper price was sharply lower at the close of trading on Wednesday March 18, dropping by more than 8% because of broad-based risk-aversion, but the LME lead price surprisingly made gains over the afternoon. The three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange at its lowest since October 2016 at $4,745 per tonne in high volume-trading - on electronic trading platform LMEselect, mor...Read More