Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday March 13 that are worth another look.Brazilian miner Vale has said it may have to implement contingency measures or eventually suspend operations due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic around the world.Most mill-grade aluminium scrap prices fell in the United States this past week, encouraged by weake...Read More
If global financial markets had been operating under a pervading sense of uncertainty due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), they now appear to be veering on panic.Oil prices have suffered their biggest one-day collapse since the 1991 Gulf War following Saudi Arabia's declaration of a price war on Russia through a shock move to hike oil production. S&P Dow Jones Indices was forced...Read More
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is set to accelerate what the trade wars started: the diversification of global supply chains. Both events have demonstrated just how interconnected the global economy is and have provided a wake-up call to businesses worldwide that it might be time to reduce their reliance on China as the workshop of the world. Of course, that's easier said than done. China is th...Read More
Trade disputes and geopolitical uncertainties had already made the prospects for global economic growth uncertain. A coronavirus has now added to the challenges facing financial markets.The epicenter of the virus is Wuhan, an important commercial hub in China that is home to 11.9 million people, including the country's largest student population. It is also a manufacturing hub, with around 500 fac...Read More
The rout in the markets continued in early trading today, Monday March 16, with Asian equity indices down significantly and the pre-market Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJIA) futures already down by its 5% limit.Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are down across the board by an average of 1.2%, in high volume of 11,892 lots, as at 6.43am London time. * Bank of Japan...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down the limit of 128.50 points. Index futures responded to rising coronavirus concerns in Europe and North America.Index futures moved lower despite strong action by the Federal Reserve yesterday. The Fed Fund Rate was slashed 1.00% to 0.00-0.25%.Consensus for March Empire State Manufacture Survey released at 8:30 AM EDT...Read More
Italian long steel producer Feralpi Group has announced the closure of one of its mills, starting from March 16, due to the outbreak of 2019-nCoV coronavirus, the company told Fastmarkets on Friday March 13.On March 11, Italian authorities issued another decree intended to help restrict the spread of the coronavirus infection, tightening the lockdown across the country from the conditions set out...Read More
Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 12.On March 11, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree tightening the Italian lockdown from the conditions set out in a previous decree on March 9. While...Read More
Brazilian miner Vale has said it may have to implement contingency measures or eventually suspend operations due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic around the world.The miner made it clear, however, that "as of today, we have not suffered any material impact to our operations, logistics, sales or financial position, nor [have] any of our employees tested p...Read More
If global financial markets had been operating under a pervading sense of uncertainty due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), they now appear to be veering on panic.Oil prices have suffered their biggest one-day collapse since the 1991 Gulf War following Saudi Arabia's declaration of a price war on Russia through a shock move to hike oil production. S&P Dow Jones Indices was forced...Read More
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is set to accelerate what the trade wars started: the diversification of global supply chains. Both events have demonstrated just how interconnected the global economy is and have provided a wake-up call to businesses worldwide that it might be time to reduce their reliance on China as the workshop of the world. Of course, that's easier said than done. China is th...Read More
Trade disputes and geopolitical uncertainties had already made the prospects for global economic growth uncertain. A coronavirus has now added to the challenges facing financial markets.The epicenter of the virus is Wuhan, an important commercial hub in China that is home to 11.9 million people, including the country's largest student population. It is also a manufacturing hub, with around 500 fac...Read More
Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More
The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More
Aluminium primary foundry alloy premiums were stable in Europe and the United States this week, with market participants pondering the long-term effects of the outbreak of 2019-nCoV coronavirus on the market's fundamentals and supply chain.EuropePremiums in Europe were steady, with market participants uncertain about the direction the market might take due to the measures being taken to try to con...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price maintained its level on Friday March 13, closing at $5,460, with almost 31,000 lots traded on the day.The copper price touched a high of $5,589 per tonne but also fell to a low of $5,319.50, before consolidating around the $5,400-per-tonne mark.The copper price was also supported by the fresh cancellation of 1,150 tonnes on Friday, bring...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Global trade is being slowed down by the sluggish recovery of China's logistics sector, with a build-up of containers at the country's ports creating problems around the world.Subsequent to the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus that began in China's Wuhan province, not all of the country's workers have returned to their jobs after the extended break for the lunar new year holiday. This has slo...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday March 13. United States Thin available inventory pressured prices upward. Consumer interest was still limited but suppliers drove liquidity...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday March 13.China Spot domestic Chinese ferro-chrome prices have dropped after leading mill Tsingshan Group lowered its March tender price by 2.6%.The lower tender and...Read More