U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 6 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved higher following release of the U.S. March Employment Report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for March Non-farm Payrolls was a drop of 123,000 versus a revised gain of 275,000 in February. Actual was a drop of 701,000. Consensus for the March Unemployment Rate was an increas...Read More

Polish coal miner Jastrzebska Sp??lka Weglowa (JSW), the largest coking coal producer in Europe, declared force majeure to its clients on Thursday April 2 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on its operations, in a statement seen by Fastmarkets.The company had already implemented shortened working hours from March 23 to combat the spread of the virus.On Wednesday this week, the company sai...Read More

The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the UK has stabilized over the past week after falling by more than 37% between March 13 and March 27, as the market pauses ahead of monthly delivery settlements to consumers for April.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was unchanged at ?45-55 ($56-68) per tonne on...Read More

The pig iron market in the United States weakened further in the week to Friday April 3, pressured lower by a depressed scrap market and weak demand among mills that have cut steel output.Fastmarkets' price assessment of pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $290-300 per tonne on Friday, down from $320-325 per tonne a week earlier."Steel producers in the US cut production a lot because...Read More

The price of ferrous scrap imported into India continued to dip this week following a substantial drop last week when the country implemented a 21-day nationwide lockdown, bringing trade to a halt, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 3.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $243.49 per tonne on Friday, down from $247.00 per tonne one week p...Read More

The price of austenitic stainless steel scrap in the UK domestic market narrowed downward this week, reflecting very low demand from mills for April, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 3. With the automotive and white goods sectors heavily suppressed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for stainless steel is sharply down and stainless mills require correspondingly lower amounts of feeds...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import trade remained quiet at the end of the week, but prices are poised to increase amid tightening supply, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 3.The most recent deep-sea transactions were heard at the beginning of the week and put the HMS 1&2 (80:20) price at $206-207 per tonne cfr.A steel mill in northern Turkey booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 9,000 tonnes of...Read More

The market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States went down again in the week to Thursday April 2 on a weak global scrap market and higher competition in the Chinese market - the only outlet where demand exists.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $277-282 per tonne on April 2, down from...Read More

The benchmark for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) in the second quarter of 2020 has settled at a premium of $82 per tonne cif over the London Metal Exchange cash price. The settlement represents a 1.2% drop or $1 per tonne lower from the first-quarter benchmark of $83 per tonne, which was set at the end of December.Compared to last year, however, the second-quarter aluminium P...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices dropped below $140 per tonne on a fob-Australia basis on Friday April 3, with buyers maintaining a bearish outlook, though some traders highlighted potential supply concerns from Australia.Fastmarkets IndicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $138.60 per tonne, down $3.49 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $145.75 per tonne, down $3.62 per tonneHard cokin...Read More

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China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices rebounded on Friday April 3 after trading activity picked up a day earlier, but exports remained under pressure, particularly with imports into the country rising due to their competitive rates.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,190-3,210 yuan ($450-452) per tonne, up 20-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,220 yuan per tonne, up 20-60 yuan per ton...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices were unchanged on Friday April 3, but a divided outlook has emerged in the market over how it would trend over the rest of this month. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,390-3,420 yuan ($478-482) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,330-3,370 yuan per tonne, unchanged Some market participants think rebar demand will remain active this month due to the weather...Read More

ELKO, Nevada, April 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Gold Corp. (NASDAQ: USAU) announced today that it received a letter from the listing qualifications department staff of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, stating that the Company has regained compliance with NASDAQ's minimum $1.00 per share bid price requirement.The letter received noted that for the last 10 consecutive business days, from March 20, 202...Read More

The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange fell by 1.3% during morning trading on Friday April 3 after 1,900 tonnes of tin was delivered into LME-registered warehouses, while copper continues to test nearby resistance levels. The three-month tin price on the LME was recently trading at $14,125 per tonne, down from an intraday high of $14,400 per tonne, while turnover was moderately hig...Read More

Base metals' inventories in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses continued to fall in the week ending Friday April 3, with lead registering the biggest outflows. Lead stocks in SHFE-approved warehouses slumped by 38% week on week to 8,656 tonnes. This follows a similar drop last week when lead inventory fell to 13,969 tonnes from 22,514. The outflow...Read More

Markets are mixed and on average weaker this morning, Friday April 3, after the rally on Thursday following a 20% rise in oil prices faded. United States President Donald Trump seemed to distract the market after the dreadful US unemployment claims data on Thursday, by talking of a potential oil deal that would see 10-15 million barrels per day cut, but traders are skeptical after Russia denied th...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More

Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday April 3.China The buy-side of the seaborne market significantly drove up prices after the lockdown in South Africa sparked supply fears and portside price rises. Portside ore prices continued to rise after traders increased offer prices, however, buying interest waned in...Read More

Waning demand for lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries - as a result of slowing consumption of consumer electronic products amid the Covid-19 pandemic - has weighed on upstream cobalt tetroxide prices since early March, sources said.Fastmarkets' assessment for cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co min, delivered China dropped to 170,000-180,000 yuan ($23,970-25,380) per tonne on Friday April 3, down 2% from 1...Read More