London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices, with the exception of lead, continued their upward momentum at the close on Tuesday April 14, buoyed by positive China customs data and ebbing virus concerns in other regions, including the United States. China's trade balance figures for March, which measure the difference in value between imported and exported goods month on month, were annou...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices inched upward on Tuesday April 14, during an active day of trading at Chinese ports amid persistent worries about supply and an improving steel demand outlook.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.02 per tonne, up by $1.42 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.74 per tonne, up by $1.48 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingd...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices edged up further on Tuesday April 14 amid what was described by market participants as "good and steady" demand. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,470-3,500 yuan ($492-496) per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,410-3,440 yuan per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonne Buyers actively procured cargoes during the day, which gave prices a slight upward pus...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Despite these unprecedented times, US sheet prices moved in line with our expectations over the past month. While we maintain our view on the direction of pricing during 2020 and the length of the pricing downturn, as the Covid-19 crisis deepens we have increased the magnitude of the price declines through the second quarter...Read More

A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday April 14.Please click...Read More

The continuing rebound of scrap prices in the global market supported the efforts of CIS steel billet producers to achieve higher sales prices despite the limited demand resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday April 14.A cargo of Russia-origin billet was reported sold to Turkey late last week for around $368-369 per tonne cfr, equivalent to around $355 per tonne fob Blac...Read More

London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices, with the exception of lead, continued their upward momentum at the close on Tuesday April 14, buoyed by positive China customs data and ebbing virus concerns in other regions, including the United States. China's trade balance figures for March, which measure the difference in value between imported and exported goods month on month, were annou...Read More

Downstream aluminium products producer Novelis Inc has completed the acquisition of Aleris Corp for $2.8 billion, the company announced on Tuesday April 14. Novelis announced plans to buy Aleris in July 2018, but the acquisition has been delayed due to a European Commission (EC) investigation. There were concerns that the deal may reduce competition in the semi-finished aluminium market, leading t...Read More

China's exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products declined by 5% in March 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, while its total exported volume for January to March slipped by 17.5%, according to preliminary Chinese customs data.China exported 518,593 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products in March 2020, a 27,406-tonne contraction year on year.China's total exports...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher during morning trading on Tuesday April 14, supported by news of plans to reopen the US economy and the release of fresh Chinese customs data for March. Topping the complex was the three-month LME copper price, which climbed by 2.8% to $5,158.50 per tonne, from Thursday's close of $5,019.50 per tonne. The LME was closed on F...Read More

(IDEX Online) - New dates have been announced for two Hong Kong jewelry shows after they were twice postponed because of coronavirus.The Hong Kong International Jewellery and Diamond Show and its sister event, the Gem & Pearl Show, are now due to take place on 3 to 6 August, with extra Covid-19 precautions.They were originally scheduled for 2 to 8 March, were put back to 18 to 21 May because o...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Russian mining giant Alrosa to finance a drone to monitor and protect wild reindeer. Its environmental center is working with authorities in the remote tundra of Yakutia, in the east of the country, where Alrosa operates its Mir mine. The company already has special paths for reindeer to cross ground installation lines and has developed a mechanism that blocks traffic so they can s...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Lucapa has sold polished diamonds worth $2m, sidestepping coronavirus restrictions on its usual rough tender in Antwerp. The Australia-based miner has agreed a high-end cutting and polishing partnership with a high-end diamantaire for stones from its Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho so it can sell polished rather than rough stones. Lucapa receives the rough price upfront from its...Read More

Alrosa, Russia’s largest diamond producer, ended some long-term deals with customers as sales in March collapsed to half the level of a year ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.“We would like to thank those of our customers who stick to our long-term contracts though with several companies we had to terminate such contracts and switch to spot sales,” Deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev...Read More

Markets are looking brighter this morning Tuesday April 14, on a combination of more mining production cuts, a deal on an oil supply cut, better Chinese trade data that showed imports were only down by 0.9% year on year in March and some reopening of businesses in Europe. There is light at the end of the tunnel but it is early days in the plateauing of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe and the Unite...Read More

The Covid-19 pandemic has inevitably drawn comparison with the global financial crisis of 2008-09. But while there are similarities, the differences are greater, meaning the remedy needs to be different too.Perhaps the biggest uniting factor between the two events is uncertainty.Ask the head of a major commodities company in 2008, and they would have told you their biggest task was staying liquid,...Read More

US hot-rolled coil prices remain modestly below $25 per hundredweight as mills seek to keep them from falling into loss-making territory amid a steep drop in demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $24.78 per hundredweight ($495.60 per ton) on Tuesday April 14, up 1.5% ($0.36 per cwt) from $24.42 per cwt on Monday April 13 and 0.4% ($0.10 per cwt) from...Read More

Steel output at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR) in Ukraine dropped by 7.14% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020 on the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.The steelmaker produced 1.3 million tonnes of crude steel in January-March 2020, against 1.3 million tonnes in the corresponding period last year.At the same time, the volume of finished products totaled 1.2 million tonnes in the fir...Read More

Special bar quality (SBQ) steel spot prices in the United States have dropped considerably due to reports of cold-finished bar base price cuts by domestic mills, widespread discounting and declining ferrous scrap prices, Fastmarkets has learned. Swift and significant price declinesAccording to multiple sources, a domestic mill this month reduced base prices by $60 per short ton ($3 per h...Read More

Steel plate prices held steady in the United States while service centers paused their buying in order to assess the next steps in the Covid-19 pandemic and its resultant impact on construction and energy demand.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US was unchanged at $30 per hundredweight ($600 per short ton) on Monday April 13. The price,...Read More