"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin, writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; 1706-1790 "These are the times that try men's souls." Thomas Pa...Read More

By Avi GilburtOn Thursday, we saw the worst jobless claims number in history (and by far). Yet, the S&P500 futures rallied over 200 points from their overnight lows. So, are we to believe that the "cause" of that rally was the jobless claims?I can assure you that if the market dropped 200 points there would be no question in your mind that the drop was certainly caused by the jobless claim's ann...Read More

Maersk Line, the world's biggest container shipping company, will be suspending its North Europe (AE2) and Mediterranean (AE20) services on the Asia-Europe network during the second quarter of 2020. "Due to market demand reductions in Europe caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Maersk endeavors to balance our network to match reduced demand," the Danish carrier said in an advisory on Friday March...Read More

Spot availability of copper scrap is now being limited by a plummeting commodity price in March because suppliers have refused to destock at the price level."At this discounted price level, some copper scrap suppliers could suffer losses. The price of scrap cannot even cover the processing costs so suppliers have become reluctant to sell," a source with a major copper refinery in China said. High-...Read More

The lockdown in India has caused a variety of logistical issues resulting in imported scrap material becoming stranded at ports and leading to potentially large charges at a time when trading has come to a sudden halt, market sources have told Fastmarkets. On March 24, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the country would begin a 21-day lockdown period effective from midnight until...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices fell sharply for the third time in two weeks amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has brought steel trade to a halt and led to closures or production cuts, sources said on Monday March 30.A steel mill in northern Turkey was heard booking a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 9,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 14,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at an averag...Read More

Markets were looking quite mixed this morning, Monday March 30, with most Asian-Pacific equity indices down, the pre-market Dow Jones Industrial Average up by 0.2%, oil prices down by around 5% and the base metals prices mixed.Base metals face numerous cross currents with demand expected to recover in China but fall further in the world ex-China, while the Covid-19 virus and lower prices lead to s...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 30 that are worth another look.Gerdau has halted price increase attempts in Brazil amid market weakness because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by local investment bank Ita?? BBA from Sunday March 29.The Covid-19 pandemic has opened up financing opportunities for metals and mining-focused investment firms. It's...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were fairly stable last week due to falls in demand and production cuts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?473.00 ($526.65) per tonne on Friday March 27. This was up by ?,?3 per tonne week on week from ?,?470 per tonne on March 20.The increase did not indic...Read More

Gold is a very special metal.It has properties that make it useful as a natural money.It's exceptionally malleable and one of the only natural-colored metals, making it ideal for jewelry and decoration.It has great electrical conductivity, it's biocompatible with humans, it has catalytic properties, and it's completely resistant to natural corrosion - gold will never naturally oxidize or deteriora...Read More

European domestic prices for hot-rolled coil have been fairly stable over the past week due to slow market activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday March 30.The sentiment prevailing in the market has been downward, despite that price stability.But Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?473.13 ($526.79) per tonne on Monday, up from Friday's index a...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 30 that are worth another look.Gerdau has halted price increase attempts in Brazil amid market weakness because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by local investment bank Ita?? BBA from Sunday March 29.The Covid-19 pandemic has opened up financing opportunities for metals and mining-focused investment firms. It's...Read More

Thank you for joining us in a weekly technical look at the mid-cap oriented INK Canadian Insider (CIN) Index. Last week, after a two-week 40% panic washout, the INK Canadian Insider Index bounced back 39.72 points or 5.7% to close at 732.63.MACD shot up over 46 points to close in the black at 6.46. RSI rose 14.22 points or 72% to 34. Our note that the positive divergence in RSI which began to slo...Read More

Gerdau has halted price increase attempts in Brazil amid market weakness because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by local investment bank Ita?? BBA from Sunday March 29.The company mainly produces long steel in the country, although it also makes some hot-rolled coil and heavy plate at its Ouro Branco mill in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais.Domestic prices are currently at...Read More

Export prices for steel rebar and wire rod from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) fell sharply in the week to Monday March 30 amid the lack of demand in almost all markets due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the recent dramatic drop in scrap costs."Buying interest is limited. There are almost no bids," one market source said."There are not many buyers today," another source said. "...Read More

The lockdown in India has caused a variety of logistical issues resulting in imported scrap material becoming stranded at ports and leading to potentially large charges at a time when trading has come to a sudden halt, market sources have told Fastmarkets. On March 24, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the country would begin a 21-day lockdown period effective from midnight until...Read More

Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices fell sharply for the third time in two weeks amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has brought steel trade to a halt and led to closures or production cuts, sources said on Monday March 30.A steel mill in northern Turkey was heard booking a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 9,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20), 14,000 tonnes of shredded and 3,000 tonnes of bonus at an averag...Read More

Global ferrous scrap prices continued to fall sharply in major markets during the working week from Monday March 23 to Friday March 27, because of the worsening Covid-19 pandemic.Turkish import prices slump furtherBuying prices down at US East Coast docksTaiwan import price at three-year lowIndian market collapses on lockdown order; price drops $44 per tonne.TurkeyPrices in the world's largest scr...Read More

Most of the world's markets for steel billet have been affected by the negative sentiment generated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the strong decreases in prices for ferrous scrap. Buyers in China, however, continued to import material.Import prices of ferrous scrap in Turkey continued to fall last week.Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, w...Read More

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin, writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; 1706-1790 "These are the times that try men's souls." Thomas Pa...Read More