German steelmakers have settled their monthly contracts for ferrous scrap in March with a month-on-month increase of ?,?10-15 ($11-17) per tonne, following the rise in the international market, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 13.The steelmakers, however, had wanted lower prices for scrap due to the fall in long steel demand that has resulted from the uncertainties related to the 2019-nCoV...Read More
The pig iron export price from the Commonwealth of Independent States has rolled back under pressure from the bearish mood caused by the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for high-manganese pig iron, export, fob main port Black Sea, CIS, was $320-327 per tonne on March 12, down from $329-340 per tonne a week earlier."Crashed oil pric...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the UK was steady for a fifth consecutive week, but there may be losses in the near term as other grade spot prices delivered to British steelmakers dropped after monthly settlements were agreed up on February, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant,...Read More
Activity in the Italian ferrous scrap market has almost vanished due to the country's lockdown to deal with the outbreak of 2019-nCoV coronavirus, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 13.On March 11, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree tightening the country's lockdown from the conditions set out in a previous decree on March 9. While there were no explicit measures to restri...Read More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India moved down further this week, with market conditions continuing to worsen, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 13.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $297.50 per tonne on Friday, down from $302.54 per tonne one week earlier.There were no deals heard for shredded material this week, but offer...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have continued their deep-sea scrap purchases because they managed to agree lower prices, sources said on Friday March 13.A steel producer in the Izmir region booked a US cargo, comprising 14,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $275 per tonne, 16,000 tonnes of shredded at $280 per tonne and 2,000 tonnes of bonus at $285 per tonne cfr late...Read More
The main coking coal exports hub of Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) in Queensland, Australia, declared force majeure after vessel loading operations were suspended earlier this week, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 13.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $162.13 per tonne, up $2.57 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $166.68 per tonne, up $1.82 per...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices moved higher on Friday March 13 as portside iron ore stocks fell, steel and steelmaking raw materials futures rose, China's central bank provided another boost to the economy and global equities market found a footing following a rout earlier this week.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.71 per tonne, up $0.96 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr...Read More
Copper recorded the largest percentage increase in stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses in the week ending Friday March 13, with inventories soaring by 10% week on week. Copper stocks rose for about the fifth consecutive week, with total inventories at 380,005 tonnes, up from 345,126 tonnes last week. China Reserve Shanghai Dachang Branch warehouse in Shanghai recorded the large...Read More
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJIA) closed down by 10% on Thursday March 12, taking the loss from the February high to 28.3%, while the London Metal Exchange three-month base metals at their recent lows have been down by an average of 16% - ranged between 10.4% for aluminium and 22.2% for zinc.DJIA futures were up by 1.6% in pre-market trading at 6.45am on Friday morning, although most A...Read More
The Chinese alumina price edged downward for the first time in four weeks on Thursday March 12, following further declines in aluminium futures over the past week.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for alumina metallurgical grade, ddp China slipped to 2,470-2,570 yuan ($353-367) per tonne on Thursday, down by 50-70 yuan per tonne from 2,540-2,620 yuan per tonne a week earlier.The latest drop fol...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down across the board at the close of morning trading on Friday March 13, with the complex tracking pronounced weakness in broader markets overnight and this morning. Heightened fear among investors that the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) outbreak will wipe out economic growth led to further steep losses in the US stock market overnight, with...Read More
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJIA) closed down by 10% on Thursday March 12, taking the loss from the February high to 28.3%, while the London Metal Exchange three-month base metals at their recent lows have been down by an average of 16% - ranged between 10.4% for aluminium and 22.2% for zinc.DJIA futures were up by 1.6% in pre-market trading at 6.45am on Friday morning, although most A...Read More
An overview of the Chinese minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 126 point limit in pre-opening trade. Investors are anticipating launch of a fiscal stimulus program by the U.S. Congress.Apple advanced $19.47 to $267.70 after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock from Equal Weight to Overweight. Adobe jumped $19.79 to $304.79 after JP Morgan upgraded the stock from Neutral to Overweight. G...Read More
The price of stainless steel in the domestic European market was unchanged in the week ended Friday March 13 amid stable market conditions, but participants were bracing for a substantial downturn driven by the measures to contain the outbreak of 2019-nCoV coronavirus, sources have told Fastmarkets."So far... demand is unchanged, but a decrease might come," a Scandinavian distributor said. "Can we...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
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has postponed its conference scheduled to be held in Istanbul in May due to concerns over the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, the organisation said on Friday March 13.The three-day convention will now be held on October 12-14 in Istanbul. The orginal dates were May 18-20.The conference is a popular event...Read More
The world needs to limit global temperature increases to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius by the end of this century to avoid devastating climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations body that provides policymakers with scientific information about climate change.Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 are now well over 400 parts per million and global em...Read More
Last year, Wesdome Gold Mines (TSX: WDO) increased production at its Eagle River complex in northern Ontario by 28% to 91,688 oz. gold while decreasing cash costs by 9% to US$621 per ounce.The company also increased reserves at Eagle River by 36% while boosting reserve grades 20%. The latest reserve number for the operation is 1.2 million tonnes grading 14.4 grams gold per tonne for 550,000 oz. go...Read More