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
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
"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
RambusThere are just a handful of events in ones lifetime that are truly history making in their magnitude. For instance the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, the 1929 stock market crash, Pear Harbor, the 1987 stock market crash and 911 to name a few. When all of those historical events took place it felt like the end of the world for those that were living in that time period. How could our world ever...Read More
Dave Kranzler, Mining Stock JournalI found it amusing that Zerohedge tried to take credit for reporting the problem of a physical gold shortage on the LBMA and Comex earlier last week. Several of we "gold bugs" have been discussing and reporting on this issue since before the virus crisis exploded. The Comex has been settling contracts that stand for deliver through EFT and PNT transactions by w...Read More
Strengths? ? The best performing metal this week was palladium, up 37.90 percent, essentially regaining all the losses from the prior two weeks. Platinum and silver also rebounded strongly. Gold headed for its biggest weekly gain since 2008 while platinum and palladium were on track for their biggest weekly increases on record. It was a smashing week for precious metals due to supply...Read More
September 17, 2019 was a significant day in American economic history. On that day, the New York Federal Reserve began emergency cash infusions into the repurchasing (repo) market. This is the market banks use to make short-term loans to each other. The New York Fed acted after interest rates in the repo market rose to almost 10 percent, well above the Fed's target rate.The New York Fed claime...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
The Covid-19 pandemic has opened up financing opportunities for metals and mining-focused investment firms. It's also created a problem. The one-two punch demand and supply shock that the virus has created is putting the mining sector under extreme pressure. With banks even more reluctant than before to provide capital to the mining sector amid the tumultuous global financial backdrop, corporates...Read More
Metals, mining and alloy producers have been scenario-planning in response to the novel coronavirus. The South African government appears to have just removed all but one option.President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the country's mineral resources industry to shut underground mines and furnaces from Thursday March 26, unless they can be operated remotely. The shutdown will last for three weeks an...Read More
The 2019-nCoV pandemic is definitely a black swan event, one which nobody saw coming. Global business sentiment has taken a massive hit, with major industries grinding to a halt on travel bans, quarantine orders and border controls. Major airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways have grounded their fleets, stock markets have collapsed with exchanges closing and tourism is taking a pun...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
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange continued its decline at the close of trading on Monday March 30, settling at its lowest level since April 2016, while a steady uptick in lead saw its outright price close at a two-week high. Aluminium's underlying price on the LME closed at $1,530.50 per tonne on Monday afternoon, its lowest level in just under four years, while turnove...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped closer to the $80-per-tonne level on Monday March 30 on plunging rebar prices in China and a negative outlook for downstream demand in April among some market participants. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.98 per tonne, down $3.38 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.88 per tonne, down $3.14 per tone58% Fe fines high-grade...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices plummeted on Monday March 30, with steel mills - especially those outside China - expected to cut output in the second quarter. Fastmarkets IndicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $147.73 per tonne, down $5.71 per tonnePremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $155.54 per tonne, down $2.49 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $134.01 per tonne, down $5.88 per tonneHard...Read More
The new issue of Aluminium Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into aluminium markets around the world.Aluminium price down 2.3% week-on-week amid stock market sell-offGlobal markets remain rattled by the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) across Europe and the United States. Panic-sellin...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 new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More