Some automakers in Turkey resumed production on Monday, April 20, with some other producers announcing dates to resume, Fastmarkets understands.Several Turkey-based carmakers stopped production initally over March because of the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic.The Honda, Hyundai Assan, Karsan, Otokar, and Mercedez Benz Hosdere facilities all restarted production...Read More
The Indian Steel Association (ISA) has revised downward India's steel demand growth forecast for 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country and the subsequent lockdown. The association, which represents some of the country's biggest steel companies, said predictions of steel demand growth of 5.1% this year - made in February - have now been revised down to -7.7%. The main downstream...Read More
Iron ore fines output at Brazil-based miner Vale fell by 18.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2020, while the company has cut its guidance of iron ore and pellet production for 2020, the company said on Friday April 17.Iron ore fines production came to 59.6 million tonnes in the January-March period, down from 72.87 million tonnes the year before, and just below the company's revised guidanc...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 20 that are worth another look.Last month, analysts started warning that oil prices could fall below zero. On Monday, they did.Iron ore fines output at Brazil-based miner Vale fell by 18.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2020, while the company has cut its guidance of iron ore and pellet production for 2020, the company...Read More
Last month, analysts started warning that oil prices could fall below zero. On Monday April 20, they did.The May futures contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell as low as minus $37.63 per barrel, the first time ever that the price of the commodity has entered negative territory. By contrast, the June WTI contract is trading at around $20 per barrel, marking the biggest perce...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have dropped again due to low market activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 20.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?445.00 ($483.66) per tonne on Monday, down from ?,?453.33 per tonne last Friday.Domestic HRC prices in the region have fallen due to poor demand, and the negative price...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout metal at the close of trading on Monday April 20, while the rest of the base metals complex remained pinned down amid broad risk aversion. Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $12,505 per tonne on Monday afternoon - its highest closing price since March 13 - with daily turnover notching a three-week high w...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 20 that are worth another look.Last month, analysts started warning that oil prices could fall below zero. On Monday, they did.Iron ore fines output at Brazil-based miner Vale fell by 18.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2020, while the company has cut its guidance of iron ore and pellet production for 2020, the company...Read More
Last month, analysts started warning that oil prices could fall below zero. On Monday April 20, they did.The May futures contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell as low as minus $37.63 per barrel, the first time ever that the price of the commodity has entered negative territory. By contrast, the June WTI contract is trading at around $20 per barrel, marking the biggest perce...Read More
Defaults among overseas buyers have become a problem for Chinese steel exporters in recent weeks, with falling prices and weakening demand triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic leading to an increase in export credit insurance claims.When contacted by Fastmarkets two weeks' ago, a source at a steel mill in northern China said he was having to deal with a shipment of 5,000 tonnes of hot-dipped galvani...Read More
For two consecutive years now, the first quarter has been marked by watershed events as for the iron ore market. Last year, it marked the beginning of a severe supply disruption from Brazil. This year, the Covid-19 pandemic took center stage.Put simply, Covid-19 has slowed down the recovery of downstream demand in China - the world's biggest steel-producing country - that typically takes place aft...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout metal at the close of trading on Monday April 20, while the rest of the base metals complex remained pinned down amid broad risk aversion. Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $12,505 per tonne on Monday afternoon - its highest closing price since March 13 - with daily turnover notching a three-week high w...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has paused plans to implement pre-trade transparency (PTT) changes to its inter-office market, it said in a note to members on Monday April 20, citing the significant impact of Covid-19 in the postponement of the initiative.The changes, which are a requirement of the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) r...Read More
The market for seaborne iron ore fines continued to strengthen on Monday April 20, with Brazilian producer Vale cutting its production guidance figure for 2020 to 310-330 million tonnes.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.45 per tonne, up by $1.28 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $89.11 per tonne, up by $1.21 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qin...Read More
China's production of refined copper in March dropped marginally from a year ago while charges to turn concentrate into copper metal rebounded during the month. Home of half of the world's copper smelting capacity, China generated 771,000 tonnes of copper cathodes last month, representing a drop of 2.5% from a year ago, the country's statistics bureau said on Monday April 20. The largely stable op...Read More
Turkish steel producers exited the deep-sea scrap import market on Monday April 20, after booking seven cargoes last week, sources told Fastmarkets.The seven deep-sea scrap cargoes totalled almost 220,000 tonnes."I think Turkish steel producers have booked enough cargoes for now. This week will probably be slow for trading," a source in Turkey said.Another...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has paused plans to implement pre-trade transparency (PTT) changes to its inter-office market, it said in a note to members on Monday April 20, citing the significant impact of Covid-19 in the postponement of the initiative.The changes, which are a requirement of the European Securities and Markets Authority's (ESMA) Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) r...Read More
Swiss private equity firm Parter Capital Group AG has sold its majority stake in the Aviles and La Coru??a aluminium smelters, known as Alu Iberica, in Spain to Grupo Industrial Riesgo. The sale of a nearly 75% stake in Alu Iberica for an undisclosed sum, first reported by Spanish local media on April 15, comes just nine months after Parter purchased the two smelters from aluminium producer A...Read More
Kaiser Aluminum has cut its forecast for revenue from commercial aerospace this year amid a sharp decline in air travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a knock-on effect throughout that industry.The US aluminium producer, deemed an essential business in that country, anticipates that its commercial aerospace value-added revenue could be roughly 20-25% lower in 2020 compared with record levels las...Read More
The price of nickel pig iron (NPI) in China is gaining upward momentum due to rising nickel prices and ore supply disruptions in the Philippines. Fastmarkets assessed the price of nickel pig iron, high-grade NPI content 10-15%, spot, ddp China at 920-940 yuan per nickel unit on Friday April 17, up by 3% or 27.50 yuan per tonne at the midpoint from 895-910 yuan per nickel unit a week prior. Th...Read More