World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.This is the stark assessment by the World Trade Organization, which said global goods trade could contract by as much as 32% in 2020 under its worse-case scenario of suppression measures staying in place for the whole year and limite...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 8 that are worth another look.World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.The fate of the steel world continues to hang in the balance: Numerous scrapyards have stopped operations, blast furnaces around...Read More

US president Donald Trump has indicated the country would be opened up again "sooner rather than later"."Our economy will BOOM, perhaps like never before!!!" he tweeted earlier.The S&P 500 closed up 3.4%, London's FTSE 100 lost 0.47% and Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 2.13% after the government approved a stimulus package this week worth almost US$1 trillion.There are now more than 1.35 million con...Read More

Chile reported an 8% year-on-year increase in copper production during February, because heavy rains and lower output from the Chuquicamata mine had severely reduced volumes in 2019, state copper commission Cochilco said on Tuesday April 7.Chilean copper output totaled 448,300 tonnes in February 2020, from 415,200 tonnes in the corresponding month last year. Most of the largest mines in the countr...Read More

The lockdown in South Africa has sparked a sharp rise in seaborne manganese ore prices in China, whereas the chrome ore market has lagged behind due to different end uses, slower portside price movements and high stocks. South Africa has been under a nationwide lockdown since Thursday March 26, implemented to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The country's metals and mining operations...Read More

Hong Kong trading house Noble Group Holdings will close its base metals and rare earths trading desks as part of widespread board-mandated staffing cuts, informed sources told Fastmarkets. Noble's board is said to have agreed on a directive for a major cut to headcount across the business, with traders informed that they would be let go on Monday and Tuesday this week. "They are blaming Covid-19 b...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 8 that are worth another look.World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.The fate of the steel world continues to hang in the balance: Numerous scrapyards have stopped operations, blast furnaces around...Read More

World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.This is the stark assessment by the World Trade Organization, which said global goods trade could contract by as much as 32% in 2020 under its worse-case scenario of suppression measures staying in place for the whole year and limite...Read More

The Turkish deep-sea scrap import markets went quiet again after the strong rebound earlier in the week, with supplies tighter because of the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said on Wednesday April 8.Scrap import prices have gone up strongly amid reduced availability of material in the deep-sea market, caused by the closing of scrapyards to control the pandemic and the subsequent decreased collection v...Read More

Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Europe on Wednesday April 8.Key drivers The ferro-titanium market in Europe has consolidated gains made in the first week of April, cementing prices amid new concerns about production in the UK adding to existing supply worries from key international exporter Russia. UK-based sources have doubts on near-term production due to the Covid-19 pandemic tha...Read More

Japanese scrap exporters have started to shun deals at the most recent transaction prices, they told Fastmarkets this week, with scrap collection activity slowing down and bulk scrap deals to Turkey being agreed at higher prices in recent days.The Japanese ferrous scrap market continued to fall over the past seven days, with Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap H2, export, fob main port J...Read More

French mining and metals group Eramet will put on hold the construction of its Argentinian lithium production plant for an indefinite period due to the economic uncertainty sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic.The company said in a statement on Wednesday April 8 that its main focus is to preserve its cash position by reducing investments against the backdrop of uncertainty surrounding the global econo...Read More

Spot cobalt hydroxide deals are being concluded on a fixed-price basis while buyers and sellers seek to shield themselves from market volatility expected to come from measures taken to curb the global spread of the coronavirus.News late last month that South Africa would enter a 21-day lockdown created uncertainty over the supply of cobalt hydroxide in the coming weeks and months. About 65% of the...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 8 that are worth another look.World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.The fate of the steel world continues to hang in the balance: Numerous scrapyards have stopped operations, blast furnaces around...Read More

Market activity in the European hot-rolled coil market has been poor due to the effects of the measures taken to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 8.Import prices have decreased further over the course of this week, but domestic prices have been largely stable in Northern Europe, with only a few deals done.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled c...Read More

The court of Czestochowa, Poland has approved the tender conditions for the sale of struggling Polish steel-plate producer Huta Czestochowa, sources told Fastmarkets on April 8.The starting price is set at 250 million Polish zloty ($60 million) and bids to acquire Huta Czestochowa can be submitted until May 29, the source in the bankruptcy trustee office told Fastmarkets."Bids can be sub...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 8 that are worth another look.World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.The fate of the steel world continues to hang in the balance: Numerous scrapyards have stopped operations, blast furnaces around...Read More

Steel consumption among the member-nations of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) was likely to decrease significantly because of curfew orders imposed in several countries.Saudi Arabia announced a 24-hour curfew in the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dharan and Hofuf, and in the provinces of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar, commencing on the night of April 6.The same measures were also imposed on...Read More

Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe widened this week with trading activity remaining slow ahead of the long Easter weekend break, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?590-610 ($641-663) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward by ?,?5 per tonne from ?,?595-610 per tonne o...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 8 that are worth another look.World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.The fate of the steel world continues to hang in the balance: Numerous scrapyards have stopped operations, blast furnaces around...Read More