The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.A 6% decline in the daily average 62% Fe iron ore fines benchmark last week contributed to the lowest quarterly price rise for the first quarter in five years, in spite of clear evidence of supply-side constraints. Although there were clear demand-related obstacles to iron ore suppliers raking in more typical, seasonal price...Read More

Rio Tinto has declared force majeure on shipments of copper cathode from its Kennecott copper mine in the US state of Utah following a 5.7-magnitude earthquake near the site last month.All operations at the site were temporarily halted after the quake, with staff evacuated while an assessment was made. The mine, concentrator and tailings have since resumed operations, but the company has been work...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 2 that are worth another look.Tata Steel has reduced output at its steel production sites in India and Europe due to decreased demand, and to obey the temporary regulations imposed to tackle the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Wednesday April 1.Norsk Hydro has decided to postpone adding 95,000 tonnes per...Read More

A much vaunted infrastructure bill could be back on the agenda again while the United States moves to shore up its economy and stem job losses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.US President Donald Trump said in a post on social media platform Twitter earlier on Tuesday March 31 that the bill would be the fourth part of the government's stimulus measures to handle the impacts of the virus."With interest r...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 three-month price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Thursday April 2, climbing by 1.5% despite a three-month low in turnover, while an afternoon rally did little to push aluminium above nearby resistance.Zinc's outright price on the LME closed at $1,887.50 per tonne at the 5pm London close on Thursday, up from an intraday low of $1,844 p...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices were stable on Thursday April 2, with futures prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange and Singapore Exchange registering gains, and active physical trading in the Chinese port market.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.72 per tonne, up $1.23 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.63 per tonne, up $0.83 per tone58% Fe fines high-grade pre...Read More

Trading activity in China's domestic hot-rolled coil market rose on Thursday April 2 amid falling prices, but the export market remained quiet despite lower offers.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,150-3,190 yuan ($444-450) per tonne, down 50-70 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,160-3,200 yuan per tonne, down 10-40 yuan per tonneSellers in Shanghai started the day with offers of around...Read More

The latest forecast from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Aluminium: Downside momentum maintainedThe aluminium price has continued to decline, with LME cash even falling below the $1,500 per tonne mark at the start of this week. Downside pressure and momentum remains in the short term while ex-China demand plummets amid auto production line closures and while smelters resist capacity...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

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.As oil price stumbles, outlook for welded markets weakensIn February, oil prices, already hit by the economic slowdown in Asia, turned lower on the failure of OPEC+ to reach an agreement on production cuts. This was enough to shake oil markets, but the collapse of global demand due to the pandemic has driven Brent below $30/...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

The new issue of the Steel Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into the long and flat products markets.This week's risks to our latest flat-rolled forecasts:The Chinese government is stepping up help to the economy, increasing banks' liquidity. But the spread of the coronavirus worldwide is likely...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:While the ferro-alloy industry's initial response to the Covid-19 outbreak was marked by rising prices primarily in response to supply-side concerns, focus has now shifted somewhat. As Chinese activity slowly returns to more normal levels, for alloys with a strong Chinese prod...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.A 6% decline in the daily average 62% Fe iron ore fines benchmark last week contributed to the lowest quarterly price rise for the first quarter in five years, in spite of clear evidence of supply-side constraints. Although there were clear demand-related obstacles to iron ore suppliers raking in more typical, seasonal price...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Coronavirus continues to shape scrap markets but tighter supply may partly offset lower demandWe have downwardly revised our ferrous scrap price forecasts for the following few months and, as a result, for the whole year of 2020, with the Covid-19 outbreak outside China stalling the markets. The Fastmarkets' daily benchmark...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Although China is slowly returning to pre-outbreak activity, the same cannot be said for the rest of the world, which is grappling with the Covid-19 outbreak, with a fifth of the global population and counting under lockdown. Average blast furnace activity in China is recovering but iron ore demand from outside China is expec...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Having first hit Asia during early 2020, the Covid-19 viral outbreak is now having an even bigger impact on European countries and the US. Widespread lockdown measures have been put in place on people and industry, and economic activity has slowed markedly.For now, stainless steel markets in Europe and the US are yet to show...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have inched downward day on day and further drops were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday April 2.Prices were expected to go down because of poor demand and the pressure created by declining import offers.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was relatively stable at ?,?470.00 ($515.26) per...Read More