Norsk Hydro has decided to postpone adding 95,000 tonnes per year to capacity at the Husnes aluminium plant in Norway in light of the rapidly deteriorating market conditions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The ramp-up of Husnes was originally planned to begin in the first half of 2020, but has now been postponed to the third quarter at the earliest. This is also dependent on market developme...Read More

Key pricing data from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia, on Thursday April 2.Key drivers Fastmarkets' daily alumina index, fob Australia, was calculated at $237 per tonne on Thursday, down from $241.52 per tonne the day before and down by more than 11% from $268.33 per tonne on Thursday last week. The index is now at its lowest since September 26, 2016, when...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

Chilean copper mine Collahuasi has temporarily slashed its on-site workforce by 40% and scaled back operations in an attempt to reduce the Covid-19 virus spread among its employees and contractors, the company said on Thursday April 2. The miner, formally known as Compa???-a Minera Don?? In?(C)s de Collahuasi, had already implemented home-office practices, especially for workers ages 65 and above...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price declined during morning trading on Thursday April 2, with a fresh inflow of more than 48,000 tonnes pressuring price action lower, while pandemic-related risk-aversion led the rest of the complex consolidate. LME aluminium's outright price was recently at $1,483.50 per tonne, a drop of 0.74% from Wednesday's closing price of $1,499.50 per tonne...Read More

Newmont will close its Pe??asquito lead-zinc-silver mine in Mexico after the country mandated the immediate suspension of all non-essential business until April 30. An order from Mexico's Ministry of Health became effective as of a March 31 publication in the country's Official Gazette of the Federation. Mining has not been deemed an essential activity under the decree,...Read More

Brazilian flat steel producer Usiminas has decided to shut down two blast furnaces at its Ipatinga unit and halt its Cubat??o steelmaking facility in order to adjust its production to lower demand resulting from the outbreak of Covid-19, the company said on Thursday April 2.The company will shut down the No2 blast furnace on April 4, and also its No1 blast furnace on April 22, both located at its...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have rebounded on what appears to be increased pricing volatility rather than an improvement in supply-demand fundamentals, market participants indicated.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $26.65 per hundredweight ($533 per short ton) on Thursday April 2, up by 1% ($0.26 per cwt) from $26.39 per cwt on Wednesday...Read More

Automotive manufacturers in Europe and the UK have extended their previously announced production suspensions following the introduction or extension of national lockdown measures.Shutdowns were announced by carmakers across the continent because of the supply chain problems created by the measures taken by governments to restrict the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.There are now lockdowns in plac...Read More

Domestic and import steel billet prices in Turkey have continued to fall over the past week amid lower scrap costs, sources said on Thursday April 2.Turkish scrap import prices have fallen to their lowest in four years, as of March 30. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was $201.13 per tonne on Monday March 30, down from $241.63 per tonne...Read More

Domestic long steel prices in Turkey have continued to fall because of the coronavirus pandemic over the past week despite a slight recovery later in the week, sources said on Thursday April 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 2,900-2,960 lira ($435-444) per tonne on Thursday, down from 2,950-3,030 lira per tonne last week.Prices have c...Read More

Iron ore export volumes from Brazil fell by 2.13% year on year in March, with the daily average falling by 15.48% in the same comparison, Fastmarkets understands.The country exported 21.71 million tonnes of iron ore last month, compared with 22.18 million tonnes the year before, according to figures released by the country's Ministry of Economy on Wednesday April 1.A higher number of working days...Read More

The Turkish steel producers have continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market, while suppliers were raising their offer prices because of tightening supplies, sources said on Thursday April 2.The most recent deep-sea deals had put prices at $206-207 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and mills' expectations since then have been around $200-205 per tonne for similar material.But suppliers w...Read More

The seaborne iron ore market maintained its momentum in March, even with the Covid-19 pandemic causing turmoil for the global economic outlook and leading to steel production cuts and weakening demand outside of China.The monthly average price for 62% Fe iron ore was largely stable at $88.58 per tonne cfr China in March, while that for 65% Fe iron ore was at $103.45 per tonne. The price spread bet...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

The Italian government has announced it will extend the lockdown in the country to manage the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, keeping already closed steel assets shuttered. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on April 1 that he had signed a new decree extending the lockdown in the country until April 13, discarding the original end date of April 3. "We are not in the condition,...Read More

Steelmakers in Bangladesh continued to book ferrous scrap imports over the week ended Thursday April 2 despite the country's nationwide lockdown, which has forced some mills to reduce output, market sources have told Fastmarkets.Prices fell sharply last week, with some traders expecting that Bangladesh's mills had completed their scrap bookings for the next month, because of high stock levels and...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

China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Thursday April 2, amid rising futures and a tumbling billet market. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,390-3,420 yuan ($478-482) per tonne, unchangedNorthern China (Beijing): 3,330-3,370 yuan per tonne, unchanged Rebar prices dropped in the early hours after the billet market tumbled late on Wednesday.But prices recovered in the afternoon on higher sales vo...Read More

Markets seem to be in the calm before the United States employment data storm this morning, Thursday April 2, with metals prices mixed, trading volume low and not much movement on equity indices for a change. Asian-Pacific equity indices were mixed this morning, but pre-market western futures were firmer with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by 1.2% as at 7 am London time. Stocks in Asia initia...Read More