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 increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More

An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More

Europe's third largest lead smelter Recylex will stop all lead production due to weak demand, the company said in an exchange release after market trading on Wednesday March 25."To adapt to the strong drop in demand, especially in the automotive industry, in a context of sharply lower metal prices, [Recylex subsidiary] Weser-Metall GmbH has decided to discontinue production from Thursday March 26,...Read More

ALS has been exempted from the lockdown in Peru but has halted activities in India and South Africa, the global inspection and analysis firm said. The Brisbane, Australia-based company said it is following guidelines from governments, the World Health Organisation and its own health and safety advice amid the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic. "[India] is in a 21 day lockdo...Read More

Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer, will suspend construction works of some expansion projects for 15 days to improve safety and prevent the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from spreading among its employees, the company said on Wednesday March 25.Remaining work on the underground phase of the Chuquicamata mine, the initial stage of Rajo Inca, and works at the Andina division will all be h...Read More

Global nickel premiums continued to trade flat in the week to Tuesday March 24 despite regional business practises diverging in the fight against the 2019-CoV coronavirus. China continued its market return while the United States headed toward lockdown, and European participants remained firmly on the sidelines.China's market return has yet to show in premium levels, with patchy spot trading on oc...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday March 25.Please click...Read More

The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Wednesday March 25, climbing by more than 6% to breach resistance at $14,000 per tonne, while the outright lead price rallied above the $1,600 per tonne threshold. Tin's underlying price on the LME closed at $14,299 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, gaining $815 per tonne from an intraday l...Read More

Brazilian flat steel producer Usiminas will grant collective holidays to some of its employees at service center and distribution subsidiary Solu???ues Usiminas and at capital goods arm Usiminas Mec??nica.The measure will affect 46.3% of employees at Solu???ues Usiminas and 29.6% of those at Usiminas Mec??nica.Production at Solu???ues Usiminas' units in Porto Alegre, Guarulhos, Betim, Taubat?...Read More

Prices for hot-rolled coil in the United States were mostly stable on Wednesday March 25, with domestic steelmakers showing little willingness to lower prices dramatically and questions emerging about whether more mills will announce production cuts that could help offset the drop in demand, sources said.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $28.33 per hundr...Read More

German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp has announced that it will go ahead with a restructuring plan that will eliminate 3,000 jobs after reaching an agreement with the workers' trade union, it said on Wednesday March 25.The announcement included a "coronavirus package" with reduced hours for staff, agreed with workers' representative IG Metall.Because of a sharp decline in demand, the company will make p...Read More

The 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic has led to parts of the Indian automotive sector closing down its operations, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday March 25.Some of them did so even before the country's government announced on Tuesday that it was imposing a 21-day lockdown beginning that day.Germany-based carmaker BMW has confirmed that its plant in Chennai will be closed from March 23 to March 31.Jap...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil have been fairly stable across Europe due to the limited trading activity that has resulted from the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 25.This price stability, however, has mainly been supported by the lack of trading and prices were likely to drop sharply when buyers return to the market, they added.To compensate for th...Read More

Prices for hollow steel sections moved down across Europe over the past week, despite trading activity continuing, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 25.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?595-620 ($643-670) per tonne on Wednesday, down from ?,?600-630 per tonne one week previous."We are still working and are trying...Read More

Stainless steel scrap prices have fallen even further in the wake of the novel coronavirus spread in the United States, which has created additional problems for an already weak marketplace, sources told Fastmarkets.Scrap recycling facilities have been classified as essential businesses, but many are closing retail operations while maintaining services to industrial accounts."Industrial scrap cont...Read More

The global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is seriously limiting deep-sea scrap trading in Turkey, with market players also struggling with mill closures, sources said on Wednesday March 25.A number of steel mills in Turkey have stopped or reduced production because of the pandemic. "I heard a steel mill in the Iskenderun region halted production and two steel mills in the Izmir region...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices dropped on Wednesday March 25 as major consumer India announced a 21-day lockdown. Fastmarkets Indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $154.91 per tonne, down $1.49 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $158.18 per tonne, down $6.48 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $141.64 per tonne, down $0.62 per tonne Hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $148 per tonn...Read More

Export prices for Japanese ferrous scrap continued to fall over the week to Wednesday March 25, but tighter supply offered some support to prices for Shindachi busheling, market sources have told Fastmarkets.Japanese scrap traders expected difficulties in procuring Shindachi material in the short term after carmaker Toyota closed several production lines for 3-9 days from Wednesday. And fellow car...Read More

National lockdowns in India and South Africa raised concerns about supply in the seaborne iron ore market on Wednesday March 25 and caused prices to rise for two consecutive days after a massive drop on Monday. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.34 per tonne, up $3.37 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $88.82 per tonne, up $3.32 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-gr...Read More