China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) forecasts the country could post a decline of 16 million tonnes in steel exports in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets. The association convened with several major mills on May 12 to address concerns of the country's rising imports against falling exports in the steel industry, two sources familiar with the meeting said. Steel export bus...Read More
Broad markets were weaker this morning, Thursday May 21, this after strong gains in recent days on high hopes that the recovery will gain momentum while economies move out of lockdowns and with ultra-loose monetary policy adding fuel. The danger is that some countries are relaxing lockdowns for economic reasons even though the Covid-19 virus is not under control, and that runs the risk of the viru...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 13 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT Consensus for the May Philly Fed Index was a drop to - 40.0 versus -56.6 in April. Actual was a drop to -43.1. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 2.400 million versus a revised 2.687 million las...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 19 that are worth another look.German diversified industrial group Thyssenkrupp has detailed its restructuring plan, confirming plans to sell shares in its steel business and sell or close its heavy plate sites.Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB has confirmed that all production at its Kiruna mine has stopped following...Read More
Aluminium was the only LME three-month base metals contract to close negatively on Tuesday May 19, with gains in aluminium futures capped by a 26,500-tonne fresh inflow as of 9am. The significant inflows arrived at into LME-approved sheds at Port Klang, Malaysia and Toledo in the United States, with 21,500 tonnes put into warehouses at Port Klang and 5,000 tonnes arriving in To...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis continued to climb over the past week with buyers from China happy to pay above market levels to import cargoes, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday May 19."The stronger aluminium prices and demand in China are propping up the international price of alumina," a trader said. "Plants are restarting and life is getting back to normal there, after the [Covid-19 pandem...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 19 that are worth another look.German diversified industrial group Thyssenkrupp has detailed its restructuring plan, confirming plans to sell shares in its steel business and sell or close its heavy plate sites.Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB has confirmed that all production at its Kiruna mine has stopped following...Read More
Alumina prices on an fob Australia basis continued to climb over the past week with buyers from China happy to pay above market levels to import cargoes, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday May 19."The stronger aluminium prices and demand in China are propping up the international price of alumina," a trader said. "Plants are restarting and life is getting back to normal there, after the [Covid-19 pandem...Read More
Newmont is continuing to ramp up operations at its Pe??asquito lead-zinc-silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico and expects first production in early June. The mine, which was placed on care and maintenance in early April alongside other non-essential businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, began ramping up in phases after the Mexican government designated it an essential activity. "Over the next...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 19 that are worth another look.German diversified industrial group Thyssenkrupp has detailed its restructuring plan, confirming plans to sell shares in its steel business and sell or close its heavy plate sites.Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB has confirmed that all production at its Kiruna mine has stopped following...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 19 that are worth another look.German diversified industrial group Thyssenkrupp has detailed its restructuring plan, confirming plans to sell shares in its steel business and sell or close its heavy plate sites.Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB has confirmed that all production at its Kiruna mine has stopped following...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in Mexico rose for certain grades on thin deals and low availability, while some price cuts were announced in both Baj?-o and Monterrey regions.Local steel producers avoided announcing price changes last week, but market participants reported purchases being made at higher prices.Fastmarkets' assessment of the consumer buying price for No1 heavy melt, delivered mill Bajio rose...Read More
Turkish steel mills booked no new cargoes on Tuesday May 19 due to a public holiday pausing all trading activity, sources said.In addition to the public holiday, major cities remain subject to lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus until Wednesday.Another lockdown...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 19 that are worth another look.German diversified industrial group Thyssenkrupp has detailed its restructuring plan, confirming plans to sell shares in its steel business and sell or close its heavy plate sites.Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB has confirmed that all production at its Kiruna mine has stopped following...Read More
A string of Covid-19 cases among staff at Polyus PJSC, Russia's largest gold mine and main antimony ore supplier, could threaten exports of concentrates from the country, sources have said.The Olimpiada mine in the Krasnoyarsk Krai region of Siberia has reported that there have been 866 people infected with Covid-19 to date.Gold operations at Olimpiada were continuing as normal, according to Russi...Read More
Newmont is continuing to ramp up operations at its Pe??asquito lead-zinc-silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico and expects first production in early June. The mine, which was placed on care and maintenance in early April alongside other non-essential businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, began ramping up in phases after the Mexican government designated it an essential activity. "Over the next...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 19 that are worth another look.German diversified industrial group Thyssenkrupp has detailed its restructuring plan, confirming plans to sell shares in its steel business and sell or close its heavy plate sites.Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB has confirmed that all production at its Kiruna mine has stopped following...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were fairly stable day on day despite limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 19.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?409.84 ($444.90) per tonne on Tuesday, down by only ?,?0.16 per tonne from ?,?410.00 per tonne on Monday.Tuesday's index was calculated based on deals a...Read More
Some of the flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased this week, but the market is still very slowentering the last week of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and amid concerns about Covid-19, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 19.The reason behind the rising prices was strong domestic demand from China and India.No deals were heard during the week and ste...Read More
Production at Bosnian steelmaker ArcelorMittal Zenica has been interrupted by a strike, with unions protesting against temporary layoffs, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 19.The strikes were called on May 19 and affected all operations at the Zenica site except for the coking plant, sources said. The unions did not disclose how long the strikes will last....Read More