Steel billet and rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates had mixed fortunes in the seven days to Tuesday May 19, with demand limited by Ramadan and Covid-19 restrictions, market sources told Fastmarkets.Market participants in the UAE said that demand was unlikely to improve before the end of Ramadan in late May.Ramadan is normally a slow month for the region, but the Covid-19 curfe...Read More
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) export rebar and wire rod prices remained stable in the week to Monday May 18 while trading activity in the majority of the outlets was still modest, Fastmarkets learned.Some market participants expected some improvement in finished long-steel prices following the uptick in the scrap and billet segments last week, but there was no sufficient support on...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
Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB has confirmed that all production at its Kiruna mine has stopped following a seismic event on Monday, the company said on Tuesday May 19. All production has stopped after a seismic event, with a magnitude of 3.3, occurred at 3:11am on May 18, with no forecast as to when it will resume and an intensive inspection of the mine now underway, the company said....Read More
The CIS export billet market remained bullish early this week, with demand from China continuing to support prices after a plunge in interest from Turkey at the end of last week.Market participants reported offers of CIS-origin billet to China at $385-400 per tonne cfr, which would net back to $355-370 per tonne fob for cargoes to be shipped from the Black Sea basin.Some market participants said t...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates had mixed fortunes in the seven days to Tuesday May 19, with demand limited by Ramadan and Covid-19 restrictions, market sources told Fastmarkets.Market participants in the UAE said that demand was unlikely to improve before the end of Ramadan in late May.Ramadan is normally a slow month for the region, but the Covid-19 curfe...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved up further on Tuesday May 19 amid expectations of economic stimulus emerging from the country's annual meetings of policymakers later this week. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,560-3,590 yuan ($501-505) per tonne, up by 30 yuan per tonneThe National People's Congress of the Communist Party of China will start its annual meeting on May 22 in Beijing while th...Read More
European high- and low-carbon ferro-chrome prices increased last week, with industry sources reporting around 900 tonnes of done deals for high-carbon material and about half that for more refined-grade material.The high-carbon ferro-chrome price spread narrowed to $0.12 per lb after deals were reported that raised the lower end of the assessment. Deals for around 900 tonnes were reported and...Read More
Sales of passenger cars in Europe dropped by 76.32% year on year in April 2020, making it the fourth consecutive month of declines. New car sales in Europe totaled 270,682 vehicles in April 2020, down from 1,143,046 units sold in the corresponding month of 2019, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Tuesday May 19. 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
Swedish state-owned iron-ore producer LKAB has confirmed that all production at its Kiruna mine has stopped following a seismic event on Monday, the company said on Tuesday May 19. All production has stopped after a seismic event, with a magnitude of 3.3, occurred at 3:11am on May 18, with no forecast as to when it will resume and an intensive inspection of the mine now underway, the company said....Read More
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. Thyssenkrupp released an update on Tuesday May 19 on its realignment strategy initiated last year after a failure of a joint venture with Tata Steel. Challenges resulting from the Covid-19 crisis have made the group spe...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 summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday May 19.Please click...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
The CIS export billet market remained bullish early this week, with demand from China continuing to support prices after a plunge in interest from Turkey at the end of last week.Market participants reported offers of CIS-origin billet to China at $385-400 per tonne cfr, which would net back to $355-370 per tonne fob for cargoes to be shipped from the Black Sea basin.Some market participants said t...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
How long it will take the global economy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic is anyone's guess right now.Could the world's major economic regions be in for an "LUV" recovery similar to the one they saw after the global financial crisis of 2008-09?That was the format of recovery that was expected in 2009 by former Rio Tinto chief executive officer Tom Albanese, who was at the helm of the mining g...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to lead to another casualty: the mega mine. The volatility created by crises like Covid-19 is adding a layer of uncertainty to the development of large-scale projects that take a decade or more to progress and are highly capital intensive, according to Tom Albanese, the former chief executive officer of Rio Tinto.This means that mining projects are likely to be deve...Read More