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
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
The export market for hot-rolled coil from the Commonwealth of Independent States was flat in the week ending Monday May 18, but suppliers expect demand to rebound because prices have reached the bottom, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $350-360 per tonne on Monday, narrowing upward from from $340-360...Read More
Workers at ArcelorMittal Spain have called off the strikes that were scheduled to start on May 20 while they review a new offer concerning the implementation of a temporary layoff plan (known as ERTE), sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 19.A series of token strikes that was scheduled to start on Wednesday, and which would affect the steelmaker's Asturias and Sagunto sites, was called off by t...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
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
Seaborne iron ore prices remained bullish on Tuesday May 19 with solid increases in steel prices and strong transaction volumes for steel products.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $98.36 per tonne, up by $1.52 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $100.99 per tonne, up by $1.46 per tonne.58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $86.01 per tonne, up by $3.45 pe...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices went up slightly on Tuesday May 19 due to trading activity in the Chinese market, but concerns arose over tighter restrictions on imports, sources said.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $116.98 per tonne, up $0.67 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $124.91 per tonne, up $0.81 per tonneHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $90.56 per tonne, up $...Read More
Five expatriate managers of SL Mining were arrested in Sierra Leone last week on allegations of inciting unrest that led to destruction of property in the township of Lunsar, the company said on May 16.SL Mining, a wholly owned subsidiary of London-headquartered Gerald International, said that no formal charges have been filed and its offer of bail had been denied.The miner added that it is "extre...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices rose further on Tuesday May 19, though the increases led to trading activity thinning, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,570-3,600 yuan ($502-506) per tonne, up 50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,540 yuan per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneGains in the futures market led sellers to raise their offers further but the incremen...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
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
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
Indian steelmakers have exported huge volumes of steel during the Covid-19 crisis, and sales closed by major producer Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) have been at the very heart of this trend. In an exclusive interview, VR Sharma, JSPL's managing director, tells Fastmarkets how this feat was made possible and his expectations for the coming months.JSPL switched its attentions toward exporting steel at...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 36 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US 72.00 cents following release of the April Canadian Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop of 0.6% versus a decline of 0.6% in March. Actual was a drop of 0.7%..Lowe's gained $6.80 to $123.67 after reporting higher than...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday May 18 that are worth another look.The departure of the chief executive officer of Tata Steel Netherlands, Theo Henrar, will result in job losses at the company's operations in the country, trade union FNV Metaal said on May 18.How long it will take the global economy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic is anyone's guess right now...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
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange rallied at the close of trading on Monday May 18, with positive risk sentiment emerging from a continued easing of Covid-19 market concerns, while copper, nickel and zinc futures all breached nearby resistance levels.Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,317 per tonne on Monday afternoon, climbing by more than 2.6% from an intra...Read More
The latest data for the global manganese ore market for the week ended May 18, 2020.Read More