Charles Li, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) will not seek reappointment at the end of his current contract, the exchange announced on Thursday May 7.It means Li will leave his role as CEO of HKEX, which owns the London Metal Exchange, in October 2021.Li confirmed his full commitment to continuing to lead the organization until that date, or earlier, should a...Read More
Mining companies are looking to trading houses and specialist funds for credit since lower metal prices and enforced shutdowns have restricted cashflow. Peru, Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa are among major mining nations to order mine closures as part of countrywide lockdowns designed to protect against the spread of the Covid-19 disease. Cashflow-limit...Read More
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a US commodities regulator, is analyzing what led the crude oil price to move into negative territory last month, including an assessment of market participant activities and whether position limits and other regulations might need to change.The move could add impetus to the CFTC's proposal to impose federal position limits in 25 energy, metals and...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange maintained upward momentum at the close of trading on Thursday May 7, settling above the nearby $2,000 per tonne resistance level for the first time in over a month, while steady buying in copper saw price action similarly incline over the afternoon. Zinc's underlying price on the LME closed at $2,003.50 per tonne at the 5pm London close on T...Read More
Steady buying of the three-month zinc contract on the London Metal Exchange took the price above $2,000 per tonne on Thursday May 7 for the first time since March 11. Zinc's outright price on the LME was recently at $2,008.50 per tonne, building on gains made over Wednesday afternoon, while turnover was high at some 4,000 lots exchanged by 10am London time. This comes despite well-stocked LME zinc...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums around the globe were unchanged on Thursday May 7 due to low liquidity and poor demand across all regions.European consumers begin to reopenUS premium at all-time lowBrazilian market uneventfulAsian market quietPremiums in Germany, Italy at record lowsDemand for aluminium billet in Europe remained poor this week, with limited spot deals reported to Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets...Read More
While global long steel production is expected to recover quicker than demand, which could put pressure on market prices, the outlook for the next quarter is unstable due to a lack of demand and low pricing, the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) said this week.Supply and demand have worsened in the European Union due to a lockdown among most world economies.It is...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange maintained upward momentum at the close of trading on Thursday May 7, settling above the nearby $2,000 per tonne resistance level for the first time in over a month, while steady buying in copper saw price action similarly incline over the afternoon. Zinc's underlying price on the LME closed at $2,003.50 per tonne at the 5pm London close on T...Read More
United States-based Ball Corp expects to slightly delay beverage packaging growth projects in Europe and Brazil as a result of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The metals packaging and aerospace supplier said projects for multiple beverage can line additions will be executed across its existing European plant network in 2020 and beyond to meet demand recovery, but that certain work has been d...Read More
Key information from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Thursday May 7. Fastmarkets' daily alumina index, fob Australia was little changed at $241 per tonne on Thursday from $241.37 per tonne a week ago. Key drivers: Majority of market sees $240 per tonne as repeatable after multiple deals were concluded around this level last week. The most recen...Read More
The US Department of Commerce has initiated anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of pre-stressed concrete steel wire strand from 15 countries. Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates will be investigated for dumping, and Turkey will be invest...Read More
Declining market activity due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and competitively priced imports worked in tandem to lower steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States, market participants said. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US narrowed lower to $29-29.50 per hundredweight ($580-590 per short ton) on Wednesday May 6, down from $29-30 per cwt pre...Read More
The Brazilian steel industry currently has 12 blast furnaces and a number of meltshops and rolling mills that are at a standstill because of the lack of demand resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to national steel association Instituto A??o Brasil."April was the worst month for sales since 1995," A??o Brasil executive president Marco Polo de Mello Lopes said on Thursday May 7 after a m...Read More
Demand for imported steel billet and domestic steel reinforcing bar (rebar) in Egypt remained weak in the week to Thursday May 7, with no improvement anticipated soon due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets.No new billet deals were heard over the past week, sources said.Ramadan, traditionally a slow month for trade in Muslim countries, bega...Read More
Trading activity in the Commonwealth of Independent States' export billet market switched to China in early May, while other outlets remained quiet due to the religious holidays in the Middle East, Africa and part of Asia as well as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.A 40,000-tonne cargo of Russian billet was reported sold to China through a trader at slightly below $370 per tonne cfr, equivalen...Read More
Italian steel producers have begun to restart their operations after the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown measures were eased in the country from the start of this week, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday May 7.European steelmakers reduced output and temporarily idled equipment in March and April due to the poor demand under the lockdown conditions and other quarantine measures implemented across the region,...Read More
Mining companies are looking to trading houses and specialist funds for credit since lower metal prices and enforced shutdowns have restricted cashflow. Peru, Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa are among major mining nations to order mine closures as part of countrywide lockdowns designed to protect against the spread of the Covid-19 disease. Cashflow-limit...Read More
The price of alloy steel scrap in the United Kingdom and Europe moved up this week on low availability and slightly higher nickel costs, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday May 7. Fastmarkets' weekly assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?730-800 ($902-988) per tonne on May 7, up by ?30-50 per tonne since May 1. With important sources of stainless steel...Read More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India was largely stable in the week to Thursday May 7 with trading activity still on hold while a lockdown remained in place for many parts of the country, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $257.98 per tonne on Thursday, broadly stable from $259.38 per tonne on May 1.Al...Read More
Turkish billet prices have gone down during the past week amid falling imported scrap prices and limited demand, sources said on Thursday May 7.A Turkish steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo at $236 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and $245 per tonne fob bonus-grade scrap at the end of the last week, sending the daily indices down by around $4...Read More