An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) index trended lower in the week ended Friday April 24, marking the third consecutive week of decline. The benchmark index fell to $54.9 per tonne / 5.49 cents per lb on Friday, from $58.6 per tonne/ 5.86 cents per lb a week ago. Limited tonnages were sold on the spot market during the week with bids and offers coming in at...Read More
When the oil price fell into negative price territory at the start of the week ended April 24, it fueled fears that a similar situation could materialize in metals. The good news for users of the London Metal Exchange is the exchange's delivery mechanism that makes it virtually implausible, while its contract structure makes it even more unlikely. Here's why. The reason the West Texas In...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan has cut its copper sales guidance for 2020 by 400 million lb, or around 181,000 tonnes, as a result of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.The company had previously forecast sales of 3.5 billion lb or 1.5 million tonnes of copper this year, but now expected sales of 3.1 billion lb or 1.4 million tonnes.It has also delayed the completion timeline of December 2023 for its new smel...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan will slash production from the Climax open pit molybdenum mine by around 50% for the rest of the year in response to global market conditions and has cut its annual molybdenum sales guidance by 9%, the company said. The Colorado, United States-based Climax mine, which produces high-purity, chemical-grade molybdenum concentrate, reported output of 17 million lbs or 7,700 tonnes of...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing session in Shanghai on Thursday April 23. Key drivers Aluminium producers stopped purchasing from the spot market, preferring to rely on long-term contracts after witnessing a sudden drop in the Shanghai Futures Exchange aluminium price on April 21. The SHFE front-month aluminium contract fell to 12,180 yuan ($1,721) per tonne...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized sheet in the United States declined for a fifth straight week after automotive and other factory shutdowns weighed on demand for steel components.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US dropped to $33 per hundredweight ($660 per short ton) on Thursday April 23 from $34 per cwt ($680 per ton) on April 16. Fastmarkets' p...Read More
Apparent steel consumption in Brazil totaled 1.61 million tonnes in March 2020, falling by 11.1% from 1.82 million tonnes in the corresponding month of 2019, the national steelmakers' association, Instituto A??o Brasil, said on Friday April 24.Aside from December, which is a traditionally weaker month for steel demand because of holidays, this was the lowest figure reported since January 2019. Som...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe fell on continuing bearish sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets in Friday April 24.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?443.13 ($478.42) per tonne on Friday April 24, down by ?,?3.87 per tonne from ?,?447.00 per tonne on April 23.Official offers have been heard at ?,?455-465 per tonne ex-works, ...Read More
Anemic demand stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in another round of import price decreases for flat-rolled steel in South America, with the majority of customers reported as skipping orders for June shipments, market sources said."There is no market right now, no matter the price I offer," a Brazil-based trader source said."Most South American importers are out of the market at the mome...Read More
Indian hot-rolled coil export prices have fallen by about $5-10 per tonne in the past week with mills having begun to sell material to China and South-East Asian countries while domestic market conditions remained gloomy because of a nationwide lockdown.The price of steel HRC (commodity), export, fob main port India, was assessed by Fastmarkets at $375-385 per tonne on April 24, down by $5-10 per...Read More
More Italian steel producers restarted their operations in the week ended Friday April 24, but one French flat steel producer plans to temporarily idle its remaining equipment, Fastmarkets has heard.European steelmakers have been reducing output and temporarily idling equipment due to the poor demand resulting from lockdown orders and other quarantine measures implemented across the region with th...Read More
India's ministry of shipping has revised its order that various shipping-related charges should be waived at all major ports where material is stranded, until the end of the lockdown period in the country, it announced earlier this week.The order, issued on Tuesday April 21, called for all penalty charges, demurrages, and detention and anchorage charges, among others, to be cancelled at all major...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States remained inactive during the week to Friday April 24 due to low steel production rates and the resulting reduced need for pig iron.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $290-295 per tonne on Friday, up by $5 per tonne from $285-290 per tonne a week before."Our steel mills are operating at record-low ra...Read More
The price of containerized ferrous scrap imports into India inched lower this week while the market continues to grapple with the fallout of the lockdown period in the country, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 24.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $269.13 per tonne on Friday, down from $272.50 per tonne a week earlier.Since lockdown...Read More
The price of alloy steel scrap in the UK and Europe increased this week with tight supply outweighing low demand, Fastmarkets heard on Friday April 24.Both supply and demand in the stainless steel scrap markets have decreased substantially because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures taken to combat it.Initially, there were fears of a collapse in the downstream stainless steel market, which.....Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the UK has been stable over the past week amid quiet trading activity, while tracking a similar trend in European export markets to Turkey and the Indian subcontinent, sources said on Friday April 24.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, was ?50-60 ($62-74) per tonne on Ap...Read More
Turkish steel producers ended the week with no deep-sea bookings, amid weak finished steel demand and falling steel output due to the Covid-19 outbreak, sources said on Friday April 24.The short working week also kept the mills from making scrap purchases, according to sources.Thursday April 23 marked the National Sovereignty and Children's Day public holiday in Turkey and the country has imposed...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices were mostly down on Friday April 24 with limited trading activity at Chinese ports. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.35 per tonne, down $0.11 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $86.09 per tonne, up $0.09 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $73 per tonne, down $0.14 per tonne. 65% Fe Brazil-o...Read More
China's domestic and export prices for rebar decreased on Friday April 24 along with the weaker demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,420-3,450 yuan ($483-487) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,420-3,470 yuan per tonne, narrowing by 10-20 yuan per tonne week on weekRebar futures traded below Thursday's settlement price of 3,356 yuan per tonn...Read More