Steel production outside China could contract by a double-digit percentage in 2020, according to global miner BHP, but output in China may rise slightly in the same period if the country can avoid a second wave of Covid-19 infections. According to the miner, steel makers from a variety of regions, including Europe, the Americas, India and Japan, have announced or signaled full shutdowns or curtail...Read More
The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Benedikt Sobotka said that although the world is currently facing distressing times, it was also a chance to restructure supply chains and to take more decisiv...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 21 that are worth another look.The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Italian long steel producer Alfa Acciai Group has resum...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday April 21.Please click...Read More
Miners are cautious about a full ramp-up in production even as Peru's Covid-19 pandemic-related state of emergency is expected to lift after Sunday April 26.An immediate ramp-up to pre-quarantine levels will not be possible for small to mid-size miners in Peru, a producer told Fastmarkets, given that restrictions on the movement of people as well as logistical disruptions are expected to continue...Read More
Tantalum prices have found support due to tightness of supply and concerns about obtaining material during the continued lockdowns in central African countries imposed to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.Prices have been moving up over the past month, with buyers struggling to find cheap prompt units due to the increased worries about the future availability of material, market sources...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 21 that are worth another look.The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Italian long steel producer Alfa Acciai Group has resum...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals were universally trading down at the close on Tuesday April 21, with risk-off sentiment capping LME base metals' futures prices, which precipitated a broad-base sell off across the whole complex. Brent Crude Oil futures' prices were hit significantly during the afternoon session, down 4.15% at $25.17 per barrel, with some analysts suggesting that the commodities s...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices dropped further on Tuesday April 21 due to inactive trading and persistent bearish sentiment among market participants.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $125.05 per tonne, down by $3.21 per tonne.Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $135.04 per tonne, down by $1.47 per tonne.Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $116.01 per tonne, down by $1.00 per tonne.H...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices dropped on Tuesday April 21, with market sentiment hurt by a slump in financial markets triggered by an oil crash in the United States.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,300-3,320 yuan ($466-469) per tonne, down 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,240 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneSellers across China lowered their offers in response to...Read More
London Metal Exchange base metals were universally trading down at the close on Tuesday April 21, with risk-off sentiment capping LME base metals' futures prices, which precipitated a broad-base sell off across the whole complex. Brent Crude Oil futures' prices were hit significantly during the afternoon session, down 4.15% at $25.17 per barrel, with some analysts suggesting that the commodities s...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to reduce the frequency of publication of its lead premium assessments for Indian and Southeast Asian markets. There has been a notable fall in spot liquidity in these two markets. In particular a lack of trading in primary lead ingots has caused the 99.99% lead premium for Southeast Asia to remain unchanged since July 2018, while the 99.99% cif India lead premium has only...Read More
A raft of auto closures in the United States drove the lead premiums down further this week, moving the range for the 99.99% ingot premium for the first time in more than two years and sinking the 99.97% ingot premium to its lowest in seven-and-a-half years.Fastmarkets assessed the lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US at 8-9 cents per lb on Tuesday April 21, down by 5.6% from its previous ran...Read More
United States-based Ball Corp has announced that the Science-based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has approved the company's targets for the reduction of absolute carbon emissions in its own operations by 55%, and within its value chain by 16%, by 2030 against a 2017 baseline.The metals packaging and aerospace supplier was the first in the can-making industry to have an approved science-based target, a...Read More
The lockdowns imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic were offering automotive manufacturers a rare opportunity to take a step back and to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the chief executive officer of Eurasian Resources Group has said.Benedikt Sobotka said that although the world is currently facing distressing times, it was also a chance to restructure supply chains and to take more decisiv...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe were stable day on day on Tuesday April 21, although sentiment in the market remained downbeat, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?445.63 ($484.15) per tonne on Tuesday, up by only ?,?0.63 day on day from ?,?445 per tonne on...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were stable this week, with market activity close to none because of the precautions taken due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 21.No deals or new prices were heard during the week and steel consumption was very slow because of the curfew orders in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, sources said.The UAE...Read More
Italian long steel producer Alfa Acciai Group has resumed production this week following a month of downtime, sources told Fastmarkets on April 17.Last week Alfa Acciai had resumed steel product deliveries from stock, while this week the company has restarted production, several sources confirmed to Fastmarkets.The company is currently running at "more or less 20%" capacity utilization rate, the s...Read More
Steel billet and rebar prices in the United Arab Emirates remained unchanged over the past week, largely because of the lockdown introduced to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources said on Tuesday April 21.The UAE introduced a two-week, 24-hour lockdown on April 4 and extended it for another week starting from April 17.Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has been subject to a&n...Read More
CIS export slab prices surged in the week to Tuesday April 21 with mills managing to achieve higher levels in recent sales.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $325-330 per tonne on Tuesday, up from $305-320 per tonne a week earlier.Demand for semi-finished steel products in China continued to render support to CIS slab producers. A large cargo of Ru...Read More