Fastmarkets reviews the latest developments in South African ores and alloys supply following the lockdown order on Monday March 23 amid the spread of Covid-19 and the subsequent extension on Thursday April 9 by a further two weeks from the initial 21 days. Mines and smelters across the country were ordered to shut down by midnight on March 26 and most of the existing lockdown measures are expecte...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States was dead during the week to Friday April 17, with buyers showing little interest in purchases while suppliers were not in a rush to stimulate sales by lowering offers to other outlets. Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was stable week on week at $285-290 per tonne on Friday."The steel mills [which are the m...Read More
In Indonesia, where Brazilian mining giant Vale has targeted most of its nickel growth, the company reported a year-on-year rise in nickel matte output in the first quarter of 2020. PT Vale Indonesia produced 17,614 tonnes of nickel in matte (a semi-refined form) in the three months to March 31, up from 13,080 tonnes in the same period of 2019 but down from 20,494 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2...Read More
Volvo Cars announced on Friday April 17 that it will restart production at its plant in Torslanda, Sweden, on April 20 after several weeks of suspended activity under lockdown measures brought in to help stem the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.The company closed three sites in Sweden on March 26, which it originally planned to reopen on April 14.Volvo's plant in Ghent, Belgium, will also reopen o...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic is a unifier in that it impacts all. But sub-Saharan Africa is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis that threatens to throw the region off its stride, reversing the development progress of recent years and hitting the mining sector hard.The mineral-rich region - which comprises 46 of the 54 countries in the continent below the Sahara - is expected to see its eco...Read More
The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange finished strong on Friday April 17, closing at $1,958 per tonne after steadily gaining through the week.The zinc price briefly touched a high of $1,962.50 per tonne on a day that saw 5,270 lots traded. The rally in the zinc price is significant given that the galvanizing metal's price was at $1,793 per tonne on March 25.Global LME refined zin...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrate treatment and refining charge index continued to drop in the week ended Friday April 17 with limited tonnages sold over the assessment period. The benchmark index fell to $58.6 per tonne/ 5.86 cents per lb on Friday, from $60.1 per tonne/ 6.01 cents per lb a week ago. A handful of deals were concluded in the low $60s per tonne /6 cents per lb to smelters while...Read More
Some of China's major copper smelters have obtained approval from the central government to import US-origin copper concentrate without paying the prescribed 25% duty at a time of disrupted global mined copper supply, Fastmarkets has learned. China's Ministry of Finance Customs Department announced in February that Chinese importers will be able to apply for a tariff exemption on copper concentrat...Read More
The were declines across the complex for deliverable stocks of base metals in Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses in the week ending Friday April 17, with aluminium stocks down by 5% amid a demand recovery, Fastmarkets understands.SHFE aluminium stocks declined by 25,450 tonnes or 5% on a weekly basis to 485,802 tonnes, with the largest outflow of 7,478 tonnes coming from the Central-Chi...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States have gone down again, with market participants reporting even lower prices but noting that those price levels were not generating buying interest due to a lack of demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $24.63 per hundredweight ($492.60 per short ton) on Friday April 17, down by 1.2%...Read More
Prices for cold-rolled and galvanized sheet in the United States have declined, with the Covid-19 pandemic suppressing demand in many end-user sectors and automotive production halted. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US was at $34 per hundredweight ($680 per short ton) on Thursday April 16, down by 2.9% from $35 per cwt on April 9. Fastmarke...Read More
Trading activity in the CIS export billet market was limited in the week to Friday April 17, with customers in most outlets preferring to take a wait-and-see approach amid a lack of clarity over the future price trend.Market sentiment has not been helped by the approaching religious holidays in the Middle East and the weak demand for finished steel products resulting from the global response to th...Read More
Prices for flat steel in Turkey were mixed in the week to Friday April 17, with some prices moving higher and others lower, while demand improved slightly from last week, market participants said.Demand strengthened because stocks among buyers were low, Turkish sources said.Scrap prices continued to increase during the week on reduced availability. Fastmarkets' daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have moved down again due to low market activity and decreasing import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 17.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?453.33 ($492.61) per tonne on Friday April 17, down by ?,?1.67 per tonne from ?,?455 per tonne on April 16.Domestic HRC prices in t...Read More
UK suppliers of steel scrap to domestic consumers have reported a decrease in their prices in the latest monthly settlements in April, following poor market conditions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 17.Fastmarkets assesses the prices of trend-indicating grades in the UK such as HMS 1&2 (old steel) and OA plate and structural (P&S) scrap.The pr...Read More
Austenitic stainless steel scrap prices for material imported into Europe increased this week because of tight supply, despite demand still being poor, Fastmarkets heard on Friday April 17.Fastmarkets' weekly assessment of the price for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids, import, cif main European port, was ?,?890-910 ($967-989) per tonne on Friday, up by ?,?40-60 per tonne.This was the second cons...Read More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India moved up this week following continued increases in other global scrap markets, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 17.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $272.50 per tonne on Friday, up from $245.19 per tonne one week earlier.Trading remained on hold for many in the country, which remained...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices stabilized at the end of the week with mills making four fresh bookings, market sources said on Friday April 17.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $256.50 per tonne, 14,000 tonnes of shredded at $261.50 per tonne and 6,000 tonnes of plate and structural scrap (P&S) at $266.50 per tonne cfr.A st...Read More
Premium coking coal prices fell again on Friday April 17, with several market participants bearish for the near-term outlook due to subdued downstream demand amid weak global steel markets. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $130.60 per tonne, down $0.34 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $135.75 per tonne, down $2.67 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $119.0...Read More