Operations at the Antamina zinc and copper mine in Peru have been suspended as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to one of its joint venture partners, Teck Resources Ltd.The Vancouver, Canada-based company said Antamina - in which it has a 22.5% stake - has been allowed by the Peruvian government to change out its previously reduced workforce, which has been in place at the...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 13 that are worth another look.Argentinian crude steel production fell by 26.7% year on year in March due to the closure of most plants during a mandatory quarantine enforced by the federal government to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus, national steel chamber Acero Argentino said.A total of 222,020 tonnes of copper sc...Read More
All but one of Fastmarkets' aluminium scrap price assessments fell on Thursday April 9 while the Covid-19 pandemic-driven market slowdown continued to affect the US scrap business."[This] certainly is an unusual time. I've never seen anything like this in my lifetime," one US scrap consumer source said. "Hopefully the May 4 start-up for many automakers will happen."Fastmarkets assessed the mixed l...Read More
A total of 222,020 tonnes of copper scrap has been approved for import into China in a fifth round of metal scrap import quotas, according to an April 10 release from the China Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Bureau.The latest quota is significantly larger than the 3,520 tonnes approved in the fourth round and brings the total amount of copper scrap approved by the bureau since July 2019 up to...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 13 that are worth another look.Argentinian crude steel production fell by 26.7% year on year in March due to the closure of most plants during a mandatory quarantine enforced by the federal government to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus, national steel chamber Acero Argentino said.A total of 222,020 tonnes of copper sc...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Despite these unprecedented times, US sheet prices moved in line with our expectations over the past month. While we maintain our view on the direction of pricing during 2020 and the length of the pricing downturn, as the Covid-19 crisis deepens we have increased the magnitude of the price declines through the second quarter...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to rise on Monday April 13, with sentiment lifted by strengthening futures, although some buyers decided to hold back amid mills' rising output.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,320-3,350 yuan ($472-476) per tonne, up 50-70 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,230 yuan per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneA Shanghai-based trader said that spot prices in t...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Despite these unprecedented times, US sheet prices moved in line with our expectations over the past month. While we maintain our view on the direction of pricing during 2020 and the length of the pricing downturn, as the Covid-19 crisis deepens we have increased the magnitude of the price declines through the second quarter...Read More
The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry has postponed a duty reduction on billet and rebar for a period of six months until October 12, 2020, Egyptian sources informed Fastmarkets on Sunday April 12.The duty was supposed to be reduced on April 12.The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry announced a definitive safeguard duty of 16% of the cif price and a minimum of $74 per tonne for steel bi...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices kept moving upward on Monday April 13 on strengthening demand from the construction sector. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,460-3,490 yuan ($491-496) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,400-3,430 yuan per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonne from 3,370-3,400 yuan per tonne last FridayDemand in both key spot markets was strong during the day, with gains being...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market moved up on Monday April 13, with a persistent tightness in the supply of low-alumina and high-grade products from Brazil bolstering prices. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $85.60 per tonne, up $0.83 per tonne. 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $87.26 per tonne, up $1.06 per tonne. 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $74.62 per to...Read More
China's ferrous scrap market plummeted over the past three weeks due to destocking pressure on sellers coupled with low procurement rates among mills, which sent prices to their lowest in close to two years.Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel scrap heavy scrap domestic, delivered mill China was 2,200-2,360 yuan ($313-335) per tonne including value-added tax last Friday April 10, down by 210-23...Read More
Prices in the major global steel billet markets increased in the week to Friday April 10 because of scrap prices rising due to reduced availability; some deals were heard at higher prices during the week.In Turkey, scrap import prices increased strongly amid reduced availability of material in the deep-sea markets, caused by the closing of scrapyards especially in the United Kingdom and United Sta...Read More
The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry has postponed a duty reduction on billet and rebar for a period of six months until October 12, 2020, Egyptian sources informed Fastmarkets on Sunday April 12.The duty was supposed to be reduced on April 12.The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry announced a definitive safeguard duty of 16% of the cif price and a minimum of $74 per tonne for steel bi...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia dipped over the past week, with buyers uninterested in procuring any material due to falling demand in the downstream hot-rolled coil market. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel slab imports, cfr Southeast Asia and East Asia was $330-345 per tonne on Monday April 13, narrowing downward by $5 per tonne from $330-350 per tonne a week e...Read More
The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry has postponed a duty reduction on billet and rebar for a period of six months until October 12, 2020, Egyptian sources informed Fastmarkets on Sunday April 12.The duty was supposed to be reduced on April 12.The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry announced a definitive safeguard duty of 16% of the cif price and a minimum of $74 per tonne for steel bi...Read More
Prices for imported steel billet in Egypt increased in the week to Thursday April 9, however, market activity was very weak because of the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets.Domestic demand is weak, but even then steel billet stocks were low, so buyers booked some material, sources told Fastmarkets.Local rebar prices have not changed in the country since late February, when some Egyptian...Read More
Turkey produced 5.865 million tonnes of crude steel in January-February 2020, up by 12.7% from 5.203 million tonnes produced in the corresponding period the year before, according to the Turkish Steel Producers Association (T???oeD). The rise in output was largely attributed to the significant decrease in production in Turkey in the second half of 2018 and all of 2019. The decline in Turkey's crud...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 13 that are worth another look.Argentinian crude steel production fell by 26.7% year on year in March due to the closure of most plants during a mandatory quarantine enforced by the federal government to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus, national steel chamber Acero Argentino said.A total of 222,020 tonnes of copper sc...Read More