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
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
Chinese-Australian miner MMG has withdrawn its copper production guidance for the La Bambas copper mine in Peru as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic but is maintaining guidance for its Dugald River, Rosebery and Kinsevere operations. Las Bambas - one of the world's biggest copper mining facilities - had been expected to produce 350,000-370,000 tonnes of copper in 2020. In 2019, Las Bambas pro...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 Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity. At under $1,500 per tonne, aluminium cash prices on the London Metal Exchange are at levels last seen in 2015 and not far shy of the lows seen during the 2008-09 financial crisis. Estimates are that as much as half the world's smelters are now under water, meaning cuts and/or closures are inevita...Read More
A much vaunted infrastructure bill could be back on the agenda again while the United States moves to shore up its economy and stem job losses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.US President Donald Trump said in a post on social media platform Twitter earlier on Tuesday March 31 that the bill would be the fourth part of the government's stimulus measures to handle the impacts of the virus."With interest r...Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic has opened up financing opportunities for metals and mining-focused investment firms. It's also created a problem. The one-two punch demand and supply shock that the virus has created is putting the mining sector under extreme pressure. With banks even more reluctant than before to provide capital to the mining sector amid the tumultuous global financial backdrop, corporates...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 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
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 latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Aluminium: OversoldAluminium has been the hardest hit base metal over the past week, after relentless selling pressure took it to fresh multiyear lows while its LME peers generally consolidate or try to rebound. Aluminium is seeing far less in the way of supply restraint or disruptions than the other metals. But this market...Read More
The latest forecast from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Aluminium: Downside momentum maintainedThe aluminium price has continued to decline, with LME cash even falling below the $1,500 per tonne mark at the start of this week. Downside pressure and momentum remains in the short term while ex-China demand plummets amid auto production line closures and while smelters resist capacity...Read More
The new issue of Aluminium Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into aluminium markets around the world.Aluminium price down 2.3% week-on-week amid stock market sell-offGlobal markets remain rattled by the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) across Europe and the United States. Panic-sellin...Read More
Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....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 latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.As oil price stumbles, outlook for welded markets weakensIn February, oil prices, already hit by the economic slowdown in Asia, turned lower on the failure of OPEC+ to reach an agreement on production cuts. This was enough to shake oil markets, but the collapse of global demand due to the pandemic has driven Brent below $30/...Read More
The new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More
The new issue of the Steel Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into the long and flat products markets.This week's risks to our latest flat-rolled forecasts:The Chinese government is stepping up help to the economy, increasing banks' liquidity. But the spread of the coronavirus worldwide is likely...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This month's key ferro-alloy forecast highlights:While the ferro-alloy industry's initial response to the Covid-19 outbreak was marked by rising prices primarily in response to supply-side concerns, focus has now shifted somewhat. As Chinese activity slowly returns to more normal levels, for alloys with a strong Chinese prod...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.This week Fastmarkets' analysts and price reporters shared their views and recent findings in a webinar revealing some distinct fundamental tensions for steel, refining alloys and, of course, steelmaking raw materials such as iron ore.While the outlook for chrome and manganese ores and alloys is balanced, as far as market pa...Read More