ArcelorMittal's Brazilian unit has clarified information about the shutdown of its No3 blast furnace in Tubar??o facility, in the country's southeastern Esp?-rito Santo state; the equipment will remain halted for an indeterminate period, the company told Fastmarkets on Friday April 3.The blast furnace has capacity to produce 2.8 million tonnes of crude steel per year. The Tubar??o unit supplies sl...Read More
Eurofer has requested an immediate reduction of 75% in EU safeguard quotas for imported steel to to support European industry during the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic."Reflecting the unprecedented implosion of the European steel market, the current quota levels need to be drastically reduced immediately for a period of six months, and by about 75% to align them with the devastating situat...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday April 3 that are worth another look.Polish coal miner Jastrzebska Sp??lka Weglowa (JSW), the largest coking coal producer in Europe, declared force majeure to its clients on Thursday April 2 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on its operations, in a statement seen by Fastmarkets.The benchmark for the supply of aluminium to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday April 3 that are worth another look.Polish coal miner Jastrzebska Sp??lka Weglowa (JSW), the largest coking coal producer in Europe, declared force majeure to its clients on Thursday April 2 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on its operations, in a statement seen by Fastmarkets.The benchmark for the supply of aluminium to...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 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 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 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.A 6% decline in the daily average 62% Fe iron ore fines benchmark last week contributed to the lowest quarterly price rise for the first quarter in five years, in spite of clear evidence of supply-side constraints. Although there were clear demand-related obstacles to iron ore suppliers raking in more typical, seasonal price...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Coronavirus continues to shape scrap markets but tighter supply may partly offset lower demandWe have downwardly revised our ferrous scrap price forecasts for the following few months and, as a result, for the whole year of 2020, with the Covid-19 outbreak outside China stalling the markets. The Fastmarkets' daily benchmark...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Although China is slowly returning to pre-outbreak activity, the same cannot be said for the rest of the world, which is grappling with the Covid-19 outbreak, with a fifth of the global population and counting under lockdown. Average blast furnace activity in China is recovering but iron ore demand from outside China is expec...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts are ready to view.Having first hit Asia during early 2020, the Covid-19 viral outbreak is now having an even bigger impact on European countries and the US. Widespread lockdown measures have been put in place on people and industry, and economic activity has slowed markedly.For now, stainless steel markets in Europe and the US are yet to show...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board this morning, Monday April 6, as were gold and silver prices.Continued declines in the daily Covid-19 death tolls reported in Italy and France have lifted hopes that the virus can be brought under control, as seen in China. * China’s financial markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday, but other Asian...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 84 points in pter-opening trade. Index futures are responding to news that COVID 19 may have passed its peak in Europe and has started to slow its growth in the U.S. According to Morgan Stanley, "'The worst is behind us,' and risk-vs.-reward hasn't been this attractive in years".WTI Crude Oil slipped $0.70 to $27.63 af...Read More
Grupo Mexico has started to gradually reduce its mining operations in an effort to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, with its activities declared non-essential by the government. The world's fifth-largest copper producer said on social media platform Twitter that it was complying with a decree issued by the governor of the state of Sonora in a manner that would protect its workers' health...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month aluminium price briefly breached the $1,500 per tonne mark, with an intraday high of $1,505 per tonne, but closed at $1,481.50 per tonne on Friday April 3. A little more than 9,100 aluminium lots were traded on Friday, and the underlying price remained under pressure despite an outflow of 2,550 tonnes across LME-registered warehouses. Overall aluminium invento...Read More
Fastmarkets' copper concentrates treatment charges and refining charge (TC/RC) index moved up to $65.70 per tonne and 6.57 cents per lb this week, underpinned by a handful of deals reported in the high $60s per tonne. Traders are cautious about offering tonnages to the spot market in anticipation of supply uncertainties from South America. Notably, the counterparty spread between TC purchase level...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Grupo Mexico has started to gradually reduce its mining operations in an effort to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, with its activities declared non-essential by the government. The world's fifth-largest copper producer said on social media platform Twitter that it was complying with a decree issued by the governor of the state of Sonora in a manner that would protect its workers' health...Read More