Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday April 3. China The spot domestic ferro-chrome market continued to rise on tightened supply. The UG2 chrome ore market is largely on hold amid South Africa's Covid-2019 lockdown, while prices for portside cargoes are higher. Absence...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 minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending Friday April 3.China The buy-side of the seaborne market significantly drove up prices after the lockdown in South Africa sparked supply fears and portside price rises. Portside ore prices continued to rise after traders increased offer prices, however, buying interest waned in...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the UK has stabilized over the past week after falling by more than 37% between March 13 and March 27, as the market pauses ahead of monthly delivery settlements to consumers for April.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was unchanged at ?45-55 ($56-68) per tonne on...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
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India continued to dip this week following a substantial drop last week when the country implemented a 21-day nationwide lockdown, bringing trade to a halt, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 3.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $243.49 per tonne on Friday, down from $247.00 per tonne one week p...Read More
Markets are mixed and on average weaker this morning, Friday April 3, after the rally on Thursday following a 20% rise in oil prices faded. United States President Donald Trump seemed to distract the market after the dreadful US unemployment claims data on Thursday, by talking of a potential oil deal that would see 10-15 million barrels per day cut, but traders are skeptical after Russia denied th...Read More
Demand for lithium chemicals will not recover before mid-2021 due to the added headwinds caused by the global spread of the Covid-19 epidemic to an already oversupplied market, SCB's battery raw materials broker said.During a virtual lithium market presentation hosted by investment bank Morgan Stanley on Friday April 3, SCB's Martim Facada said the lithium market will remain in a bearish price env...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Waning demand for lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries - as a result of slowing consumption of consumer electronic products amid the Covid-19 pandemic - has weighed on upstream cobalt tetroxide prices since early March, sources said.Fastmarkets' assessment for cobalt tetroxide 72.6% Co min, delivered China dropped to 170,000-180,000 yuan ($23,970-25,380) per tonne on Friday April 3, down 2% from 1...Read More
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
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been stable day on day but were expected to decrease due to poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday April 3.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was unchanged at ?,?470.00 ($512.11) per tonne on Friday.Friday's index was calculated based on offers and "achievable" prices heard at ?,?460-47...Read More
Indian mills cut the export price of hot-rolled coil by $10 per tonne in the week ended Friday April 3, amid the complete lockdown of the domestic market while the country tries to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.The price for steel HRC, export, fob main port India, was assessed by Fastmarkets at $380-385 per tonne on Friday, a fall of $10 per tonne compared with...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau will idle the No2 blast furnace at its Ouro Branco mill, in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, this month to adjust operations due to to currently weakened demand because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Friday April 3.Blast furnace No2 at Ouro Branco has capacity to produce 1.5 million tonnes per year of crude steel. Furnace No1, which will remain act...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
Domestic steel rebar prices in Poland climbed slightly this week, supported by good demand from end-users and a lack of competitive import offers, as well as a weaker Polish zloty, source told Fastmarkets on Friday April 3.Demand from the key rebar-consuming sector, construction, continued to be strong this week. In addition, the lack of import competition from other EU states due to Covid-19 lock...Read More
The market for pig iron exports from the south of Brazil was stable during the week ended Friday April 3 because mills had sold out their material until June production.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was unchanged at $297-300 per tonne on Friday."[There is] no doubt that the global market is depressed, but we have sold out all available...Read More
The inter-merchant spot price for light iron scrap in the UK has stabilized over the past week after falling by more than 37% between March 13 and March 27, as the market pauses ahead of monthly delivery settlements to consumers for April.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap 5C, loose old light, domestic, delivered inter-merchant, UK, was unchanged at ?45-55 ($56-68) per tonne on...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States weakened further in the week to Friday April 3, pressured lower by a depressed scrap market and weak demand among mills that have cut steel output.Fastmarkets' price assessment of pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US was $290-300 per tonne on Friday, down from $320-325 per tonne a week earlier."Steel producers in the US cut production a lot because...Read More