Iranian export prices for steel billet widened in the week to Wednesday April 8 following fresh sales.Despite the fact that the holiday period for the Iranian new year on March 20 was extended until April 11 to try to control the Covid-19 pandemic, steelmakers continued to operate and were still active in the...Read More
World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.This is the stark assessment by the World Trade Organization, which said global goods trade could contract by as much as 32% in 2020 under its worse-case scenario of suppression measures staying in place for the whole year and limite...Read More
The lockdown in South Africa has sparked a sharp rise in seaborne manganese ore prices in China, whereas the chrome ore market has lagged behind due to different end uses, slower portside price movements and high stocks. South Africa has been under a nationwide lockdown since Thursday March 26, implemented to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The country's metals and mining operations...Read More
The European Commission has imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of hot-rolled stainless steel products originating in China, Taiwan and Indonesia into the European Union, it announced on Tuesday April 7.The provisional duties relate to an investigation started on August 12, 2019, following the European Steel Association Eurofer's complaint lodged two months earlier.The investigation applies to,...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Europe widened this week with trading activity remaining slow ahead of the long Easter weekend break, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 8.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, was ?,?590-610 ($641-663) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward by ?,?5 per tonne from ?,?595-610 per tonne o...Read More
Turkish pipe export prices have gone down over the past month amid falling raw materials prices and the limiting effects on demand of the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said on Wednesday April 8.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel structural pipe, export, S235JR grade, EN10219, 2mm wall thickness, fob main port Turkey, was $490-500 per tonne on Wednesday, down from $530-540 per tonne on Ma...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
The European Commission has imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of hot-rolled stainless steel products originating in China, Taiwan and Indonesia into the European Union, it announced on Tuesday April 7.The provisional duties relate to an investigation started on August 12, 2019, following the European Steel Association Eurofer's complaint lodged two months earlier.The investigation applies to,...Read More
The second tranche of the European Union's steel product import quotas has reached the point where some have become exhausted. Fastmarkets looks at the progress of quota take-up country by country, and reviews the likely dates for exhaustion that were calculated at the end of 2019.BackgroundOn February 2, 2019, the European Commission (EC) imposed definitive safeguard measures on a list of importe...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 8 that are worth another look.World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.The fate of the steel world continues to hang in the balance: Numerous scrapyards have stopped operations, blast furnaces around...Read More
Nickel markets worldwide were holding steady in the week to Tuesday April 7 while the Covid-19 pandemic continued on an unpredictable path.Nickel premiums static in European marketUS sellers hold to existing offers despite higher freight costsChina sees little trading on lack of arbitrage opportunities.European premiums steady in subdued spot tradeEuropean nickel premiums remained stable in the we...Read More
Iranian export prices for steel billet widened in the week to Wednesday April 8 following fresh sales.Despite the fact that the holiday period for the Iranian new year on March 20 was extended until April 11 to try to control the Covid-19 pandemic, steelmakers continued to operate and were still active in the...Read More
World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.This is the stark assessment by the World Trade Organization, which said global goods trade could contract by as much as 32% in 2020 under its worse-case scenario of suppression measures staying in place for the whole year and limite...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 8 that are worth another look.World trade will fall by more this year than during the downturn brought on by the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt.The fate of the steel world continues to hang in the balance: Numerous scrapyards have stopped operations, blast furnaces around...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
The lockdown in South Africa has sparked a sharp rise in seaborne manganese ore prices in China, whereas the chrome ore market has lagged behind due to different end uses, slower portside price movements and high stocks. South Africa has been under a nationwide lockdown since Thursday March 26, implemented to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The country's metals and mining operations...Read More
The fate of the steel world continues to hang in the balance: Numerous scrapyards have stopped operations, blast furnaces around the world have stopped and aggressive offers by traders for Russian and Indian supply have pushed prices down further. In the Asia hot-rolled coil market, for example, Russian and Indian material is expected to remain the lowest-priced supply in the spot market for...Read More
Spot cobalt hydroxide deals are being concluded on a fixed-price basis while buyers and sellers seek to shield themselves from market volatility expected to come from measures taken to curb the global spread of the coronavirus.News late last month that South Africa would enter a 21-day lockdown created uncertainty over the supply of cobalt hydroxide in the coming weeks and months. About 65% of the...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange was lower at the close of trading on Wednesday April 8, withstanding a large inflow of 44,000 tonnes and closing above nearby support levels, while nickel was the only metal to close higher over the day.Copper's outright price on the LME closed at $5,002.50 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, falling by less than 1% from an intraday high of $...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday April 8.Please click...Read More