Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have gone up strongly, as expected, with news of fresh cargo deals, sources said on Tuesday April 7.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 10,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $235 per tonne, 20,000 tonnes of shredded at $243 per tonne, 4,000 tonnes of a mixture of HMS 1 and plate and structural scrap (P&S) at $248 per tonne, a...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices went down on Tuesday April 7 from the levels seen at the end of last week, but high-grade ore performed well in portside trading. The Chinese markets had been closed on Monday for the Qingming Festival holiday.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.73 per tonne, down by $0.57 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.11 per tonne, down by $0....Read More
Improved market sentiment due to the containment of Covid-19 across the United States and Europe boosted buying momentum in copper and pushed the three-month copper price higher during morning trading on Tuesday April 7. Copper's outright price was recently at $5,074.50 per tonne, climbing more than 3% from an intra-morning low of $4,937 per tonne, while trading volumes topped 10,000 lots as of 9:...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange were up across the board this morning, Tuesday April 7, with gains averaging 1.2% and 1.4% respectively.Broader markets are in a firmer tone following a 7.7% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday and after this morning's announcement of a record breaking 108 trillion yen ($990 billion) stimulus package by Ja...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 28 points in pre-opening trade. The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at U.S. 71.30 following release of March Canadian Housing Starts report at 8:15 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop to 180,000 from 210,100 units in February. Actual was 195,200 unitsGeneral Motors added $0.19 to $21.49 despite a downgrade by Deutsche...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 6 that are worth another look.Italian stainless steelmaker Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) has resumed production, following a week of downtime in response to the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on April 6.The Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity.Chile's s...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month tin price closed trading higher on Monday April 6, with thin volumes across the complex allowing it capture the bulk of price gains, while aluminium entering LME warehouses put the light metal under pressure. LME tin's underlying price closed at $14,280 per tonne on Monday afternoon, climbing from an intraday low of $14,140 per tonne, while just 188 lots of ti...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
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 6 that are worth another look.Italian stainless steelmaker Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) has resumed production, following a week of downtime in response to the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on April 6.The Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity.Chile's s...Read More
Seaborne manganese ore prices in China soared in the week ended Friday April 3, driven by strength in the portside market following supply concerns after South Africa's nationwide lockdown permeated the seaborne market. South Africa entered a 21-day nationwide lockdown on Thursday March 26 and ordered the country's metals and mining operations to be placed on care and maintenance. South Afric...Read More
The European high-carbon ferro-chrome market cemented its recovery over the past week, with industry sources reporting higher spot prices amid supply worries from South Africa and India, both of which are on multi-week lockdowns. The low-phosphorous price also ticked up week on week, as did Turkish lumpy chrome ore, while the UG2 index to China remained flat. Sources attributed the price rises to...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday April 6 that are worth another look.Italian stainless steelmaker Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) has resumed production, following a week of downtime in response to the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on April 6.The Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity.Chile's s...Read More
Turkish deep-sea scrap import prices have started to rebound on tightening supply, although no transactions have been made, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 6.Several sources reported a Baltic Sea offer at $240 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), while mills' bids were no higher than $220 per tonne.The most recent deep-sea transactions were heard at the start of last week and put the HMS 1&...Read More
The Turkish domestic scrap market was stable over the past week but prices are expected to increase soon due to tightening supply, sources said on Monday April 6.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was 1,380-1,515 lira ($206-226) per tonne on Monday, unchanged week on week.Long and flat steelmaker ??olakoglu maintained its buy price...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices continued to move downward in the week ended Friday April 3, with reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic responsible for further lockdowns around the world, bringing trading to a halt in key export markets.Turkish import prices plungeUS export market pausesTaiwan import price dips on lower demandTrading remains at a halt in India.TurkeyPrices for scrap imported into Turkey f...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-Pacifi...Read More
Striking the right balance between supply and demand for lithium has been difficult, given the still relatively nascent demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and the time needed to ramp up lithium production. Fastmarkets head of base metals and battery raw materials research William Adams considers recent trends and the global outlook in present uncertain economic times.We are still at the dawn of th...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe have been fairly stable day on day in a slow market, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 6.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?473.00 ($510.96) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?3 per tonne from ?,?470.00 per tonne on April 3.Monday's index was calculated based on deals, offers and "achievable...Read More
Prices for flat steel products in Russia's Central Federal District around Moscow declined over the past week with trading activity scaling down because of concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday April 6.On April 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended a stay-at-home order to help to curb the spread of Covid-19 until April 30, well beyond the original end-date...Read More
Vehicle production in Brazil fell by 21.1% year on year in March due to lockdowns introduced to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in the last 15 days of the month, car manufacturer association Anfavea said on Monday April 6. Output was 189,958 units during the month, compared with 240,763 units a year before. Production also fell by 7% in comparison with February data, which was 204,200 units. Over th...Read More