ArcelorMittal will temporarily stop production at its Romanian facility to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday March 31.ArcelorMittal Hunedoara will stop production from April 1 until April 12 inclusive, a company spokesman said."Production will be stopped, for sure," the spokesman said. "We don't know yet if we are going...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in the Mexican steelmaking regions of Monterrey and Bajio rose during the week ended Friday March 27 - bucking the trend in global markets - due to a strong devaluation of the peso.Most scrap buyers were forced to increase prices by 150-250 pesos ($4-10) last week.Some contractual volumes of ferrous scrap are quoted in dollars in Mexico, and a considerable amount of scrap come...Read More
The Turkish steel mills have gone quiet in the deep-sea scrap markets after the recent sharp fall in prices, with more mills shutting down their operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said on Tuesday March 31.Two steel mills booked Baltic Sea cargoes late last week at around $206-207 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), which sent the daily scrap indices down by $23.42 per tonne at the beg...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market stabilized on Tuesday March 31 after the prior day's loss of more than $3 per tonne, attributed to a rebound in China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) and a slight boost in trading volumes. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $83.32 per tonne, up $0.34 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.08 per tonne, up $0....Read More
The prices for steel rebar and billet in the United Arab Emirates have decreased sharply over the past week, with demand very weak amid concerns about the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources said on Tuesday March 31.Local rebar producers announced new domestic prices last week.Emirates Steel is now offering rebar at 1,690 dirhams ($460) per tonne ex-works, down from 1,853 dirhams per t...Read More
Steel slab export prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region fell sharply in the week ended Monday March 30 due to the lack of demand in almost all markets as well as increased competition both inside and outside the region.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $330-340 per tonne on March 30, down from $385 per tonne fob a week ea...Read More
Import prices for steel slab in Southeast Asia and East Asia tracked losses in the downstream hot-rolled coil market against the gloomy backdrop of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Fastmarkets' price assessment for steel slab imports, cfr Southeast Asia and East Asia was $350-370 per tonne on Monday March 30, down $30-40 per tonne from $390-400 per tonne a week earlier.Over the past week...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 31 that are worth another look.The Spanish steel industry has demanded clarification from the government following a March 29 decree to shut down all non-essential production as part of the battle to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Fastmarkets heard on March 31.The closure of borders and reduced port operations across African...Read More
Vietnam will come under a 15-day lockdown from April 1, the country's health ministry said on Tuesday March 31. "The situation is very fluid now and there is no telling what may happen from now on," a ferrous scrap trader in the country told Fastmarkets on Tuesday.All cities in Vietnam will stop public gatherings and shut non-essential public services until April 15. Inbound flights have also been...Read More
ArcelorMittal will temporarily stop production at its Romanian facility to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday March 31.ArcelorMittal Hunedoara will stop production from April 1 until April 12 inclusive, a company spokesman said."Production will be stopped, for sure," the spokesman said. "We don't know yet if we are going...Read More
The Spanish steel industry has demanded clarification from the government following a March 29 decree to shut down all non-essential production as part of the battle to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday March 31. Spain's authorities issued a decree on Sunday that all non-essential activities and businesses must be stopped for the period starting March 30 and ending t...Read More
Vietnam will come under a 15-day lockdown from April 1, the country's health ministry said on Tuesday March 31. "The situation is very fluid now and there is no telling what may happen from now on," a ferrous scrap trader in the country told Fastmarkets on Tuesday.All cities in Vietnam will stop public gatherings and shut non-essential public services until April 15. Inbound flights have also been...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 31 that are worth another look.The Spanish steel industry has demanded clarification from the government following a March 29 decree to shut down all non-essential production as part of the battle to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Fastmarkets heard on March 31.The closure of borders and reduced port operations across African...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in the Mexican steelmaking regions of Monterrey and Bajio rose during the week ended Friday March 27 - bucking the trend in global markets - due to a strong devaluation of the peso.Most scrap buyers were forced to increase prices by 150-250 pesos ($4-10) last week.Some contractual volumes of ferrous scrap are quoted in dollars in Mexico, and a considerable amount of scrap come...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday March 31.Please click...Read More
The closure of borders and reduced port operations across African countries have led to month-long delays of copper cargoes, while suppliers have raced to re-route goods over the past week. "We are now stressed out trying alternative routes. But the problem is even if the cargoes can depart from other ports, their port capacities are significantly lower. We are talking about delay in terms of mont...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 31 that are worth another look.The Spanish steel industry has demanded clarification from the government following a March 29 decree to shut down all non-essential production as part of the battle to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Fastmarkets heard on March 31.The closure of borders and reduced port operations across African...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
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange broadly closed up from values at the previous day's kerb on Tuesday March 31, buoyed by residual optimism following the release of positive manufacturing data from China earlier the same day.The Chinese purchasing managers' index (PMI) was up to 52 in March from 37.5 in February, considerably better than the 44.9 forecast for the period,...Read More
Imports of refined tin into China increased by more than 800% year on year during the country's imposed Covid-19 lockdown over the January-February period, recent customs data from the country shows. China's domestic economy was brought to a standstill at the start of the year after the outbreak of the coronavirus restricted domestic trade, stymied production and crippled industrial activity. Subs...Read More