Spot market prices for standard-grade and alloy-grade cobalt stabilized on Wednesday March 25 after weakening downstream demand continued to provide pressure earlier in the week.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam held at $16.15-16.55 per lb midweek, unchanged from Tuesday March 24 and down from $16.30-16.70 per lb on March 20. Fastmarkets' assessment fo...Read More
Copper market participants should have been gathering in Santiago, Chile, for the annual CESCO dinner on Wednesday March 25. Instead, the country's mining industry was nervously eyeing the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic, and its government was coming under increasing pressure to impose a lockdown similar to what India and South Africa have instituted.Chile has so far restrict...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 25 that are worth another look.German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp has announced that it will go ahead with a restructuring plan that will eliminate 3,000 jobs after reaching an agreement with the workers' trade union, it said on March 25.Falling demand, exacerbated by the novel coronavirus outbreak (2010-nCoV) further causing m...Read More
Metals, mining and alloy producers have been scenario-planning in response to the novel coronavirus. The South African government appears to have just removed all but one option.President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the country's mineral resources industry to shut underground mines and furnaces from Thursday March 26, unless they can be operated remotely. The shutdown will last for three weeks an...Read More
The 2019-nCoV pandemic is definitely a black swan event, one which nobody saw coming. Global business sentiment has taken a massive hit, with major industries grinding to a halt on travel bans, quarantine orders and border controls. Major airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways have grounded their fleets, stock markets have collapsed with exchanges closing and tourism is taking a pun...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has closed its open outcry trading floor and is using its electronic trading platform for price discovery as a precautionary measure amid the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic.The only other time the 143-year-old metals exchange temporarily closed was during World War II, when - in the absence of electronic trade - the venue was forced to shut entirely. The move to c...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday March 25.Please click...Read More
The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange was the standout performer at the close of trading on Wednesday March 25, climbing by more than 6% to breach resistance at $14,000 per tonne, while the outright lead price rallied above the $1,600 per tonne threshold. Tin's underlying price on the LME closed at $14,299 per tonne on Wednesday afternoon, gaining $815 per tonne from an intraday l...Read More
Tin ingot premiums in the United States moved up in the week to March 24 on physical supply concerns, with similar fears affecting European market sentiment while Chinese premiums are flat amid ample availability.This all comes despite a near 27% decline in the London Metal Exchange tin price over a fortnightly period.European premiums hold firm but availability a concern. Supply concerns push up...Read More
The new issue of Aluminium Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into aluminium markets around the world.Aluminium price down 2.3% week-on-week amid stock market sell-offGlobal markets remain rattled by the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) across Europe and the United States. Panic-sellin...Read More
Copper has attempted to rebound since early September following a marked sell-off in the summer months where macro and fundamental forces have been prevalent.On the macro front, copper has benefited from a slight easing in US-China trade tensions and more monetary policy easing across the globe - including China, where copper consumption is the most exposed - that has shored up investor sentiment....Read More
The new issue of the Seamless OCTG & Linepipe Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers analysis of seamless OCTG and linepipe across international markets:Covid-19 underscores pipe outlookUnsurprisingly, the concern in the seamless pipe markets across the regions is the effect of the spread of Covid-19 on public health and econo...Read More
The new issue of the Steel Market Tracker is now online at metalbulletinresearch.com.In this edition, Fastmarkets' research team delivers key insights and forecasts into the long and flat products markets.This week's risks to our latest flat-rolled forecasts:The Chinese government is stepping up help to the economy, increasing banks' liquidity. But the spread of the coronavirus worldwide is likely...Read More
The increasing consumption of scrap and a potential shift toward the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route from the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route in China are medium- to long-term threats to demand for steelmaking raw materials, while in the near team coking coal import volumes will continue to be affected by iron ore procurement strategies.This was the basis of Fastmarkets research team...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
Europe's third largest lead smelter Recylex will stop all lead production due to weak demand, the company said in an exchange release after market trading on Wednesday March 25."To adapt to the strong drop in demand, especially in the automotive industry, in a context of sharply lower metal prices, [Recylex subsidiary] Weser-Metall GmbH has decided to discontinue production from Thursday March 26,...Read More
ALS has been exempted from the lockdown in Peru but has halted activities in India and South Africa, the global inspection and analysis firm said. The Brisbane, Australia-based company said it is following guidelines from governments, the World Health Organisation and its own health and safety advice amid the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic. "[India] is in a 21 day lockdo...Read More
Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer, will suspend construction works of some expansion projects for 15 days to improve safety and prevent the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from spreading among its employees, the company said on Wednesday March 25.Remaining work on the underground phase of the Chuquicamata mine, the initial stage of Rajo Inca, and works at the Andina division will all be h...Read More
Global nickel premiums continued to trade flat in the week to Tuesday March 24 despite regional business practises diverging in the fight against the 2019-CoV coronavirus. China continued its market return while the United States headed toward lockdown, and European participants remained firmly on the sidelines.China's market return has yet to show in premium levels, with patchy spot trading on oc...Read More
A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday March 25.Please click...Read More