Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday March 27 that are worth another look.European flat steel producers have reduced output, and some of them have stopped operating certain equipment, in their attempts to balance supply and demand after multiple automotive producers suspended their operations because of the Covid-19 pandemic.The Zambian government will remove the 5% im...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
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
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
Markets were looking quite mixed this morning, Monday March 30, with most Asian-Pacific equity indices down, the pre-market Dow Jones Industrial Average up by 0.2%, oil prices down by around 5% and the base metals prices mixed.Base metals face numerous cross currents with demand expected to recover in China but fall further in the world ex-China, while the Covid-19 virus and lower prices lead to s...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 19 points in pre-opening trade.Johnson & Johnson advanced $5.34 to $128.50 after announcing plans to develop a vaccine against COVID-19.Abbott Labs (ABT $74.56) is expected to open higher after announcing plans to launch a rapid test for COVID-19.Canada Goose gained $0.30 to $20.52 after Wells Fargo upgraded the st...Read More
The three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange closed below the $4,800-per-tonne psychological threshold on Friday March 27, finishing at the day $4,790.50 per tonne with a turnover of just 11,475 lots.The underlying price hit an intraday high of $4,866.50 per tonne and a low of $4,768.50 per tonne on Friday.Copper's total LME on-warrant inventories remain high, at 177,025 tonnes o...Read More
A summary of the full-year financial performance of Chilean copper producer Codelco in 2019, as stated in its earnings report on Friday March 27.In brief Heavy rainfall in northern Chile alongside a strike at the Chuquicamata division reduced output during the first half of 2019, but activities recovered during the last half of the year. Codelco produced 710,000 tonnes in copper content durin...Read More
The Zambian government will remove the 5% import duty on metal concentrates to ease the pressure on copper and cobalt producers during global lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the Covid-19 virus and and sharp declines in commodity prices. This is among a series of relief measures announced by the country's finance minister, Bwalya Ng'andu, on Friday March 27, in an official statement which a...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
The copper concentrate spot market has become active in Europe, Japan and South Korea as smelters look to cover tonnages disrupted by shutdowns and logistics hitches. Chinese smelters remain well covered.Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific dropped to $63.20 per tonne / 6.32 cents per lb, down from $66.70 / 6.67 cents, its lowest since February 7.Impact of virus-led lockdown...Read More
Fastmarkets reviews the week's developments in South African ores and alloys supply following the lockdown order from President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday March 23 amid the spread of Covid-19. Mines and smelters across the country were ordered to shut down by midnight on March 26. South Africa's largest manganese miner declares force majeure Miner Tshipi e Ntle declared force majeure on mangan...Read More
A summary of the full-year financial performance of Chilean copper producer Codelco in 2019, as stated in its earnings report on Friday March 27.In brief Heavy rainfall in northern Chile alongside a strike at the Chuquicamata division reduced output during the first half of 2019, but activities recovered during the last half of the year. Codelco produced 710,000 tonnes in copper content durin...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
The Zambian government will remove the 5% import duty on metal concentrates to ease the pressure on copper and cobalt producers during global lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the Covid-19 virus and and sharp declines in commodity prices. This is among a series of relief measures announced by the country's finance minister, Bwalya Ng'andu, on Friday March 27, in an official statement which a...Read More
The price of austenitic alloy steel scrap in Europe plunged this week because of a sharp drop in demand, despite a lack of availability, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 27.The low demand has stemmed from a mixture of closures and reduced output rates at stainless steel mills, meaning a reduction in their feedstock requirements. In Italy, all mills have suspended operations following a gov...Read More
The price of ferrous scrap imported into India plummeted this week after the announcement of a 21-day lockdown across the country, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 27.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $247 per tonne on Friday. This was down by $44 per tonne from $291 per tonne one week earlier and at its lowest since October 24, 201...Read More