Sentiment in the deep-sea scrap market has become even poorer following the sharp downturn in Turkish import prices amid the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, sources said on Friday March 20.The Turkish steel producers resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings for April shipment cargoes, sending prices down by almost $24 per tonne on March 18.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Can...Read More
Rebar prices in Poland have started to increase despite flat scrap values because the Polish zloty has lost ground against the euro, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday March 20.Trading in the Polish rebar markets was relatively active this week. Distributors and prefabricators were building up stocks to secure rebar availability in the event of production disruptions related to the 2019-nCoV coron...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Friday March 20 supported by strong demand in the spot market, although futures moved down. Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,500-3,530 yuan ($495-500) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Beijing): 3,380-3,430 yuan per tonne, unchangedEnd-user demand remained stable over the day while traders were actively restocking, which prevented rebar prices from declinin...Read More
The pig iron market in the United States has weakened further due to the general economic slowdown caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Friday March 20.Fastmarkets' price assessment for pig iron, import, cfr Gulf of Mexico, US, was $330-340 per tonne on Friday, down from $345-350 per tonne a week ago."Scrap prices will go down...Read More
The inter-merchant spot market for light iron scrap in the UK fell almost 19% over the week, marking an abrupt end to five weeks of stability, as major shredders cut their buying prices on expected weaker demand for steel from UK-based carmakers, sources told Fastmarkets.The move also follows a dramatic fall in European steel scrap export prices into Turkey this week which saw the market move down...Read More
Export prices for pig iron from Brazil softened during the week ended Friday March 20 because of the weakness of the country's Real and lower demand in the domestic market.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for pig iron, export, fob port of Vitoria/Rio, Brazil, was $315-320 per tonne on Friday, down from $320-325 per tonne a week before."A weak Real supports pig iron producers, which are focusin...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazilian producers dropped sharply in the week ended Friday March 20, with customers avoiding purchases amid uncertainty about the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, fell to $400-430 per tonne on Friday, compared with $460-470 per tonne a week earlier.By late last week, offers of B...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will temporarily close its open outcry trading floor and go to electronic price discovery from Monday March 23 as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic, it said. The open-outcry floor, one of the last of its kind in the world, has been operating from its disaster recovery site in Essex for the past week.The exchange said last week it may move t...Read More
Export steel billet prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued to slide after a nosedive on Friday March 20, following the slump in import scrap prices earlier in the week. A lack of buying activity in the majority of sales outlets amid the outbreak of coronavirus (2019-nCoV) added to the negative sentiment."The active buyers are only in China now," one trader said.A large...Read More
Automotive manufacturers in Europe have announced production suspensions at sites across the continent caused by supply chain issues and problems created by the measures taken by governments to restrict the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic.Jaguar Land Rover UKJaguar Land Rover (JLR) will suspend production at its manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom from today owing to growin...Read More
Ford Motor Co has decided to temporarily halt production at its sites in Brazil and Argentina from next week due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, the company said on Thursday March 19.The move aims to "keep employees safe and help limit the spread of the virus, as well to adjust the production volumes to the lower consumer demand due to this unprecedented situation", the company adde...Read More
Liberty Steel Group will halt operations at its Dudelange-Liege steelmaking sites tomorrow, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday, March 20.Liberty Steel Group will halt operations at its Dudelange-Liege steelmaking sites tomorrow, the company told Fastmarkets on Friday, March 20.A spokesman confirmed that all three Liberty Liege-Dudelange production sites - at Fl?(C)mal...Read More
The China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) has said that iron ore indices should be based on "real market transactions rather than being influenced by futures and swaps curves."In an interview with Xinhua News Agency last weekend, Cisa vice-chairman and director Luo Tiejun warned that market participants should be cautious about speculative risks, because some iron ore indices were "devia...Read More
Vale's iron ore distribution and blending center at the Teluk Rubiah Maritime Terminal (TRMT) in Malaysia will continue working after all, Vale said on Friday March 20, having earlier warned that operations might be suspended at the end of the month.On Wednesday March 18, the miner had said that operations at the terminal could be suspended until March 31 due to the impact of local gover...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazilian producers dropped sharply in the week ended Friday March 20, with customers avoiding purchases amid uncertainty about the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob main port Brazil, fell to $400-430 per tonne on Friday, compared with $460-470 per tonne a week earlier.By late last week, offers of B...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ended Friday March 20.ChinaThe UG2 chrome ore price continued lower for a fifth consecutive week, with South African sellers slashing offer prices to stimulate demandSpot domestic Chinese ferro-chrome prices...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for their latest price moves.Read More
While countries start to lock down their borders to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), mining companies are beginning to halt production, delay projects and withdraw staff. It is a natural response to a very unexpected situation that would only worsen if left unchecked. For the mining sector, it means a raft of production from projects and operations around the world is being...Read More
The falling price of aluminium on the London Metal Exchange, combined with a weakening supply picture in Europe, is putting pressure on smelters' profit margins, but there are no reports of production cuts in the market yet, Fastmarkets understands.The LME three-month aluminium price benchmark hit a low of $1,579 per tonne during trading on March 19, its lowest since September 2016. Although LME a...Read More