Turkish rebar and wire rod export markets remained sluggish over the past week due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 19.Apart from one or two position sales by traders to Asia and the United States, there have been no significant rebar sales in the past two weeks, sources said.Steel producers were offering rebar...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market was quiet on Thursday March 19, despite a sharp decrease in prices the day before, sources have told Fastmarkets.On March 18, a steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Canadian cargo, comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10), 20,000 tonnes of shredded and 12,000 tonnes of plate and structural (P&S) scrap, at an average price of $255 per tonne cfr.Marke...Read More
Prices for bulk ferrous scrap cargoes imported into Bangladesh have fallen over the past week amid a deterioration in international scrap prices and heightened disruption created by the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic, market sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 19.Bangladesh has provided a rare bright spot for bulk scrap sellers over recent weeks, with a strong local steel market and high co...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices dropped on Thursday March 19, though uncertainty about supply persisted and the futures prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange regained some losses made earlier in the morning. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $91.36 per tonne, down $0.35 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $92.37 per tonne, down $0.83 per tone58% Fe fines high-grade pr...Read More
Steel billet import prices in Egypt fell in the week to Thursday March 19, but there was no resulting pick-up in demand, sources told Fastmarkets.The spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Egypt has caused trade to decrease significantly, and many offices have been closed, sources told Fastmarkets.As of March 19 there were 210 confirmed infections in Egypt, with si...Read More
Prices in the Commonwealth of Independent (CIS) export billet market slumped on Thursday March 19 following the sharp drop in import steel scrap prices in Turkey a day earlier.Russia's Abinsk Electric Steel Works offered billet at $360-365 per tonne fob Black Sea, against $390-392 pertonne heard earlier in the week, while other CIS-based mills adopted a 'wait-and-see' mode."We are not offering at...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market were unchanged despite a slump in emerging market currencies following investors' preference for haven assets in uncertain economic conditions, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' daily price assessment for steel billet, import, cfr Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at 120-150mm 5sp grade billet sold into Manila - was $400-410 per tonne on March 19, unch...Read More
Luxembourg-headquartered stainless steel producer Aperam will pause production at some of its European production lines because of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, the company announced on Thursday March 19. The company said it was taking the measures, "following stringent measures introduced by several governments in terms of health and safety, hygiene, [and] border closures which are heavil...Read More
The European Commission is to set provisional anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled stainless steel imports from Indonesia, China and Taiwan on April 12.The provisional duties relate to an investigation started on August 12, 2019, following a complaint lodged two months earlier by the European Steel Association Eurofer.The investigation applies to "flat-rolled products of stainless...Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices and export prices for stainless steel cold-rolled coil fell over the past week due to weakened demand, while a decline in the cost of nickel also put prices under pressure. The London Metal Exchange three-month daily official nickel price was $11,505-11,510 per tonne on Wednesday March 18, down by $975 per tonne or 7.8% from $12,480-12,485 per tonne a week e...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 19 that are worth another look.Automobile manufacturers General Motors (GM) and Mercedes-Benz have enforced "collective holidays" at their Brazilian operations starting from March 30, in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV), the companies said on Wednesday March 18.Japan's demand for aluminium is the highes...Read More
Automotive manufacturers in Europe have announced temporary production shutdowns at sites across the continent because of the problems being created by the measures taken by governments to restrict the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic.On Wednesday March 18, BMW, Toyota and Jaguar-Land Rover listed their sites that were intended for closure, while previous shutdowns included Groupe PSA,...Read More
The European Commission is to set provisional anti-dumping duties on hot-rolled stainless steel imports from Indonesia, China and Taiwan on April 12.The provisional duties relate to an investigation started on August 12, 2019, following a complaint lodged two months earlier by the European Steel Association Eurofer.The investigation applies to "flat-rolled products of stainless...Read More
Sales of passenger cars in the EU dropped by 7.41% year on year in February 2020, the second consecutive monthly decline.New car sales in Europe totalled 957,052 vehicles in February 2020, down from 1,033,608 units sold in the corresponding month of 2019, the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said on Wednesday March 18."This...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 19 that are worth another look.Automobile manufacturers General Motors (GM) and Mercedes-Benz have enforced "collective holidays" at their Brazilian operations starting from March 30, in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV), the companies said on Wednesday March 18.Japan's demand for aluminium is the highes...Read More
Domestic prices in Europe for hot-rolled coil have fallen by ?,?7.31 per tonne day on day following a slump in demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 19.Demand for flat steel drastically decreased after a number of automotive manufacturers temporarily closed some or all of their operations due to the 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domesti...Read More
Luxembourg-headquartered stainless steel producer Aperam will pause production at some of its European production lines because of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, the company announced on Thursday March 19. The company said it was taking the measures, "following stringent measures introduced by several governments in terms of health and safety, hygiene, [and] border closures which are heavil...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price slightly improved at the close on Thursday March 19, up by 2% but firmly below the $5,000-per-tonne resistance level, while nickel recorded its highest daily trading volume since November 2016. Copper's underlying price on the LME closed at $4,830 per tonne this afternoon, while turnover was once again just below 30,000 lots over the day.Yet buyin...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 19 that are worth another look.Automobile manufacturers General Motors (GM) and Mercedes-Benz have enforced "collective holidays" at their Brazilian operations starting from March 30, in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV), the companies said on Wednesday March 18.Japan's demand for aluminium is the highes...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