ArcelorMittal expects apparent steel consumption in Europe to contract by up to 1% year on year in 2019, "driven by weak manufacturing and declining automotive production", the world's largest steelmaker said this week."We continue to face a challenge from high levels of imports, particularly in Europe, where safeguard measures introduced by the European Commission have not been fully effective,"...Read More
China's Ministry of Finance has released new vehicle recycling regulations that signal progress toward a more orderly scrap market. Scrap prices will be based entirely on market forces, instead of existing price mechanisms, according to a notice posted on the ministry website earlier this week. Supervisory and inspection systems which focus on random checks will also be implemented to increase the...Read More
The Brucutu iron ore mine from Brazilian company Vale is currently operating on dry stacking at less than a third of its capacity, the miner's chief financial officer Luciano Siani said in an earnings conference call on Friday May 10."We are currently producing [at a rate of] a little less than 10 million tonnes [per year] at Brucutu," the executive stated. The mine has an output capacity of aroun...Read More
German industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp is planning to cut 6,000 jobs over the next three years, including 2,000 jobs in its steel business, chief executive officer Guido Kerkhoff said in a conference call on Friday May 10.ThyssenKrupp remains open to consolidation opportunities for its European steel business, which will be reintegrated into the parent company, following news of the European...Read More
Brazilian diversified miner Vale reported a net loss of $1.64 billion in the first quarter of 2019 due to provisions made after a disaster at a tailings dam at Brumadinho, in the country's southeastern state of Minas Gerais.This compares with a net profit of $1.59 billion in the same period a year earlier, Vale said on Thursday May 9.The miner was forced to halt several mining operations after a t...Read More
Aluminium billet premiums fell across Europe, the United States and Brazil on Friday May 10 due to continued poor demand for billet, forcing market participants to sell material at aggressively low levels. Italy premium drops to February 2018 low Deals discounted in Brazil Limp demand pushes US upcharge down Asia premiums unchanged following holidaysItalian premium returns to pre-Rusal-sanctions...Read More
Primary aluminium foundry alloy premiums in Europe were steady on Friday May 10 in a quiet market, while bearish sentiment from the automobile industry continued to cap premiums. The premium for silicon 7 aluminium wheel alloys over London Metal Exchange cash prices delivered to the Ruhr region with 30-day payment terms was assessed Friday at $340-360 per tonne, steady from April's assessment the...Read More
The global ferrous scrap trade continued to soften during the week ended Friday May 10 due to negative sentiment and weak demand in the major markets. Political disturbances in Turkey put more pressure on mills US export prices on both coasts fall Lower Kanto tender, Turkish lira drive down spot prices in Asia Indian market still subdued by general election process.Turkey importsTurkish steel prod...Read More
Transaction prices for CIS-origin billet have gone down this week, with buyers continue to insist on lower prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday May 10.Fastmarkets' daily CIS export billet index was $420 per tonne fob Black Sea on May 10, down by $2 per tonne day-on-day.A Ukrainian steelmaker was reported to have sold a significant volume of material to Asia at $420 per tonne fob Black Sea.Ru...Read More
The temporary truce on tariffs between China and the United States could be over, injecting a new round of uncertainty into the global financial markets and suspending hopes that a resolution to the countries' trade impasse was likely.US President Donald Trump has threatened to raise the tariff on $200 billion-worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% by Friday May 10. He also said that the US may...Read More
Gay Huey Evans will be the first female chairperson of the London Metal Exchange, replacing Brian Bender when he retires at end of the year, Fastmarkets understands. Huey Evans has spent more than 30 years working in the financial services industry. She is currently a non-executive director of Itau BBA International Ltd, deputy chairperson of The Financial Reporting Council and a board...Read More
Some Chinese ferro-alloys and minor metals prices wavered in a week when the United States raised the import tariff on a number of commodities from China on Friday May 10.The US raised import tariffs on $200 billion-worth of Chinese products to 25% from 10% at noon Asia time on Friday. This followed a threat on Sunday by US President Donald Trump to raise tariffs ahead of a new round of trade talk...Read More
A decision by some silicon metal producers in southern China not to resume operations immediately after the start of the region's rainy season could signal the development of a wider trend across the south country, Fastmarkets MB understands.Increasing costs arising from China's anti-pollution drive and a persistently weak market has caused some silicon metal producers in the southern Chinese prov...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Friday May 10, with nickel futures climbing 1.6% while the three-month lead price failed to recover from a three-year low. Despite the US government's decision to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, potentially escalating trade tensions between the two countries, base metals prices remain...Read More
The Comex copper price was dragged lower in US morning trading on Friday May 10 by an escalation in the US-China trade war, which market participants had previously expected to be nearing a peaceful conclusion. The copper price for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.60 cents to $2.7655 per lb. The contract is now on a four-day losing streak and is tr...Read More
The alumina price on the Chinese spot market is likely to break through this year's peak and move up even further in response to the local authorities' investigation into Xinfa Group regarding the chemical leakage in its alumina smelters in Xiaoyi city, Shanxi province in China, sources told Fastmarkets on May 10."The sentiment has become totally different compared with two days ago and we have se...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices fell by 700 rupees ($10) per tonne in the week ended Friday May 10 with demand for semi-finished steel products slumping alongside finished products such as rebar.Indian domestic secondary billet prices were assessed by Fastmarkets at 31,200-31,400 rupees ($445-448) per tonne ex-mill on May 10, down by 700 rupees per tonne from last week's assessment of 31,9...Read More
The price of some steel coil products in Turkey increased over the seven days to Friday May 10, but buying activity remained subdued, sources told Fastmarkets this week.With demand remaining weak in the local market, producers did not want to reduce prices because that would lead to a further reduction in demand as buyers would hold out for even lower prices, sources said.However, demand...Read More
The benchmark secondary aluminium alloy A380.1 price in the United States declined further on Thursday May 9, with alloy producers struggling to sell metal to disinterested die-casters, sparking steep discounts in the spot market.Fastmarkets AMM's A380.1 price assessment narrowed to 79-80 cents per lb on May 9. That level has not been seen since early August 2009, situating the current price just...Read More
Spot demand for aluminium billet in the United States has remained low, forcing producers to offer discounts in order to move material and pushing the 6063 extrusion billet upcharge to its lowest since late November 2017.Fastmarkets AMM assessed the 6063 extrusion billet upcharge delivered to the US Midwest at 10-11 cents per lb on Friday May 10, slipping by a penny from 11-12 cents per lb in the...Read More