A summary of production figures and financial results from Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas in the second quarter of 2020, as stated in its earnings report published on Thursday July 30.In brief April steel figures were the most badly affected by tumbling demand due to restrictions under the Covid-19 pandemic, and second-quarter domestic sales fell much more sharply than exports on an annual basis. B...Read More

Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) is working to get its recently idled No2 blast furnace (BF) ready to restart before the end of November, chief financial officer Marcelo Ribeiro said in the second-quarter earnings conference call on Wednesday July 29.The resumption of BF operations will require $10-15 million in investments, the executive said, but the company will only r...Read More

Brazil's largest producer of flat-rolled steel, Usiminas, intends restarts in August for some of the operations it halted in April because of the restrictions imposed in the country to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic from spreading, the company said on Thursday July 30.The company will resume activities at its blast furnace (BF) No1 and steelworks No1 at the Ipatinga mill, in the southeastern state...Read More

Turkish rebar export prices have increased over the past week amid rising imported scrap costs, although demand for material was still limited, sources said on Thursday July 30.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey, was $420-430 per tonne on Thursday, up from the $415-425 per tonne of last week.The mills in Turkey raised their offers t...Read More

Prices in Egypt for steel billet imports and domestically produced steel rebar increased in the week to Thursday July 30 because of higher offers, despite soft demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.CIS-origin billet was offered this week at $415-425 per tonne cfr, up from offers at $405-410 per tonne cfr last week.Traders said that it was impossible to import billet because of the low rebar prices...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe company said copper production was up 4% year-on-year for the first six months of 2020 at 153,800 tonnes, driven by high ore throughput and improved grades at the Bozshakol openpit copper mine in Kazakhstan, while gold output rose 25% yoy to 109,700oz again on the back of processing volumes and grades at Bozshakol."In the secon...Read More

Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesDeGrussa produced 19,313 tonnes of copper and 13,541 ounces of gold at C1 cash costs of just US51c per pound in the June quarter.Read More

The state of the global iron ore supply remains a key risk factor for market participants in 2020 due to mining operations being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, sources said.Market sentiment is mixed about whether the tight supply situation will persist in the second half of 2020, especially after Vale said its output for this year was likely to reach just the lower end of its forecast range."I...Read More

Import scrap prices in key Vietnam import markets continued on an upward trend this week, in line with increases in other parts of the world."Prices just keep increasing. We are looking for alternative supply other than US or Japan-origin," a Vietnamese buyer told Fastmarkets on Thursday July 30.Bid-offer gaps and negotiation levels were at wide ranges this past week.Market sources reported a wide...Read More

Seaborne prices were relatively flat across the board on Thursday July 30 due to thin trading in the spot market, with China's import restrictions on seaborne materials continuing to be the biggest obstacle for most Chinese steel mills. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $108.49 per tonne, down $0.11 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $118.81 per tonne, up $0.07...Read More

South Korean steelmakers were able to book bulk scrap cargoes from Japan over the past week at low prices although offers for US-origin deep-sea material continued to jump, sources have told Fastmarkets.Three cargoes of Japanese H2-grade scrap have been bought by a South Korean steelmaker at ?26,000 ($248) per tonne cfr over the past week, which would be equivalent to ?24,000 per tonne fob, Fast...Read More

Dow Jones Industrial Average moved below its 20 and 50 day moving averagesQUALCOMM (QCOM), a NASDAQ 100 stock moved above $94.68 to an all-time high extending an intermediate uptrend.ConocoPhillips (COP), an S&P 100 stock moved below $37.08 extending an intermediate downtrend.Suncor (SU), a TSX 60 stock moved below $21.26 setting an intermediate downtrend. Raytheon Technologies (RTX), a Dow Jo...Read More

Iron ore prices were relatively stable on Thursday July 30, encouraging trading in both the seaborne market and at ports in China. Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $110.58 per tonne, up $0.01 per tonne 62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $112.94 per tonne, down $0.04 per tonne 58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $97.99 per tonne, up $0.58 per tonne 65% Fe Brazil...Read More

China's hot-rolled coil prices strengthened on Thursday July 30 amid supply shortages, sources told Fastmarkets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,950-3,970 yuan ($564-567) per tonne, widening upward by 10 yuan per tonneTransactions were largely concluded around 3,950-3,960 yuan per tonne in the morning, the same as a day earlier.But gains in the futures market in the afternoon pushed up spot pri...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices increased on Thursday July 30 on stronger demand, though market participants tempered their expectations amid high production rates and inventory levels. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,590-3,620 yuan ($513-517) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneFavorable weather and rising futures stimulated demand for rebar, which provided upward momentum for prices, market sou...Read More

Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were subdued during morning trading on Thursday July 30, with thin volumes indicating bearish sentiment, while a low dollar and continued outflows did little to stop copper futures from leading on the downside. Copper's outright price on the LME was recently trading at $6,419.50 per tonne, sliding by just under 1% from Wednesday's closing...Read More

Base metals prices were for the most part firmer this morning, Thursday July 30, while broader markets were more mixed.The United States Federal Reserve provided more liquidity to international markets at its meeting that ended on Wednesday, but did not make any major changes. It also said that the path of the US economic recovery would depend on the course of Covid-19 in the country. Given the la...Read More

China's domestic and export prices for stainless steel increased over the past week on strengthening demand and gains in the nickel market. The three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday July 29's official trading session at $13,809 per tonne, up by $549 per tonne from $13,260 per tonne on July 22.DomesticStainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic (Wuxi):...Read More

The cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log, including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed cobalt...Read More

The cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam trade log, including business, bids and offers reported to Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets publishes trades logs for its key price assessments and indices to bring more transparency into the markets it covers and the pricing process it applies.Fastmarkets assessed cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at $13.75-14.15/lb on...Read More