Sentiment was unusually bearish at this year’s Cesco week in Santiago, Chile, with copper market participants increasingly concerned that sluggish demand in China will limit the upside potential of the red metal price.
Steel market participants in the United Kingdom and Europe renewed calls for the European Union and the UK to reach an agreement and avoid continued market uncertainty after the UK was granted a six-month extension to delay Brexit until Thursday October 31.
A safeguarding investigation into imports of semi-finished iron products, non-alloy steel and steel rebar by Egypt’s Ministry of Trade & Industry could lead to a fall in billet, rebar and scrap prices.
In copper, Antofagasta is running a series of projects to help the company achieve its targeted reduction in emissions over the next few years, a move that would both lower its carbon footprint and cut costs, the company’s chief executive officer told Fastmarkets in an interview during the annual Cesco Week in Santiago, Chile. Separately, Mopani Copper Mines Plc confirmed that it restarted operations at its Nkana and Mufulira mines in Zambia on Wednesday April 10 following an investigation into five fatalities at the two sites earlier this year.
Expectations for steel slab prices remained weak in most regions of the world in the week ended Thursday April 11 despite low availability of material from producers in the CIS.
