Total crude steel output across 64 major producer countries was 150.2 million tonnes in February 2021, down by 8% month on month but up by 4% from February 2020, the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) said on March 23.

Increasing scrap flows and bearish appetites led to softer prices in the majority of international steel scrap markets in the week to Friday March 12.

New transactions concluded for containerized steel scrap cargoes sold to Bangladesh fetched lower prices over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets.

Steel scrap prices continued to surge this week due to sustained demand from buyers in all markets, with the exception of India. Downstream steel prices have supported raw material price increases in Asia, with buyers melting scrap to feed demand for billet and long steel products.

The European Commission (EC) has decided not to impose preliminary anti-subsidy duties on hot-rolled coil originating from Turkey.

Fastmarkets is proposing to launch a daily index for Italy’s domestic steel hot-rolled coil market to replace the existing weekly price assessment for the product in Southern Europe.

Spot hot-rolled coil prices in the United States remained stable to begin the week.

Turkey came back to the deep-sea export markets in the week ended Friday February 5, capitalizing on lower prices, while buying appetite in the Asian markets was subdued by the imminent Lunar New Year holiday.

Global ferrous scrap prices have yet to hit the buffers in their downward plunge. Buyers in Asia were holding back from purchases in the week ended Friday January 29, swooping in only for low-priced cargoes, but demand from China could support prices in the near term.

First Quantum Minerals expects to achieve higher copper production in the next three years out to 2023, driven largely by its operations in Zambia and Panama.