Prices paid for Brazil-origin steel slab in export deals have narrowed in the week ended April 17, with recovering demand in Asia and Europe resulting in increased numbers of deals, sources said.
The Covid-19 pandemic is a unifier in that it impacts all. But sub-Saharan Africa is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis that threatens to throw the region off its stride, reversing the development progress of recent years and hitting the mining sector hard.
Rio Tinto has cut its 2020 copper production guidance due to the Covid-19 pandemic and an earthquake last month at its Kennecott operations in the US state of Utah.
The Chinese domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate price fell by 2.7% on Thursday April 16 after buyers dropped offers again to stimulate a reluctant market, while the Asian seaborne market finally ended its steady streak.
The price of vanadium pentoxide in Europe jumped by more than 25% in the week ended Friday April 17 due to concerns over obtaining the material during the continued lockdown in South Africa.
