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    March 19, 2020

    CRU: Zinc’s Price in Freefall as Covid-19 Lockdowns Spiral

    Written by Helen O’Cleary

    By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor

    The LME is preparing to move from trading in the ring to electronic settlement pricing as the UK ramps up Covid-19 restrictions on all but essential activities and LME prices continue to take a hammering. While Chinese demand is gradually recovering from the Q1 shock of virus-related lockdowns, the worst impact of demand destruction in most of the rest of the world will be felt in Q2.

    Helen O’Cleary

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    Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 12, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,240 per short ton (st) this week, a $10/st increase from a week earlier. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,305/st, up $15/st from the prior week. Nucor is still offering lead times of three to five weeks, according to the letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 6, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,270/st, up $10/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 13.