Aluminium consumers in the United States are clamoring for an alternative to the current Midwest aluminium premium, reacting to the premium's surge to a near all-time high this year. American Metal Market's latest assessment of the P1020 premium placed it at 19.75-20.5 cents per lb on Tuesday July 10, down from the more than three-year high of 22-23 cents per lb on April 10 but stil...Read More
American Metal Market is proposing to launch a weekly assessment of a US aluminium duty-unpaid P1020 premium, to be assessed once per week on Tuesday.Market participants have expressed interest in a duty-unpaid premium (DUP) assessment for the US Midwest as a reference tool following recently imposed import duties, although they also noted that liquidity in this market is currently limit...Read More
Comex copper prices saw a modest recovery in the US morning on Thursday July 12 after setting a fresh yearly low yesterday on news of fresh import tariffs on China. Copper for September settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange recovered 3.85 cents or 1.4% $2.7820 per lb. Pressured by a surprise announcement on Wednesday morning that the United States plans to issue furt...Read More
State-owned PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (PT Inalum) will become a 51% shareholder in Grasberg, the world's second largest copper mine, buying shares from Rio Tinto and Freeport-McMoRan in a deal totaling $3.85 billion, Rio Tinto and Freeport-McMoRan said on Thursday July 12. Rio Tinto has agreed to sell its 40% stake in Grasberg for $3.5 billion, while Freeport will divest a portion of its inter...Read More
The arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday July 12*Copper -$48.01 (-321.23 yuan) Aluminium -$453.56 (-3,034.67 yuan) Zinc $51.75 (346.27 yuan) Nickel -$331 (-2,214.59 yuan) *Metal Bulletin calculates the physical arbitrage for import into...Read More
Turkish domestic rebar and wire rod prices have gone down over the past week while the value of the country's lira weakens and scrap costs fall, sources said on Thursday July 12.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar was $535-550 per tonne ex-works, down from last week's $550-560 per tonne.The domestic rebar price in the Istanbul region was $550-560 per tonne ex-works on Thurs...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have fallen over the past week because of sluggish demand and weakening prices for steel scrap and billet, sources said on Thursday July 12.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey was $540-545 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, down from last week's $545-555 per tonne fob.Turkish steel producers have...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transactions: billetBillet Iran,...Read More
Imported steel billet prices decreased this week in Egypt with lower offers heard in the market, but domestic rebar prices remained unchanged, sources told Metal Bulletin on Thursday July 12.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Egypt on July 12 was unchanged at E ?12,525-12,528 ($698-699) per tonne ex-works.The country's major rebar producer, Ezz...Read More
The world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal has announced higher prices for its coil products in Northern Europe, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Thursday July 12.The target for hot-rolled coil is ?,?580 ($679) per tonne ex-works in Northern Europe.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic HRC in Northern Europe was ?,?555-565 per tonne ex-works on July 11, reflecting "work...Read More
China's domestic HRC prices gained on Thursday July 12 on concerns of a supply shortage after the output restriction policy in Tangshan, a steelmaking hub in northern China, was released to the market.Declining inventory in the domestic HRC market over the past week helped boost prices, sources said.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,260-4,280 yuan ($639-642) per tonne, up 30 yuan per tonneNorthe...Read More
Molybdic oxide prices in Europe have added to gains made on Friday amid more buying interest so far this week after higher-priced sales of oxide in Asia affected market sentiment in the West.The move higher in European oxide has pulled up offer prices in the domestic ferro-molybdenum market, although there were fewer reported sales in alloys while market participants wait to see how far the oxide...Read More
Afarak shareholder and chief operating officer Danko Koncar has appealed a ?,?40 million ($46.8 million) conditional fine imposed by Finland's Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-SA) after failing to launch a takeover bid, the Helsinki-listed chrome producer has said. Koncar informed the company he has already appealed the decision, Afarak said on Tuesday July 10, adding that it was "not party to...Read More
Metal Bulletin is proposing to refine its existing coverage of the 62% Fe iron ore fines market to provide a clearer reflection of the mid-grade market segment, as distinct from other grade brackets.Metal Bulletin is proposing to refine its existing 62% Fe iron ore fines price (MBIOI-62) to provide a clearer reflection of the mid-grade market, removing direct influence from data pertaining to othe...Read More
Physical iron ore prices rose on Thursday July 12 amid gains in China's futures and steel markets.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $64.06 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.72 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines Index: $62.73 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.57 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $52.08 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.32 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Ind...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, tender, 100,000 tonnes of...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices took another tumble on Thursday July 12 after sellers made concessions to liquidate the cargoes they had in hand. Two shipments of premium mid-vol hard coking coal were traded during the day at $189 per tonne cfr China, according to various sources. One of them is already en route to China while the other will be loaded around mid-July, they said. "This price is around...Read More
China's ferrous futures, apart from the hot-rolled coil contract, ended morning trading higher on Thursday July 12 following a steady upward trend since the start of the session.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange October rebar: 3,956 yuan ($584) per tonne, up 18 yuan per tonne October hot-rolled coil: 4,004 yuan per tonne, unchanged Dalian Commodity Exchange Septemb...Read More
Two companies have exited the London Metal Exchange warehousing business in the past month while others have significantly reduced their involvement, highlighting concerns over the growing unprofitability of the sector and the lack of on-exchange stock liquidity. 2018 has been particularly challenging due to a lack of available supply and rising operating costs, adding to stringent LME rules. ...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 15 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 225,000 versus 232,000 last week. Actual was 214,00. Consensus for the June Consumer Price Index was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of 0.2% in May. Actual w...Read More