European stainless steel base prices were unchanged for the fourth week running on Friday June 29 despite a sharp rise in alloy surcharges for July. Metal Bulletin's weekly base price assessment for 2mm, grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet in Northern Europe was stable at ?,?1,000-1,050 ($1,156-1,214) per tonne delivered on Friday, while the weekly assessment for grade-316 C...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Friday June 29, ending the week on a slightly brighter note despite broad pressure from trade tensions and dollar strength. Continuing to struggle, zinc prices made a brief recovery during the day, moving back above $2,900 per tonne before drifting back toward $2,850 per tonne.The metal's three-month price made...Read More
Zinc concentrate treatment charges (TC) rose to their highest level so far this year at the end of June on a cif Asia Pacific basis, while the head of the Chinese zinc association has called for a 10% cut in national production to support zinc prices and TCs. Metal Bulletin assessed zinc concentrate TCs cif Asia Pacific at $20-$40 per tonne on Friday June 29. That compares with $20-$35 per to...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves for the start of the North American day on Friday June 29. In London Metal Exchange news this morning, nickel prices were trading closer to $15,000 per tonne, with ongoing drawdowns in total stock and consistent demand from the electric vehicle sector contributing to upswings. Tin prices continued to struggle during morning trading hindered by weak dem...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday June 29.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly down during Asian morning trading on Friday, following a muted performance by the base metals on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday. Zinc was the exception to the weaker tone across the SHFE complex this morning,...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Raw materials A cargo of premium hard coking coal fetched a significantly higher price on Thursday, though market participants have dismissed the transaction as one-off.China's coke prices have peaked, sources said this week, with downside concerns arising over the decline in export activity and th...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves from the past week in the world's metal markets. Base metals The persistent widening backwardation on the July/August spread has pushed aluminium premiums in Rotterdam to their lowest this year, with bearish sentiment sweeping the market. Premiums for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) for the third quarter of 2018 hav...Read More
Governments around the world are keen to prove their green credentials by announcing target dates for the end of sales of vehicles powered by internal combustion engine vehicles and their total replacement by electric ones.The actual demands of different governments vary. Norway, at the forefront of EV take-up, originally believed it could phase out its subsidies by 2015: now, the target has moved...Read More
Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange have been volatile throughout June, with macroeconomic-driven price dips clouding investor sentiment. The three-month nickel price has fluctuated by $1,340 between a monthly low of $14,505 per tonne and the June high of $15,845 per tonne so far this month. Trade tensions and a strong dollar are weighing on nickel prices, while market participants are expe...Read More
Governments around the world are keen to prove their green credentials by announcing target dates for the end of sales of vehicles powered by internal combustion engine vehicles and their total replacement by electric ones.The actual demands of different governments vary. Norway, at the forefront of EV take-up, originally believed it could phase out its subsidies by 2015: now, the target has moved...Read More
Chinese steel prices have been rangebound in June despite plunging inventory levels, with trade war fears and economic jitters keeping market participants on the sidelines for most of the month.Lower steel stocks held by mills and traders typically cause jumps in futures and physical spot trading prices, but this has not happened recently because Chinese market participants are still assessing the...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Friday June 29, ending the week on a slightly brighter note despite broad pressure from trade tensions and dollar strength. Continuing to struggle, zinc prices made a brief recovery during the day, moving back above $2,900 per tonne before drifting back toward $2,850 per tonne.The metal's three-month price made...Read More
The persistent widening backwardation on the July/August spread has pushed aluminium premiums in Rotterdam to their lowest this year, with bearish sentiment sweeping the market.The benchmark Rotterdam duty-unpaid P1020 aluminium in-warehouse premium has fallen to $85-95 per tonne on Friday June 29 from $90-100 per tonne assessed on June 19, which held for 10 assessments. This is over 40% lower tha...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market remained quiet on Friday June 29 on subdued demand and sustained bearish sentiment. "Despite the lack of trades, premium materials should still be assessed at around $195-200 per tonne fob Australia. It would be challenging to get a premium cargo below this range," an Indian trader said. "There are too many uncertainties at the moment. The looming China-US trade war...Read More
Prices for alloy steel scrap in the United Kingdom and Europe were unchanged this week despite falls in the price of both ferro-chrome and nickel.The third-quarter ferro-chrome benchmark settled at $1.38 per lb this week, a drop from the second-quarter price of $1.42 per lb.Meanwhile, the London Metal Exchange three-month official nickel bid/offer spread was at $14,795/15,000 per tonne on Friday,...Read More
Indian flat steel producers are likely to roll over domestic prices of commercial-grade hot-rolled coil (HRC) for July sales.Officials from at least two major flat steel mills confirmed a rollover of HRC prices for July while pointing out that a reduction in HRC prices is unlikely because production costs for mills will rise to reflect the significant weakening of the rupee against the dollar. The...Read More
Zorba suppliers in the United States are pounding the pavement in search of new outlets, with evaporating demand from China creating a supply overhang that is beginning to erode some domestic secondary aluminium scrap prices."There's a huge overhang of zorba in the market. The China impact has caught up. There are people getting shipments rejected, so they're cautious. Containers are on hold, reje...Read More
Correspondent Dalton Barker recaps the week in the non-ferrous markets.Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves from the past week in the world's metal markets. Base metals The persistent widening backwardation on the July/August spread has pushed aluminium premiums in Rotterdam to their lowest this year, with bearish sentiment sweeping the market. Premiums for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) for the third quarter of 2018 hav...Read More