Japan has requested dispute consultations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding South Korean anti-dumping duties levied on stainless steel bars from Japan, the WTO said on June 21."Japan claims a third sunset review by [the South] Korean authorities, which led to a decision to maintain the duties [on stainless steel bar imports from Japan] was not carried out in accordance with the WTO's...Read More
Zinc prices on the London Metal Exchange fell more than 2% by the close of trading on Thursday June 21, while sister-metal lead struggled to find support amid intensified trade war uncertainties between China and the United States. Falling further from the $3,000 per tonne support level, zinc's three-month price reached a daily low of $2,912 per tonne during the afternoon."Zinc is under significan...Read More
Unusually quiet trading activity in molybdic oxide and alloys markets has pressured down prices in Europe so far this week, with the prospect of further falls if emerging offer prices for oxide are accepted and while steelmakers appear reluctant to buy alloys in a weakening market, sources said. Metal Bulletin assessed European molybdic oxide prices at $11.10-11.20 per lb in-warehouse Rotterd...Read More
Finnish stainless steelmaker Outokumpu's alloy steel surcharges for July deliveries of grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet have risen for the sixth consecutive month, the company's website announced on Thursday June 21.The company's July alloy surcharge for 2mm grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet is ?,?1,647 ($1,907) per tonne, a sharp increase from its June surcharge of ?,?1,527 per t...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Singapore as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday June 21.Nickel was the outperformer on the Shanghai Futures Exchange during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with robust demand and declining inventory levels outweighing the trade concerns which have been pressuring the rest of the complex recently.Check Metal Bulletin's live f...Read More
Zinc prices on the London Metal Exchange fell more than 2% by the close of trading on Thursday June 21, while sister-metal lead struggled to find support amid intensified trade war uncertainties between China and the United States. Falling further from the $3,000 per tonne support level, zinc's three-month price reached a daily low of $2,912 per tonne during the afternoon."Zinc is under significan...Read More
Comex copper prices traded in negative territory on Thursday June 21 morning in the United States, with threats of an impending trade war between the US and China hanging over the market.Copper for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched down 0.70 cents or 0.3% to $3.0330 per lb. The contract is now on a six-day losing streak."Copper has started to consolid...Read More
Trading activity in the physical iron ore market was lackluster on Thursday June 21 with prices staying rangebound.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $64.88 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.61 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $53.58 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.03 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $87.70 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.60 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe...Read More
Seaborne pig iron has become relatively competitive versus ferrous scrap over the past year in most regions, and China is no exception. As the first chart below illustrates, the gap between the MBR's proxy for imported pig iron price in China and the Metal Bulletin's Chinese domestic heavy melt scrap price assessment had shrunk by late 2017. The premium averaged $17 per tonne this year to date, co...Read More
Comex copper prices traded in negative territory on Thursday June 21 morning in the United States, with threats of an impending trade war between the US and China hanging over the market.Copper for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched down 0.70 cents or 0.3% to $3.0330 per lb. The contract is now on a six-day losing streak."Copper has started to consolid...Read More
Metal Bulletin is seeking market feedback on a proposal to publish an all-in price assessment for Chinese cobalt sulfate alongside its existing price assessment for cobalt sulfate, 20.5% min Co, ex-works China. The discount/premium structure of the existing price assessment published as a $ per lb adjustment to the low end of Metal Bulletin's benchmark low-grade cobalt price assessment, launched o...Read More
Australian-Chinese miner MMG will sell its Sepon copper mining asset in Laos to a Chinese gold miner for $275 million, the company said on Thursday. MMG will offload its 90% stake in Lane Xang Minerals, owner of the Sepon mine, to Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining, according to the statement. The Sepon mine, which started operations in 2005, has produced over...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has decided to delist Worldwide Warehouse Solutions after a careful monitoring of the company's financial situation, Metal Bulletin has learned.Warehousing company Worldwide Warehouse Solutions (WWS) will be removed from the LME's metal warehousing network and all warranted metal there will be suspended, with the exchange citing concerns the company would "likely" become...Read More
Uncertainties in the Chinese stainless steel market, caused by environmental inspections in the downstream supply chain, were the focus of discussions on nickel's price in the second half at the Shanghai nickel forum held by COFCO Futures on Wednesday June 20. Nickel prices volatile in short term, bullish long term Panelists at the Shanghai forum were mainly positive about nickel prices in the lon...Read More
Nickel and copper prices on the London Metal Exchange resisted a continuously surging dollar index during morning trading on Thursday June 21, recovering from recent sell-offs amid renewed trade tension rhetoric. Climbing back above $15,000 per tonne, nickel's three-month price surged more than 3% since Thursday's low of $14,700 per tonne. Equally, copper's three-month price ticked 0.8% higher ove...Read More
UC Rusal has restarted its Friguia alumina refinery in Guinea more than six years after production was halted, the company said on Thursday June 21. Friguia has an annual nameplate capacity is 650,000 tonnes of alumina and 2.1 million tonnes of bauxite. Rusal reached agreements with the Republic of Guinea, which provide for the ramp up of production up to 550,000-600,000 tonnes of alumina per year...Read More
Export prices for Turkish rebar dipped slightly for the week ended Thursday June 21 amid fresh bookings.Rebar offers varied within a range of $550-560 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, unchanged week on week.A total of 50,000 tonnes was reported sold to...Read More
Turkey's ferrous scrap import market was idle on Thursday June 21, with consumers in Turkey moving to the sidelines ahead of the Turkish general election on Sunday - the result of which has the potential to influence currency moves and interest rates, industry sources told Metal Bulletin.Moreover, Turkish steel producers are being cautious for the time being, with one trader source citing&nbs...Read More
US domestic rebar prices remained flat in the wake of the Section 232 tariffs imposed by the United States on steel and aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union on June 1, with supply said to be tightening on certain sizes.American Metal Market's June 20 price assessment for domestic rebar remained at $35-36 per hundredweight ($700-720 per ton), where it has been since Apr...Read More
Metal Bulletin has today corrected its assessment for the Turkey rebar export market.Metal Bulletin has corrected its Turkey export rebar assessment, which was published incorrectly on June 21 due to a technical error.The published assessment was $540-566 per tonne fob on actual weight basis and was corrected to $540-550 per tonne fob. Metal Bulletin's price book and database have been updated to...Read More