Canada's minister of international trade told world aluminium sector leaders on Monday June 4 that he deplored the United States' imposition of duties against imports of Canadian metal, branding it "deeply troubling and unacceptable." Arguing that the action would "do nothing to address the problem of global overcapacity," Fran??ois-Philippe Champagne said that US President Donald Trump's Section...Read More
Leading Chinese stainless steel mills last week issued higher ferro-chrome tender prices for June, which lent support to the prices for UG2 chrome ore and ferro-chrome. Price for ferro-chrome into China moves up UG2 chrome ore into China nudges higher High-carbon ferro-chrome in Europe unchanged Low-carbon ferro-chrome ticks up on top end Ferro-chrome prices in Japan and South Korea rise.Metal Bul...Read More
Umicore will build its first cathode materials production plant in Poland, and hopes to start supplying automotive-sector customers in Europe by 2020. Belgium's Umicore has chosen the city of Nysa in Poland as the location where it will build its first production plant to manufacture cathode materials for the European automotive market. Given the intention to start deliveries in 2020, the three pr...Read More
Metal-concentrates exchange Open Mineral is in talks with multiple investors to sell over a tenth of the company in a bid to diversify its book of investors, chief executive officer Boris Eykher told Metal Bulletin in a recent interview. Founded by a group of ex-Glencore traders last year, the digital platform aims to line up concentrates buyers and sellers online to cut out dominant trading house...Read More
Metal concentrates trading platform Open Mineral has diversified its businesses to make a foray into trading secondary product and providing logistics solutions, chief executive officer Boris Eykher said in a recent interview with Metal Bulletin. "We talk to multiple smelters from around the world and they want to sell their byproducts. However, the only clients that they know are one to two parti...Read More
The rising trend in the Chinese antimony market continued last week - tightness in concentrate supply and concerns about further production cuts while environmental inspections continue propelled prices there higher. Metal Bulletin assessed the MMTA Standard Grade II delivered duty paid antimony metal price at 52,000-52,500 yuan ($8,111-8,189) per tonne on Wednesday May 30, up 1,000 yuan from...Read More
Cobalt prices continued to fall during the second half of last week, and prices for both grades converged, amid continuing profit-taking and slower demand from consumers. Metal Bulletin assessed prices for low and high-grade cobalt metal at $42-43 per lb, in-warehouse, on Friday June 1, down 0.8% and 0.9% respectively compared with the midweek assessment. Consumers have taken a step...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes, with prices weakening further, sources said on Monday June 4.A steel producer in the Marmara region booked a European cargo late on June 1, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 18,000 tonnes of a mixture of plate and structural scrap (P&S) and HMS 1, and 2,000 tonnes of busheling, at an average price of $334 per tonne c...Read More
The North American division of the China National Certification and Inspection Group (CCIC) will resume inspections of scrap shipments following the end of a one-month suspension, CCIC said on Friday June 1. The CCIC's North American division will start accepting inspection applications on Friday June 8 and it takes at least five working days to arrange the date of the inspection, the group said i...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle scrap prices have gone down in line with the weakening imported scrap values, while ship scrap prices have remained stable over the past week, sources said on Monday June 4.A number of steel producers in the country have reduced their buy prices for auto bundle scrap by around TRY20-90 ($4-19) per tonne delivered.Alloy long steel mill Asil ??elik cut its buy price for...Read More
The Comex copper price edged higher on Monday June 4 on a weaker dollar and positive fundamentals for the US economy. Copper for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 2.7 cents or 0.9% to $3.1255 per lb. "This morning, global risk-taking appetite is positive because investors continue to digest the...Read More
Cobalt prices continued to fall during the second half of last week, and prices for both grades converged, amid continuing profit-taking and slower demand from consumers. Metal Bulletin assessed prices for low and high-grade cobalt metal at $42-43 per lb, in-warehouse, on Friday June 1, down 0.8% and 0.9% respectively compared with the midweek assessment. Consumers have taken a step...Read More
Umicore will build its first cathode materials production plant in Poland, and hopes to start supplying automotive-sector customers in Europe by 2020. Belgium's Umicore has chosen the city of Nysa in Poland as the location where it will build its first production plant to manufacture cathode materials for the European automotive market. Given the intention to start deliveries in 2020, the three pr...Read More
Offer prices for hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) steel sheet in Russia's Central region around Moscow, the principal steel-consuming region in the country, have started to go down after rising repeatedly since January.Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of the price for Russia-origin 4mm HR sheet was 46,100-46,200 roubles ($741-742) per tonne cpt Moscow on Monday June 4, including VAT. This na...Read More
The market for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) in the Commonwealth of Independent States continued to be poor over the past week because of unfavorable circumstances in most key outlets.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for CIS-origin HRC exports was $535-555 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday June 4, down from $545-560 per tonne a week earlier."The Middle East has [its seas...Read More
Demand for flat steel in Turkey will remain moderate through June, but prices are believed to have bottomed during May, market participants told Metal Bulletin."Local demand is not good, but exports are good. I don't think prices will fall - they have bottomed already," one market participant said on Friday June 1."Our prices are low compared with global prices. In the United States, hot-rolled co...Read More
The finalization of Section 232 tariffs last week has prompted some developers to award building and steel contracts more quickly than usual, likely in an effort to avoid even higher steel costs in the future, one northeastern structural steel fabricator said. Developers awarded "quite a few" contracts immediately in the wake of news that President Donald Trump won't exclude Canada, Mexico and the...Read More
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the eurozone manufacturing sector fell to a 15-month low in May 2018 as the slowdown in the region's growth continued, data supplier IHS Markit said on Friday June 1.The final rating for May was 55.5, down from 56.2 in April, making it the fifth consecutive rating fall this year. However, this follows a record high in December 2017.A figure higher than 50 i...Read More
CIS export prices for rebar and wire rod continued to decline in early June under pressure from growing competition with Turkish suppliers as well as lower bids placed by customers.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for CIS rebar exports was $545-550 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday June 4, against $545-555 per tonne fob Black Sea last week.Russia's Abinsk Electric Steel Mill was offering r...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes, with prices weakening further, sources said on Monday June 4.A steel producer in the Marmara region booked a European cargo late on June 1, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 18,000 tonnes of a mixture of plate and structural scrap (P&S) and HMS 1, and 2,000 tonnes of busheling, at an average price of $334 per tonne c...Read More