Aluminium scrap markets are holding a steady course in the United States, although a few grades are showing signs of softness due to increased availability of material. Smelter- and mill-grade scrap prices were mostly unchanged across the board. The exceptions were high-grade turnings, which dropped a penny on the lower end of the range; and aluminum-copper radiators, which slipped 1 cent per lb o...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base MetalsTwo Glencore employees are among those that Chinese authorities have detained as part of a nationwide series of arrests relating to the import of illegal waste products, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Metal Bulletin.UC Rusal has warned shareholders that the US Tr...Read More
Comex copper prices declined on Friday May 25 ahead of the holiday weekend, with a surging dollar sinking the entire base metals complex. Copper for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 2.30 cents or 0.7% to $3.0730 per lb. The red metal has been unable to set any sustainable price direction this week. "The...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday May 25.Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange reached a one-month high during morning trading, climbing more than 4% on the week while tin's three-month price continued to lead the complex lower."The base metals are split into three camps, with tin prices falling and looking vulnerable while lead and nickel...Read More
Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange reached a one-month high during morning trading on Friday May 25, climbing more than 4% on the week while tin's three-month price continued to lead the complex lower. Nickel three-month price recorded its highest level since April's sanction-related spike this morning, reaching a high of $15,055 per tonne. Nickel inventories on the exchange continue to dr...Read More
All base metal stocks at Shanghai Futures Exchange-approved warehouses were lower week on week on Friday May 25, with deliverable lead stocks plunging almost 18% or 2,782 tonnes over the week to 12,676 tonnes. This week Zhejiang Tianchuan recorded the most lead stock withdrawals, with 1,513 tonnes leaving its sheds. The decrease is related to supply tightness in the domestic market...Read More
Export prices for Brazil-origin steel slab jumped this week due to renewed buying activity from the United States.Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of Brazilian slab exports rose to $580-590 per tonne fob on Friday May 25 from $565-570 per tonne fob a week earlier.At least two deals for July shipment were confirmed within the latest reported range to clients in North America this week,...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States slipped for this first time this month on an import glut and as lead times have stretched into the typically slower summer months.American Metal Market's hot-rolled coil index stands at $44.05 per hundredweight ($881 per ton), down 0.5% from $44.26 per cwt ($885.20 per ton) previously.Lead times range between four and 10 weeks and average approximately f...Read More
Steady demand, tight supply and reduced imports in the United States have kept domestic and import beam prices firm compared with a month ago, market participants said. American Metal Market's assessment of domestic W8- x 8-inch beams was at $42 per hundredweight fob mill on Thursday May 24, in line with mill list prices, while import medium sections were steady at $7...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Physical iron ore prices softened on Friday May 25 amid declining futures and despite gains in the steel market. They reached their lowest level since April 16, when prices were $63.93 per tonne.Chinese demand for iron ore is expected to be stable this year, with steel producers prioritizing capacity cu...Read More
Industrial action by workers at Megasa's merchant bar-producing steel mill in Zaragoza, in north-eastern Spain, has resumed after a breakdown this week in talks intended to resolve a pay dispute, prolonging the disruption to production and deliveries."It's a still partial strike of two hours per day so, of course, deliveries and production will be affected," a market source told Metal Bulletin...Read More
Indian steelmaker JSW Steel plans to restart operations at newly acquired Italian steelmaker Acciaierie e Ferriere di Piombino (Aferpi) in the first half of June this year, according to Italian trade unions Fiom-Cgil and Uilm.JSW Steel has also presented an industrial plan for the Italian company's Piombino site. This includes restarts of the rolling mills for rail, steel bars and wire rod this ye...Read More
Some of the coated coil prices in Turkey decreased this week, with demand remaining poor in both the local and export markets, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday May 25.Domestic prices One Northern Turkish producer was offering 0.50mm hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) at $745-760 per tonne ex-works this week, while a second producer offered similar product at $770-780 per tonne ex-works. A deal...Read More
Key data form the pricing session in the week ending Friday May 25. China China domestic ferro-chrome prices were stable week on week with thin deals in the spot market while market participants waited for the release of June tender prices to provide market direction. Some small ferro-chrome plants in...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday May 25:Noble alloys Molybdenum Europe drummed molybdic oxide, $/lb: $11.10-11.25 per lb from $11.00-11.30 Molybdenum US canned molybdic oxide, $/Ib $11.40-11.70 per Ib from $11.70-11.90 Ferro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg Mo: $27.50-28.00 per kg from $27.60-28.00 Ferro-molybdenum US 65...Read More
Representatives from Chinese manganese alloy smelters held another meeting on Thursday May 24 to discuss manganese ore prices, according to market sources. It was the third such meeting since early March, when smelters agreed not to pay more than $8 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu), on a cif basis, for low-grade manganese ore, sparking a protracted decline in prices. During the discussions on Thur...Read More
Daily PDFs will be downloadable until Monday May 28. After that, because of the UK's Spring bank holiday, the next daily PDF will be downloadable on Wednesday May 30.Read More
Prices for containerized shredded scrap imports into India were flat this week with buyers stepping back from the market as offer prices drop, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday May 25.Metal Bulletin's weekly index for containerized imports of shredded scrap into India was $382.90 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on May 25, little changed from $382.31 per tonne cfr Nhava Sheva on May 18. Market...Read More
Global direct-reduced iron (DRI) output increased 14.86% year on year in April 2018, according to new statistics published by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) on Friday April 25.Total output was 7.11 million tonnes in April 2018 compared with 6.19 million tonnes a year previously, an increase of 920,000 tonnes. Production was...Read More
The UK inter-merchant price for austenitic alloy steel scrap was unchanged over the past week, with nickel costs remaining high, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday May 25.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?1,000-1,040 ($1,338-1,391) per tonne delivered on Friday."There is more material available at the current higher price," one UK trad...Read More