The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Wednesday May 9. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange ended mostly lower at the close of trading on Tuesday May 8, with aluminium and zinc bucking the trend. Read more in our live futures report.Brazil's primary aluminium export volumes increased by 82.7% year on year in April due to increased shipments from Norsk Hydro's Al...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange kept firm at the close of trading on Wednesday May 9, with copper's 1% climb leading a positive afternoon surge across the complex. The three-month copper prices traded as low as $6,766 per tonne today, finding support throughout the afternoon and climbing back over the $6,800 per tonne support level at the close. The red metal dropped marginally aft...Read More
Peru's zinc mine production rose by 7.2% year-on-year in March, attributed to a recovery from last year's decline caused by the torrential rainfall that hit the country then. Production came to 117,753 tonnes, from 109,873 tonnes in March 2017, according to the latest figures from the country's energy and mines ministry, MEM. The increase mostly reflects the impact of weak output achieved in March...Read More
Tin premiums in Europe ticked higher again in the week to Tuesday May 8 on the back of a temporary supply crunch, which resulted from the halt in exports from Indonesia at the start of the quarter. Shipments have now resumed and material is already on its way to consuming regions including Europe and the United States, but it arrives later this month and supply is getting tighter meaning premiums...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Horizonte plc, which acquired the Vermelho project from Vale, is exploring whether the project can produce nickel and cobalt sulfate suitable for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, it said on Wednesday May 9. Mining company Horizonte acquired the Brazil-based nickel-cobalt project for $8 million in December 2017. "The Vermelho project also contains a large cobalt resource which Vale planned to...Read More
Turkish steel producers stayed out of the market on Wednesday May 9, with no deep-sea transactions reported amid holidays in Russia and Ukraine, sources told Metal Bulletin.The Ukrainian and Russian markets were closed for Victory Day holidays on Wednesday.Market participants nonetheless said that Baltic Sea-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) will be about $357 per tonne and $360 per tonne cfr&...Read More
Ferrous scrap will increasingly replace natural resources as the main raw material to produce steel, according to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) head of raw materials, Dr Baris Bekir ??ift??i.This is mainly due to ferrous scrap's increasing availability globally, as well as structural reforms in major steelmaking countries to increase the usage of electric-arc furnaces in the steel produ...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed on the morning of Wednesday May 9, with all the metals, except tin (+0.2%) and lead (+0.3%), down by an average of 0.3%. Copper prices were off 0.4% at $6,785 per tonne.Volume on the LME has been below average, with 5,734 lots traded as at 07.37 am London time. This follows on from what turned out to be a generally negative day on Tuesday,...Read More
Horizonte plc, which acquired the Vermelho project from Vale, is exploring whether the project can produce nickel and cobalt sulfate suitable for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, it said on Wednesday May 9. Mining company Horizonte acquired the Brazil-based nickel-cobalt project for $8 million in December 2017. "The Vermelho project also contains a large cobalt resource which Vale planned to...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) have gone unchanged in Northern Europe this week, but they have fallen in the South of the region, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday May 9.Demand for the material in Southern Europe has been slow, with buyers remaining in "wait-and-see" mode because they have sufficient stocks, according to market participants. As a result, domestic price...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Southern Europe fell this week due to slow trading activity, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday May 9.The Southern European market remained in 'wait-and-see' mode with participants waiting for a final decision from the United States about its Section 232 import tariffs and an expected announcement related to a safeguard case in the EU, sources sai...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the EU have been largely unchanged over the past week, with buyers showing reduced interest in imported material, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday May 9."Buyers are cautious when it comes to buying imported coil, because there are rumors that the EC will impose preliminary measures in a safeguard case within several weeks," a Southern European s...Read More
Latin American steelmaker Gerdau sees the results of the Section 232 investigations of steel imports into the United States as being "positive" for the company, chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck has said."From the Gerdau North America perspective, the quotas [imposed by the US government after the conclusion of the process] will contribute to reducing imports and increasing the company's uti...Read More
Tata Steel Europe has begun to seek potential buyers for its non-core business units so as to strengthen its forecast for the steel strip business, the company said on Tuesday May 8.The sale process will include five business units.The first is Cogent, a manufacturer and processor of electrical steels. It has three assets, at Newport in South Wales in the UK, at Burlington in Ontario in Canada, an...Read More
Domestic prices for mesh-quality wire rod produced and delivered in both Northern and Southern Europe remained unchanged this week because of the low levels of market activity, sources said on Wednesday May 9.Public holidays in several European countries this week have contributed to the drop in activity.The Southern European domestic price for mesh-quality wire rod was ?,?525-550 ($624-654) per.....Read More
Turkish steel producers stayed out of the market on Wednesday May 9, with no deep-sea transactions reported amid holidays in Russia and Ukraine, sources told Metal Bulletin.The Ukrainian and Russian markets were closed for Victory Day holidays on Wednesday.Market participants nonetheless said that Baltic Sea-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) will be about $357 per tonne and $360 per tonne cfr&...Read More
Seaborne iron ore trading activity increased on Wednesday May 9, with lower fixed prices but steadier premiums.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $66.46 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.34 per tonne Metal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $54.29 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.25 per tonne Metal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchangedMetal Bulletin 62% Fe China P...Read More
Ferrous scrap will increasingly replace natural resources as the main raw material to produce steel, according to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) head of raw materials, Dr Baris Bekir ??ift??i.This is mainly due to ferrous scrap's increasing availability globally, as well as structural reforms in major steelmaking countries to increase the usage of electric-arc furnaces in the steel produ...Read More
Prices for Iranian exports of steel billet and slab increased in the week to Wednesday May 9, with new deals reported by market participants. Market sentiment was negative because of US President Donald Trump's announcement yesterday that the United States would be withdrawing from the multi-lateral nuclear pact with Iran, with plans to reinstate trade sanctions. Recent...Read More