Losses in job and output terms in metals-consuming sectors in the United States in the fallout from the Section 232 probe threaten to outweigh any benefits to domestic metal-producing industries from the tariffs the US government subsequently introduced.In turn, the prices of metals that are strongly correlated to the performance of metal-consuming sectors - such as AISI 4130, a widely used medium...Read More
Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange steadied at the close of trading on Thursday April 26, while aluminium climbed 1.3% during the afternoon. "Afternoon news that Oleg Deripaska has no plans to restructure Rusal, sent aluminium prices quickly higher, through $2,300-2,315.20 per tonne area, adding to underlying market volatility and tightening of the spreads," Liz Grant, senior account e...Read More
While not exactly a "State-Of-The-Union" address this week, the London Metal Exchange's Update Forum in London - open to all - was a useful pit-stop event on what is gearing up to be a busy few months in its unfolding Strategic Pathway. On a widespread and varied menu, LME decisionmakers outlined current thinking and plans across the board. Among these are a couple of potentially tricky initiative...Read More
Comex copper prices were once again trading in negative territory on Thursday April 26 morning in the US, with the bolstered dollar weighing on the complex.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 1.50 cents or 0.5% to $3.1195 per lb. The contract has been unable to set a clear price direction in recent weeks. Over the past few days, the...Read More
Brazilian iron ore pellet producer Samarco will aim to resume production at the beginning of 2019, "in the best scenario," chief executive officer, Fabio Schvartsman, said."We are struggling to resume activities, but we don't have control over this because it depends on [Brazilian] environmental agencies," Schvartsman told analysts during a conference call on Thursday April 26.Samarco is a 50:50 j...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe have moved down slightly this week but are expected to recover in May, sources told Metal Bulletin on Thursday April 26."There is some resistance currently from buyers, and plate prices have weakened a bit, but I think this situation is temporary," an Italian source said.Plate prices are expected to be supported by a recovery in restocking activity a...Read More
David Rawlinson, Mark Shaer and Darren Fowler have left the base metals trading desk of ADM Investor Services International (Admisi), Metal Bulletin understands.The London-based trading personnel will join Macquarie Bank, industry sources said.Admisi...Read More
Brazilian mining company Nexa Resources has received the preliminary environmental license for its $354 million Aripuan?? underground zinc-lead-copper project in Brazil.Brazilian mining company Nexa Resources has received the preliminary environmental license for its $354 million Aripuan?? underground zinc-lead-copper project in Brazil.The license "is one important milestone for the implementation...Read More
Lead recycler Recylex's sales dropped by more than one-fifth year-on-year to ?,?95.3 million ($116.2 million) in the first three months of 2018 due to a maintenance shutdown at a major smelter and falling prices for lead, the company said on Thursday April 26.Sales of lead sales accounted for more than 60% of the company's total sales, and dropped by almost one-third to ?,?59.6 million during the...Read More
Comex copper prices were once again trading in negative territory on Thursday April 26 morning in the US, with the bolstered dollar weighing on the complex.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 1.50 cents or 0.5% to $3.1195 per lb. The contract has been unable to set a clear price direction in recent weeks. Over the past few days, the...Read More
Latin America's steel group Ternium expects apparent steel consumption in Argentina to rise by 9% this year with the economy continuing to recover."This year, the Argentinian gross domestic product [GDP] will grow for the second consecutive year. That has not happened in the country for a while," chief executive officer Maximo Vedoya said on Thursday April...Read More
The Mexican government is analyzing whether to renew a 15% tariff against imports of various steel products from countries with which Mexico does not have free trade agreements, according to Latin American steel group Ternium."Mexico is on the path to renew the safeguard against steel imports," the company's chief executive officer, Maximo Vedoya, said on Thursday April 26.The measure, which acts...Read More
Sales volumes of semi-finished steel products by Russian steelmaker Evraz dropped by 18.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2018 to 1.45 million tonnes, amid reduced crude steel output.Crude steel production from the company's assets in Russia and Ukraine totaled 2.9 million tonnes in the first quarter, down by 10.5% against 3.2 million tonnes in January-March 2017 amid technical issues and th...Read More
The price of steel billet imports into Egypt fell again this week while local rebar prices remained unchanged, sources told Metal Bulletin on Thursday April 26.The country's biggest producer, Ezz Steel, is still offering rebar at E ?12,528 ($706) per tonne ex-works, including 14% VAT, while Beshay Steel, also a...Read More
Steel billet prices in Turkey continued to fall over the past week because of poor demand and low scrap prices, sources said on Thursday April 26.Offers from the CIS region fell to $525-535 per tonne cfr, from last week's $530-540 per tonne, although customers in Turkey were bidding $520 per tonne cfr or...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transaction: billetBilletCIS, export, billet, offered...Read More
Afarak has halted its plans to delist from the Helsinki Stock Exchange, the mining group has announced.Afarak, which owns the Mogale ferro-alloys plant in South Africa and the EWW special alloys plant in Germany, announced in January that it planned to delist from the exchange, retaining only its London Stock Exchange listing. Major shareholders Kermas Ltd and Atkey Ltd have informed...Read More
Global output of direct-reduced iron (DRI) went up by 15.10% year-on-year in March 2018, according to new statistics published by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).DRI output was 6.97 million tonnes in March 2018, compared with 6.05 tonnes in March 2017, Worldsteel said on Wednesday April 25.Production was also up month-on-month, with March 2018 output 880,000 tonnes higher than the...Read More
Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap for May deliveries on Thursday April 26, with prices remaining largely stable, Metal Bulletin has heard.The mills in the country booked four deep-sea cargoes on Thursday, totaling 130,000 tonnes, according to market sources.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 20,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 5,000 tonnes of...Read More
Expectations have increased for China's coke prices to bounce up, although some export deals were reported at lower levels in the past week.Metal Bulletin's assessment of export prices for Chinese coke with 65% coke strength after reaction (CSR), 12.5% ash, 30-90mm, was $300-315 per tonne fob China for the week ended Tuesday April 24.This widened from a range of $305-310 per tonne fob in the prece...Read More