Steel billet prices in most markets were stable or went down in the week from Monday April 16 to Friday April 20 on reduced trading activity worldwide, with the exception of China, where prices strengthened slightly amid good demand.Raw materialsGlobal scrap prices could not recover last week after the decline in Turkish scrap import values, caused by weak rebar demand in the country's domestic an...Read More
Steel billet prices in most markets were stable or went down in the week from Monday April 16 to Friday April 20 on reduced trading activity worldwide, with the exception of China, where prices strengthened slightly amid good demand.Raw materialsGlobal scrap prices could not recover last week after the decline in Turkish scrap import values, caused by weak rebar demand in the country's domestic an...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange ended lower at the close of trading on Monday April 23, with aluminium falling 7.5% after the United States announced it would not impose secondary sanctions against UC Rusal. The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will not impose secondary sanctions on non-US persons for engaging in the same activity involving Rusal or...Read More
Participants in the European aluminium market expect a bearish reversal of premiums after the United States Treasury decided on Monday April 23 that it will not impose secondary sanctions on non-US market participants for doing business with Russian supplier Rusal.The Treasury said that it wanted to mitigate the consequences for those affected by the sanctions because it wanted to target Russian o...Read More
The London Metal Exchange will begin testing the electronic trading of close prices in early 2019, starting with nickel, LME chief executive officer, Matt Chamberlain, said at the LME Update Forum.During the trial, the closing price of nickel will move off the Ring and on to its member trading system, LME Select.Speaking at the LME Update Forum, Chamberlain highlighted that member feedback - predo...Read More
UG2 chrome ore, and Chinese and Japanese ferro-chrome markets were bearish last week on anticipation of China's stainless steel mills lowering their ferro-chrome tender prices for May. Scarce activity due to sellers holding back from soft UG2 chrome ore Charge chrome quiet before tenders revealed Trades show fall in ferro-chrome into South Korea European ferro-chrome prices stab...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
UG2 chrome ore, and Chinese and Japanese ferro-chrome markets were bearish last week on anticipation of China's stainless steel mills lowering their ferro-chrome tender prices for May. Scarce activity due to sellers holding back from soft UG2 chrome ore Charge chrome quiet before tenders revealed Trades show fall in ferro-chrome into South Korea European ferro-chrome prices stab...Read More
Manganese ore markets recorded further losses on Friday April 20 amid deteriorating sentiment around Chinese alloy and steel demand, while European alloy prices maintained current levels on sufficient stocks. Ore prices keep sliding on weaker alloy, steel demandSilico-manganese prices drop in ChinaIndian silico-manganese tracks ore lowerEuropean alloy prices remain steadyUS silico-manganese price...Read More
Hydro has notified UC Rusal that it may be necessary to declare force majeure on certain contracts due to the United States imposing sanctions on the Russian aluminium producer, Hydro said on Friday April 20.This is because Hydro could be prevented from upholding its obligations due to the sanctions issued by US Department of the Treasury against Oleg Deripaska and Rusal on April 6, the company sa...Read More
Antimony prices continued to experience downward pressure last week amid weakening demand and increasing availability in the spot market.Metal Bulletin assessed the MMTA standard grade II antimony, in-warehouse Rotterdam price at $8,200-8,350 per tonne on Friday April 20, down from the mid-week assessment of $8,300-8,450 per tonne when prices had fallen from $8,400-8,550 per tonne.The trioxide gra...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is working toward producing a set of standards for responsibly-sourced metal, it said during its LME update forum in London on Monday April 23. The bourse will implement a three-step process of disclosure, engagement and compliance. If a metal brand does not meet the set requirements at the end of this process, the LME can delist it from the exchange, it said. "Our brand...Read More
The annual convention of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) made its biennial visit to the lights and glamour of Las Vegas, in the US state of Nevada, from Saturday April 14 until Thursday April 19.There were all the signs of a boom period for the steel industry at the event, with the exhibition hall of the city's Mandalay Bay Hotel packed with displays of the latest technology and...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market remained quiet on Monday April 23 because of a national holiday in the country.The Turkish market was closed while the country celebrated National Sovereignty Day and Children's Day.Due to the lack of fresh deep-sea transactions, the daily scrap indices...Read More
The base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange have kicked off the new trading week with a broadly positive performance this morning, Monday April 23.Sanction-hit aluminium leads on the upside with a gain of 0.8%, followed by lead, copper and zinc, which are up by 0.7%, 0.6% and 0.4% respectively. Nickel and tin are bucking the uptrend, however, with losses of 0.8% and 0.1% respectively. With...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
Demand for copper from the battery, electric vehicle (EV) and associated infrastructure sector could reach 14 million tonnes by 2040, putting the sector in need of investment now to avoid a supply shortfall, according to David Wilson at Freepoint Commodities.On average, an EV uses 83kg of copper, compared with 22-23kg in an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, delegates heard at Metal Bulleti...Read More
Buyers in the export markets for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States expect further price declines, sources told Metal Bulletin this week."The mills are becoming more flexible in price discussions, but they don't declare [their] prices. Everything is discussed against bids," a trader told Metal Bulletin on Monday April 23.Metal Bulletin's we...Read More
China's ferrous futures soared across the board on Monday April 23, after major mill Shagang increased its steel prices over the weekend.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange October rebar: 3,550 yuan ($55) per tonne, up 70 yuan per tonne October hot-rolled coil: 3,684 yuan per tonne, up 62 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange September iron ore: 480.50 yuan per to...Read More
The trade safeguard measures that are being investigated by the EU are intended to maintain established import flows, not to close the European market to imports, regional steel association Eurofer said on Monday April 23.The European Commission (EC) started a safeguard investigation into 26 steel products on March 26 with the aim of shielding the region's steel industries from the effects of a po...Read More