Indian local secondary billet prices have risen by at least 1,700 rupees per tonne in the current week on increased demand from rebar mills.Prices for Indian domestic secondary billet, mainly produced through induction furnace route, on Friday April 13 were 35,000-35,200 rupees ($xx-xx) per tonne ex-mill, an increase of 1,700 rupees per tonne compared with Metal Bulletin's assessment last week of...Read More
Rio Tinto is declaring force majeure on some of its contracts after reviewing its arrangements with UC Rusal in light of US sanctions on the Russian aluminium producer. "As a result of the imposition of these sanctions, Rio Tinto is in the process of declaring force majeure on certain contracts and is working with its customers to minimize any disruption in supplies," Rio...Read More
Brazil's bauxite ore exports fell 11.1% in March from a year earlier, on lower volumes from both Minera????o Rio do Norte (MRN) and Alcoa's Juruti mine. Exports totaled 597,503 tonnes last month, against 671,882 tonnes in March 2017, according to the country's foreign trade ministry, MDIC.Yet on a monthly comparison, Brazil's bauxite export volumes increased 10% from February's level of 543,198 to...Read More
A round-up of news and price movements from one very significant week in the aluminium market. The aluminium market has spiraled out of control in the week since the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Russian aluminium producer UC Rusal. Aluminium premiums set new highsA surge in liquidity and a continued scramble for non-Rusal material helped push the Metal Bulletin Rotterdam duty...Read More
Aluminium foundry alloy premiums have risen precipitously thanks to the sanctions placed on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and UC Rusal by the US Department of the Treasury, barring the sale of Rusal metal in the United States. ...Read More
A round-up of the aluminium foundry alloy premiums over the past month from around the world.Read More
Lead recycler Recylex swung into profit in 2017, reporting net earnings of ?,?18 million ($22.2 million) thanks to soaring metal prices and higher output, the company said on Friday April 13.That compared with the annual loss of ?,?10.1 million in 2016, when the company was heavily affected by a fine imposed by the European Commission as a penalty for taking part in a price-fixing cartel."While th...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metalsRio Tinto is declaring force majeure on some of its contracts after reviewing its arrangements with UC Rusal in light of US sanctions on the Russian aluminium producer.Rio Tinto plc is in a position to take advantage of a current squeeze in aluminium supply in the United Sta...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil increased this week, with producers reporting offers at higher levels while they focus on the North American market.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment of Brazil's slab exports went up to $600-610 per tonne fob on Friday April 13, compared with $580-590 per tonne fob a week earlier.Brazilian producers were eyeing prices of as much as $620 per tonne fob for June-...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Seaborne iron ore prices rebounded on Friday April 13 to $65 per tonne cfr amid gains in China's steel and futures markets.The East Asian country's focus on environmental protection continues to affect miners producing low-grade iron ore, which have had to offer price discounts on their products, althou...Read More
Import prices for flat steel goods into South America were steady in mid-April, amid thin trading activity.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for hot-rolled coil imports into the region was stable week on week on Friday April 13 at $620-630 per tonne cfr, while the import price assessment for cold-rolled coil was also unchanged, at $670-680 per tonne cfr.Over the same period, Metal...Read More
Coated coil prices have decreased in Turkey because demand is still weak in the local and export markets, Metal Bulletin was told on Friday April 13.Domestic pricesOne Northern Turkish producer was offering 0.50mm hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) at $790-800 per tonne ex-works this week.A second producer in the same region was offering similar product at $825 per tonne ex-works, down from the prev...Read More
Most flat steel prices in Turkey's domestic and export markets have gone down this week, and demand was still poor, market participants told Metal Bulletin on Friday April 13.Buyers were cautious because the Turkish lira lost value during the week, and also because of the threat of war between the United States and Russia, which could begin across the border in neighboring Syria.US President Donal...Read More
The creation of a joint-venture entity by Indian steel company Tata Steel and steel conglomerate ThyssenKrupp will be delayed, the German company said on Friday April 13.The company boards on both sides are expected to reach agreement on the joint-venture by the end of June this year. It is planned that the documents creating the joint venture will be signed afterward.The companies originally inte...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transactions: HRC, CRC, HDG, PPGIHot-rolled coilTurkey, domestic, hot-rolled coil, offered at $620-640 per tonne ex-works, June production. Turkey, export, hot-rolled coil, offered at $...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday April 13:The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday April 13:Noble alloysMolybdenum Europe drummed molybdic oxide, $/lb: $11.90-12.00 per lb from $12.10-12.25Molybdenum US canned molybdic oxide, $/Ib: $12.30-12.50 per Ib from $12.60-12.80Ferro-molybdenum basis 65%...Read More
The threat of further manganese ore price falls, from recent highs, is boosting activity in Chinese ports because some buyers are avoiding seaborne cargoes amid high costs for payment terms and facilitation, and fears of material devaluing on water, market sources told Metal Bulletin. Manganese ore prices rose sharply between late 2017 and March this year, prompting a backlash from consumers in Ch...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Shangai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday April 13. Tracking the rally seen on the London Metal Exchange in the previous session, aluminium prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange pushed higher during Asian morning trading on Friday.A bout of panic buying in response to the sanctions placed on Russian aluminium producer UC R...Read More
Stainless steel scrap demand from European and US mills is expected to grow in 2018, in addition to stainless scrap supply, stainless scrap processor ELG said this week."[Our] output tonnage for stainless steel scrap is expected to increase in the single-digit percentage range. Both an increasing availability of scrap, as well as the expansion of our network of scrap locations, will contribute to...Read More
Global scrap prices showed mixed fortunes in the week from Monday April 9 until Friday April 13, with Turkish prices showing volatility while further declines were recorded in other major scrap markets.Although Turkish import scrap prices for Northern Europe-origin material were up by $0.59 per tonne week-on-week on Friday after mills returned to buying activity, small decreases were recorded in I...Read More