Turkish steel producers have returned to the deep-sea scrap markets after two weeks of silence but prices remained largely stable with the news of a European transaction heard on Wednesday March 28.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a European cargo, comprising 5,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25), 20,000 tonnes of shredded and 5,000 tonnes of bonus at an average price of $375 per tonne cfr.Meta...Read More
Iron ore prices fell further on Wednesday March 28 despite a slight improvement in the Chinese steel market. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $63.12 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $2.05 per tonne Month-to-date average: $70.47 per otnne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $52.34 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change:...Read More
Prices and trading activity in the iron ore market softened again on Wednesday March 28 despite some improvement in China's steel market.Key driversThe Chinese ferrous futures market was mixed during the day, with the most-traded steel contracts closing slightly higher than the preceding day's settlement prices, while the benchmark contracts for steelmaking raw materials all ended in negative terr...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices moved up further on Wednesday March 28 amid steady procurement rates.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,460-3,540 yuan ($551-564) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,680-3,700 yuan per tonne, up 10-20 yuan per tonne Traders raised their offers following the sharp gains in the futures market in the first hour of trading in the morning. End-use...Read More
Metal Bulletin has gathered some of the major talking points from its 19th Asian Ferro-Alloys conference in Hong Kong on March 20-22. 1. Demand for steel and ferro-alloys will come from India, Russia, OBOR and Southeast Asia "From my point of view, market means population. China [has a population of] 1.4 billion people," Mark Shujun Ma, chairman and chief executive officer of metals technology and...Read More
European alloy surcharges for April deliveries of grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet have risen amid further increases in nickel costs, making it the third consecutive month with a rise in the surcharge.The April alloy surcharge for 2mm grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet - based on data published by Outokumpu, Acerinox and Aperam - is ?,?1,336-1,407 per tonne ($1,659-1,748). This up...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals fell for the most part on Wednesday March 28 except for lead, which inched up slower than the previous day. Tin led losses with a drop over 1%, and copper, aluminium, zinc, and nickel edged down.Across the ferrous complex, coke fell nearly 4%, coking coal declined almost 2%, and iron ore dipped over 1%. Rebar and hot-rolled coil inched up.Copper: SH...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals fell for the most part on Wednesday March 28 except for lead, which inched up slower than the previous day. Tin led losses with a drop over 1%, and copper, aluminium, zinc, and nickel edged down.Across the ferrous complex, coke fell nearly 4%, coking coal declined almost 2%, and iron ore dipped over 1%. Rebar and hot-rolled coil inched up.Copper: SH...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals fell for the most part on Wednesday March 28 except for lead, which inched up slower than the previous day. Tin led losses with a drop over 1%, and copper, aluminium, zinc, and nickel edged down.Across the ferrous complex, coke fell nearly 4%, coking coal declined almost 2%, and iron ore dipped over 1%. Rebar and hot-rolled coil inched up.Copper: SH...Read More
Prices for domestic steel hollow steel sections in Southern Europe have fallen by ?,?5-15 per tonne because mills are suffering from low demand, market sources said on Wednesday March 28."We are seeing a small number of offers at the moment, because of the uncertainty in the market. It may be that some suppliers have become nervous, seeing their order intake down in March," one Southern European p...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 index futures were up 5 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the final estimate for fourth quarter real GDP at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase in growth to a 2.7% rate versus the previous estimate of 2.5%. Actual was 2.9%. Lululemon gained $5.78 to $84.49 after reporting highe...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – Norilsk nickel in the Shanghai market traded at a discount of about 200 yuan/mt against the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange 1804 contract on Wednesday March 28, while Jinchuan traded at a premium at 400 yuan/mt, SMM learned.Jinchuan offered nickel plate at 97,200 yuan/mt.Prices of nickel futures traded rangebound in the morning and traders made offers activel...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – Trading in the zinc spot market in Shanghai was flat on Wednesday March 28. Smelters were unwilling to release cargoes at lower prices while downstream buyers only purchased as needed, SMM learned. The 0# zinc mostly traded at 24,880-24,960 yuan/mt. The 0# common brand traded at a discount of 20 yuan/mt to flat against the SHFE 1805 contract, and the 0# Shu...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – China’s gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to grow 6.8% in the first quarter of 2018 and 6.9% in the first half of the year, according to a forecast by the National Academy of Economic Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released on Tuesday March 27.The forecast also expects China to meet this year's annual GDP gr...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – Demand for nickel plate has finally seen a turnaround since last week as futures prices fell, SMM learned. Some steel mills stockpiled and drove the overall procurement volume to over 1,000 mt during the week ended March 25. Previously, trading activities were stagnant after the Chinese New Year holiday. For editorial queries, please contact Daisy Tsen...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar rebounded overnight as concerns of a trade war eased. Month-end capital flows and a weakening euro also buoyed the index.Most base metals climbed up but with limited gains due to the rebound in the greenback. SHFE copper inched up, while zinc dipped. LME...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – China’s gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to grow 6.8% in the first quarter of 2018 and 6.9% in the first half of the year, according to a forecast by the National Academy of Economic Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released on Tuesday March 27.The forecast also expects China to meet this year's annual GDP gr...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – China’s gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to grow 6.8% in the first quarter of 2018 and 6.9% in the first half of the year, according to a forecast by the National Academy of Economic Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released on Tuesday March 27.The forecast also expects China to meet this year's annual GDP gr...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rose above the five-day moving average overnight for the first time in five to six days. This trend is likely to stabilise, but growing inventories of LME copper will weigh on the prices. We see it trading at $6,620-6,680/mt today. SHFE copper lacks strong support as domestic demand has not fully recovered and as supply of refined cop...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 28 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar rebounded overnight as concerns of a trade war eased. Month-end capital flows and a weakening euro also buoyed the index.Most base metals climbed up but with limited gains due to the rebound in the greenback. SHFE copper inched up, while zinc dipped. LME...Read More