U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 16 points in pre-opening trade.Equity indices moved higher following release of the February Employment Report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for February Non-farm Payrolls was 205,000 versus 239,000 in January. Actual was 313,000. Consensus for February Unemployment Rate was a slip to 4.0% from 4.1% in January. Actual was...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Singapore as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday March 9.Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly weaker during Asian morning trading on Friday, with only aluminium and tin prices moving higher, after US President Donald Trump signed off on his much-anticipated tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) – China's car sales are expected to be flat in 2018 due to sluggish demand, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA).Inventory pressure in China's automobile market eased in February, as the vehicle inventory alert (VIA) index came in at 52.3, showed data from CADA.The February VIA index fell 14.9 month on month, but...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) – China's car sales are expected to be flat in 2018 due to sluggish demand, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA).Inventory pressure in China's automobile market eased in February, as the vehicle inventory alert (VIA) index came in at 52.3, showed data from CADA.The February VIA index fell 14.9 month on month, but...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) – China's car sales are expected to be flat in 2018 due to sluggish demand, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA).Inventory pressure in China's automobile market eased in February, as the vehicle inventory alert (VIA) index came in at 52.3, showed data from CADA.The February VIA index fell 14.9 month on month, but...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macro-economic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar rebounded above 90 overnight, while base metals saw mixed trading. SHFE copper, zinc, nickel dropped over 1%, lead edged down, while aluminium and tin inched up. LME nickel slid over 2%, copper lost close to 2%, while lead and zinc fell over 1%.China...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macro-economic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar rebounded above 90 overnight, while base metals saw mixed trading. SHFE copper, zinc, nickel dropped over 1%, lead edged down, while aluminium and tin inched up. LME nickel slid over 2%, copper lost close to 2%, while lead and zinc fell over 1%.China...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macro-economic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar rebounded above 90 overnight, while base metals saw mixed trading. SHFE copper, zinc, nickel dropped over 1%, lead edged down, while aluminium and tin inched up. LME nickel slid over 2%, copper lost close to 2%, while lead and zinc fell over 1%.China...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week. Base metalsSwitzerland-based Tiberius Group is making a return to base metals trading under the helm of former TMT Metals head trader Arefe Khosravi, with a focus on refined aluminium, several industry sources have said. Unionized workers at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres mine in Chile have v...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) –Copper: As news of the simmering trade war rattled markets and as global inventories remained at highs from last year, base metals slumped across the board. We expect LME copper to weaken to $6,700/mt in the short term and to trade at $6,790-6,950/mt today. We see SHFE copper trading at 51,300-51,800 yuan/mt. In the physical market, spot discounts a...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) –Copper: As news of the simmering trade war rattled markets and as global inventories remained at highs from last year, base metals slumped across the board. We expect LME copper to weaken to $6,700/mt in the short term and to trade at $6,790-6,950/mt today. We see SHFE copper trading at 51,300-51,800 yuan/mt. In the physical market, spot discounts a...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) –Copper: As news of the simmering trade war rattled markets and as global inventories remained at highs from last year, base metals slumped across the board. We expect LME copper to weaken to $6,700/mt in the short term and to trade at $6,790-6,950/mt today. We see SHFE copper trading at 51,300-51,800 yuan/mt. In the physical market, spot discounts a...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part weaker this morning, Friday March 9. The exception is nickel, where prices are up by 0.2%, while the rest are lower: Zinc (-1%), tin (-0.9%), aluminium (-0.5%), lead (-0.3%) and copper prices are off by 0.5% at $6,792 per tonne.Volume has been high with 13,023 lots traded as of 07.10am London time - high volume and weak prices d...Read More
Japan's Kobe Steel will appoint Mitsugu Yamaguchi as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company from April 1, the steelmaker, which also produces aluminium and copper products, announced on Friday March 9.Yamaguchi, who is currently executive vice president of the company, will replace current president and CEO, Hiroya Kawasaki, who has decided step down as of April 1. Kawasaki, al...Read More
Nickel was the best performer on the London Metal Exchange at the close on Friday March 9, gaining more than 4%, with most of the complex ending the week on a high.The three-month nickel price recovered by $570 per tonne after a large 27,244-tonne cancellation at LME-listed warehouses this morning."Nickel is still enjoying overall bullishness that has been in place since it recovered from its June...Read More
Physical iron ore prices fell below the $70-per-tonne-cfr mark on Friday March 9 amid persistent losses in China's steel and futures markets.Key driversChina's ferrous futures recorded across-the-board losses for a third day. The benchmark iron ore contract continued to be the worst performer, with a 5.2% decline in comparison with the settlement price on Thursday. The contract closed at a 3.5-mon...Read More
Prices in the seaborne coking coal market gained more downward momentum on Friday March 9, with the number of offers continuing to outpace bids. "Sellers have visibly softened their attitude toward the prices of their cargoes since it is difficult to prop them up based on just the sole factor of the weather," an East Asian end-user source said. Although there are still "two to three more weeks to...Read More
The base price assessments for flat and long stainless steel products in Europe fell slightly this week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 9.The reason behind the declines was tough competition with imports from Asia, according to market sources."Offers from Taiwan are at least 10% lower than domestic prices [in Europe]," a trader said. "So if that situation is...Read More
The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel scrap has been largely unchanged over the past week while market participants wait for nickel prices to settle, sources said on Friday March 9.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?950-980 ($1,317-1,359) per tonne delivered on Friday, compared with ?950-990 per tonne delivered last...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week. Base metalsSwitzerland-based Tiberius Group is making a return to base metals trading under the helm of former TMT Metals head trader Arefe Khosravi, with a focus on refined aluminium, several industry sources have said. Unionized workers at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres mine in Chile have v...Read More