China's domestic rebar prices continued to fall on Monday January 29 on thin demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,890 yuan ($604-616) per tonne, down 10-30 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,900-3,940 yuan per tonne, narrowed downward by 10 yuan per tonne Most construction projects have stopped work due to bad weather as well as because the Chinese New Year is just a little o...Read More
European alloy surcharges for January deliveries of grade-316 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet have risen sharply month on month amid higher nickel and molybdenum costs.The February assessment for molybdenum-containing 2 mm grade-316 CR sheet - compiled by Metal Bulletin based on data released by Outokumpu, Acerinox and Aperam - rose ?,?99-155 ($123.03-192.62) per tonne to ?,?1,923-1,963 per...Read More
Chinese ferro-silicon prices have been steady in the past week, stabilizing losses made through the month when idled production was restarted; meanwhile, the European price set another record high, and US prices climbed after a period of inactivity due to strong overseas prices. Consumer demand shores up Chinese market Chinese market awaits new steel mill tenders Europe hits record hi...Read More
Swiss special and stainless steel producer Schmolz + Bickenbach (S+B) has been chosen by a French court to take over French speciality steelmaker Asco Industries (Ascometal), it said on Monday January 29.S+B will take over Ascometal's assets on Thursday February 1, with the exception of Ascoval, a joint venture between Ascometal and French tube & pipe producer Vallourec in Saint-Saulve i...Read More
Zinc was the best performer on the London Metal Exchange at the close on Monday January 29, while the other metals diverged.Zinc's three-month price was up $72, or 2%, to $3,550 per tonne, mostly on the back of supply-side factors. Tighter stocks on the LME and adverse weather in zinc-producing provinces of Northwestern China, which makes it difficult to transport zinc out of the region, have...Read More
Trading activity in the market for CIS-origin hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) has remained low over the past seven days because there have been few offers of March-rolled material."Mills have sold out their February-rolled material and now they are cautious, because there is a threat that the market will turn around," a trader told Metal Bulletin on Monday January 29.He added that...Read More
India's JSW has launched a bid to purchase steelmaker Monnet Ispat Steel, representatives of both companies confirmed to Metal Bulletin on Monday January 29.If successful, the acquisition would give JSW a stronger presence in the Indian domestic plate and bar sectors, where it currently trails competitors including Essar Steel and Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL). Monnet Ispat owns an integrated stee...Read More
CIS export rebar and wire rod prices lost $10-15 per tonne over the past week, with a lack of buying activity compounded by a downturn in sentiment in the billet and scrap markets. Prices fell despite reduced availability in the export market after Russia's NLMK focused on selling to the domestic market and fellow Russian steelmaker Abinsk Steel Mill remained out...Read More
European non-ferrous metals industry association Eurometaux has welcomed the release of new details about EU controls on the dumping of cheap metal and ore on the trading bloc's markets."We commend EU institutions for reaching a long-awaited agreement on trade defense modernization," Eurometaux director general Guy Thiran told Metal Bulletin."Overall, the new measures will strengthen the anti-dump...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday January 29.Base metals on the London Metal Exchange began the week in positive territory during London morning trading on Monday January 29, with nickel up over 2%.Nickel was the best performer, up $305 per tonne, or 2.2%, while zinc was also strong, up $59.50 or 1.7%.Here is how the LME base metals complex...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures remained strong on Monday January 29 as SHFE zinc led the gains with over 3% rise. While SHFE tin and nickel were up some 2%, lead rose 1.5%. Aluminium, however, edged down slightly in the afternoon.The ferrous complex was weaker with coking coal down almost 2%. Both iron ore and coke were down some 1% while hot-rolled coil edged up.Copper:...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures remained strong on Monday January 29 as SHFE zinc led the gains with over 3% rise. While SHFE tin and nickel were up some 2%, lead rose 1.5%. Aluminium, however, edged down slightly in the afternoon.The ferrous complex was weaker with coking coal down almost 2%. Both iron ore and coke were down some 1% while hot-rolled coil edged up.Copper:...Read More
U.S. equity index futures are lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 7 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for December Personal Income was a gain of 0.3% versus an increase of 0.3% in November. Actual was a gain of 0.4%. Consensus for December Personal Spending was an increase of 0.5% versus a...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (SMM) – SMM’s assessment of imported copper concentrate treatment charges (TCs) stood at $74-86/mt as of Friday January 26, down $1/mt from a week ago.We expect spot TCs to remain stable at the $80/mt level ahead of Chinese New Year with sluggish trading activity as smelters have mostly finished their restocking.The malfunction of Pasar and Birla smelters saw some long...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures remained strong on Monday January 29 as SHFE zinc led the gains with over 3% rise. While SHFE tin and nickel were up some 2%, lead rose 1.5%. Aluminium, however, edged down slightly in the afternoon.The ferrous complex was weaker with coking coal down almost 2%. Both iron ore and coke were down some 1% while hot-rolled coil edged up.Copper:...Read More
There is more to excite the metals industry than the batteries boom, argues Lord Copper, with the global economy's gradual emergence from the 2008 recession boding well for metal demand. Talk to anybody about metals these days and they are almost guaranteed to turn the conversation to batteries, electric vehicles and the metals that produce the motive power. Tesla's Elon Musk certainly garners far...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (SMM) - Copper: The physical market has been sluggish with the approaching Chinese New Year dragging copper prices. However, a weak US dollar would prevent them from dropping dramatically. We expect the SHFE 1803 contract to trade at 53,000-53,500 yuan/mt today and the LME copper at $7,060-7,110/mt. Spot discounts are seen stable at 160-100 yuan/mt.Aluminium: We see LME alumi...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are stronger by an average of 1% this morning, Monday January 29. Nickel and zinc prices lead the way with gains of around 2%, followed by lead prices that are up by 1% and copper prices ($7,147 per tonne) that are up by 0.8%, while aluminium and tin lag with gains of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.Volume has been strong with 13,382 lots traded as of 07....Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (SMM) – China’s zinc import in January is likely to drop from levels seen in December with lower SHFE/LME price ratio and increased loss for imports, SMM believes.Zinc import last month amounted to 100,845 mt, up over 300% from December 2016, according to customs data. China’s total zinc imports for 2017 were up 59% year on year to 674,789 mt.Higher zinc inflows...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (SMM) - Copper: The physical market has been sluggish with the approaching Chinese New Year dragging copper prices. However, a weak US dollar would prevent them from dropping dramatically. We expect the SHFE 1803 contract to trade at 53,000-53,500 yuan/mt today and the LME copper at $7,060-7,110/mt. Spot discounts are seen stable at 160-100 yuan/mt.Aluminium: We see LME alumi...Read More