The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday January 25.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange put in a strong performance during the afternoon of Wednesday January 24, supported by the weaker dollar as the complex closed in positive territory across the board. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the end of the day on Wednesday.In...Read More
The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday January 25.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange put in a strong performance during the afternoon of Wednesday January 24, supported by the weaker dollar as the complex closed in positive territory across the board. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the end of the day on Wednesday.In...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths at the close on Thursday January 25, with the weak dollar still the key supportive factor. The dollar index continued to crumble further; it is now down 13% since the turn of the year and hit a low of 88.43 today. "For the time being, it seems that commodity markets want to push higher, with a weaker dollar being a formidable...Read More
Rio Tinto is in preliminary talks to sell its stake in the Grasberg mine to the Indonesian government, according to the chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan.The US company, which operates the Grasberg mine through its 90.64%-owned PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) subsidiary, is providing information to assist the sale process but has no control over its outcome, Richard Adkerson said. "The Ind...Read More
Comex copper prices were little changed in the US morning on Thursday January 25 after the metal experienced outsized price movements over the last couple of sessions. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.10 cents or 0.1% to $3.2295 per lb. The red metal saw prices tumble to a one-month low on Tuesday before rebounding on Wednesday, sugg...Read More
Analysts at Macquarie have cut their price forecasts for cobalt, citing easing tightness for the battery raw material in the coming years amid expectations of supply growth. Rising output from Glencore's copper-cobalt operations in Africa will push the market into a surplus in the medium term, for example, the analysts said. Cobalt output from Glencore's Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of...Read More
Ferro-alloys trader Massimiliano Gentile has joined Belgian trading house Metraco, the company told Metal Bulletin. Formerly a senior trader at Euromet SA in Switzerland, Gentile will trade ferro-titanium from...Read More
Trader interest, limited supplies and strong aluminium prices have lent stability to spot alumina prices over the past two weeks. Metal Bulletin's daily fob Australia alumina index settled at $382.29 per tonne on Thursday January 25.The index has settled in a narrow range of $381.16-385.08 per tonne over the past two weeks, underpinned in the mid to low $380s by limited availability of Australian...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan is in talks with a group led by the Indonesian government to negotiate and create documentation for the divestment of a stake in its Grasberg project interests, the company said.The parties have a mutual objective of completing negotiations and the required documentation during the first half of 2018, Freeport added.Freeport operates the Grasberg copper and gold mine through its 9...Read More
Turkish steel mills went quiet again in the deep-sea scrap markets on Thursday January 25, but are expected to book more cargoes soon, according to market sources.The mills in the country took time out for a short break for price negotiations at the beginning of the week and returned to the market for a Baltic Sea cargo sold at $354 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2...Read More
Rio Tinto is in preliminary talks to sell its stake in the Grasberg mine to the Indonesian government, according to the chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan.The US company, which operates the Grasberg mine through its 90.64%-owned PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) subsidiary, is providing information to assist the sale process but has no control over its outcome, Richard Adkerson said. "The Ind...Read More
Comex copper prices were little changed in the US morning on Thursday January 25 after the metal experienced outsized price movements over the last couple of sessions. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.10 cents or 0.1% to $3.2295 per lb. The red metal saw prices tumble to a one-month low on Tuesday before rebounding on Wednesday, sugg...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan is in talks with a group led by the Indonesian government to negotiate and create documentation for the divestment of a stake in its Grasberg project interests, the company said.The parties have a mutual objective of completing negotiations and the required documentation during the first half of 2018, Freeport added.Freeport operates the Grasberg copper and gold mine through its 9...Read More
Russia's Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) has increased its production of downstream products 6.1% year on year in 2017 amid improved demand from the automotive industry and railcar producers.The company's range of downstream products includes tin plate, galvanized steel, polymer-coated steel, band, formed sections and pipes.In total, the company produced 2 million tonnes of various downstrea...Read More
Buying activity in the Iranian flat steel import market remained sluggish in the week ended Wednesday January 24, while local prices were more competitive to import.Iran's national currency - the rial (IRR) - continued to devalue against the US dollar, which made import prices less attractive compared to domestic ones.On Wednesday January 24, $1 was equivalent to IRR 36,567, while on January 17, $...Read More
China's prices for hot-rolled coil widened upward on Thursday January 25 after the paper market surged following the release of data showing a drop in supply.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,080-4,130 yuan ($639-647) per tonne, widen upward by 30 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tianjin): 3,940-3,970 yuan per tonne, widen upward by 10 yuan per tonnePrices for some specifications of HRC that are s...Read More
Turkish domestic long steel prices have remained firm over the past week despite strong demand, sources said on Thursday January 25.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar was $570-580 per tonne ex-works on January 25, widening upward from the $570-575 per tonne of last week.The domestic rebar...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have fallen over the past week, in line with the weak demand in the country's major export markets and decreasing imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday January 25.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey on January 25 was $550-560 per tonne fob, down from the $565-570 per tonne...Read More
Steel billet import prices in Egypt fell slightly and domestic rebar prices remained unchanged in the week to Thursday January 25. Billet import prices fell amid lower bids and a news of a low-priced deal for material from Iran. "The market is slow this week [and] most people are waiting for a further price drop," a trader told...Read More
Both buyers and producers were in wait-and-see mode in the export market for CIS-origin pig iron during the week ended Thursday January 25, due to uncertainty about further price changes."After [the price of] scrap dropped by $20 per tonne, big buyers have been asking if a lower price for pig iron is on the horizon and have adopted a wait-and-see attitude," a trader told Metal Bulletin.Smaller buy...Read More