Movements in the pricing of steel and steel commodities in 2018 will not be sharp, according to G??khan Demiruz, chairman of Turkey's Flat Steel Importers, Exporters & Industrialists Association (Yisad).Price movements will continue in 2018, but will not change prices by more than 20-25%, Demiruz said.Turkey consumed about 16.50 million tonnes of flat steel in 2017, while imports totaled about 8 m...Read More
German steel producer Salzgitter will upgrade its platemaking facilities to anneal and further process 200,000 tonnes per year of heavy plates by 2020, the company has announced.The investment will boost the availability of plate suitable for high-wear uses including the construction of offshore wind turbines and pressure vessels, among other demanding purposes.Salzgitter will invest more than ?,?...Read More
Turkish billet prices have weakened over the past seven days, in line with the falling cost of scrap imported into the country, sources said on Thursday January 25.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $515-525 per tonne cfr on January 25, down from the $520-530 per tonne of last week.The downward movement in the weekly assessment came after CIS-region supplie...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
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
The current rally in molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum prices has persisted this week, with deals reported pushing price ranges up to new highs although demand is slowing, sources told Metal Bulletin.The rally this year has propelled oxide prices to a three-and-a-half-year high, with ferro-molybdenum prices increasing to the same historical comparison. Molybdenum drummed molybdic oxide prices we...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
Molybdenum prices in China climbed to their highest level since March 2013 this past week, underpinned by concerns of tightening supply following the recent suspension of operations at a major mine and healthy demand from the domestic stainless steel sector.Metal Bulletin assessed molybdenum concentrate 45% Chinese free market in-warehouse prices at 1,610-1,650 yuan ($252-259) per metric tonne uni...Read More
Iron ore prices strengthened further on Thursday January 25 though trading activity appears to have slowed down following higher fixed-price transactions concluded recently. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $75.04 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.51 per tonne Month-to-date average: $76.31 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: Iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, tender, 210,000 tonnes of 61% Fe...Read More
Gains in China's steel and futures markets led to more offers for seaborne iron ore being made on Thursday January 25, outnumbering the number of bids, and despite higher fixed-price transactions, premiums for index-linked cargoes weakened.Key driversChina's ferrous futures rose across the board during the day, while spot prices for rebar and hot-rolled coil also increased 10-30 yuan ($1.60-4.70)...Read More
The seaborne coking coal spot market continues to weaken with offers falling further and transactions being concluded below previous levels. A cargo of premium low-vol hard coking coal was heard traded at $213 per tonne fob Australia while another was traded around $207-208 per tonne cfr China. A shipment of lower-ranked second-tier hard coking coal changed hands around $173-174 per tonne fob Aust...Read More
China's ferrous futures were mixed during morning trading on Thursday January 25 with steel contracts ending the session slightly lower than their opening prices while those for raw materials rose. Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,953 ($619) per tonne, down 1 yuan per tonne May hot-rolled coil: 3,957 yuan per tonne, down 3 yuan per tonne Dalian Commod...Read More
Anglo American's fourth-quarter nickel production results showed a 5% year on year increase to 11,400 tonnes from 10,900 tonnes a year ago, resulting from improved operational stability.The 11,400 tonnes of nickel produced in the fourth quarter was also a record high, according to the company's report. The Barro Alto site in Brazil produced 9,100 tonnes of nickel metal in the fourth quarter of 201...Read More
Selenium prices in Europe continued to move up this week on sustained robust demand from India, with rallying manganese flake prices adding new impetus to the market.Metal Bulletin's selenium free market in-warehouse price rose to $18.50-20 per lb on Wednesday January 24, an increase of 2.7% from the previous assessment, a level last seen in June 2017.A recent rally in manganese flake prices conti...Read More
Stainless steel prices in East Asia retreated over the past week on thin trading amid persistently soft demand.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm cold-rolled coil was $2,100-2,200 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday January 24, down $10-50 per tonne from a week earlier.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless hot-r...Read More
Despite Chinese winter smelter production cuts generally falling short of expectations and domestic stocks continuing to climb - both of which suggest the market remains far more comfortably supplied at this point than aluminium bulls had been anticipating - prices still rallied into the year-end to reach $2,290/tonne for the first time since March 2012.And after a New Year pull-back the strength...Read More
Copper prices were working lower during most of December and in the absence of any bullish triggers we had been expecting that trend to continue. But in late December, fund buying picked up aggressively, driving prices to a fresh multi-year high of $7,203/tonne. There was little fundamental justification for this and we should consider it a warning that speculators and investors feeling optimistic...Read More