Rio Tinto's shipment volumes of third-party bauxite rose by 10% year-on-year in 2017 to 32.3 million tonnes.The company's fourth-quarter results revealed that total bauxite production rose by 6% to 50.8 million tonnes in 2017, in line with the full-year guidance assessment.Brazilian bauxite prices rose by 5.6% between March and December 2017, when Metal Bulletin began...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close on Tuesday January 16, however tin prices shocked the complex by rallying $170 per tonne. The complex's rallies took a pause while the dollar pulled up from Monday's three-year low. "The strong performance seen yesterday on the LME was wiped out today as [Asian] traders hit the sell button from the Asia open. Even with...Read More
The Turkish scrap import market remained quiet on Tuesday January 16, with limited supplies available, especially from the USA, according to market sources.However, Turkish steel mills were expected to book 18-19 more cargoes for February, with four or five of these expected to be booked for the first half of the month."Turkish steel mills should book 18-19 more cargoes for February, but there are...Read More
Operations at Codelco's Potrerillos copper smelter in Chile's Atacama region have been suspended due to a problem at an absorption tower, the state-owned miner confirmed to Metal Bulletin.The tower is currently being repaired and the smelter, which is part of Salvador division, is expected to restart operations on January 28, a company's spokesman said. The issue affects only the Potrerillos smelt...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday January 16.Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are edging lower this morning, Tuesday January 16, posting an average loss of 0.7% on subdued trading volumes. Nickel prices, down 1.6%, are the weakest, while copper and tin prices, both down 0.2%, are showing the most resilience.This bout of profit-t...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai, as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday January 16.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly lower during Asian morning trading on Tuesday, with only tin prices in positive territory. Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here.LME snapshot at 03.28am London timeLatest three-month LME Price...Read More
Extracting a bulk sample at the Dumont nickel-cobalt project near Amos, northern Quebec. Source: RNC Minerals.RNC Minerals [RNX-TSX; RNKLF-OTCQX], also known as Royal Nickel Corp., says it is working to secure $1 billion to develop the world's largest undeveloped reserves of both nickel and cobalt at the company's flagship Dumont Project near Amos, northern Quebec. It hopes to start the constructi...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures were weak on Tuesday afternoon, with aluminium dropping nearly 3% and nickel down 1.8%. Lead was down 1% and copper down 0.7%. Tin also dropped slightly.The ferrous complex also dropped in the afternoon. Coking coal dropped almost 4% and iron ore dropped 1.6%. Coke slipped 1.5% and hot-rolled coil dropped slightly. Rebar edged up slightly at c...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures were weak on Tuesday afternoon, with aluminium dropping nearly 3% and nickel down 1.8%. Lead was down 1% and copper down 0.7%. Tin also dropped slightly.The ferrous complex also dropped in the afternoon. Coking coal dropped almost 4% and iron ore dropped 1.6%. Coke slipped 1.5% and hot-rolled coil dropped slightly. Rebar edged up slightly at c...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Nonferrous metals futures were weak on Tuesday afternoon, with aluminium dropping nearly 3% and nickel down 1.8%. Lead was down 1% and copper down 0.7%. Tin also dropped slightly.The ferrous complex also dropped in the afternoon. Coking coal dropped almost 4% and iron ore dropped 1.6%. Coke slipped 1.5% and hot-rolled coil dropped slightly. Rebar edged up slightly at c...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade. UnitedHealth Group gained $4.16 to $232.80 after reporting higher than consensus fourth quarter revenues and earnings. General Electric dropped $0.85 to $17.91 after revealing a $6.2 billion charge to be released with fourth quarter results.Merck added $3.24 to $61.90 after announcing po...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: LME copper is expected to trade at $7,150-7,250/mt today while the SHFE 1803 copper is to trade at 54,430-55,200 yuan/mt. We see spot discounts at 220-140 yuan/mt today as buying interest weakened following higher futures prices.Nickel: LME nickel is expected to stay rangebound today and its Chinese counterpart is to trade at 99,200-100,600 yuan/mt. Spot prices...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: LME copper is expected to trade at $7,150-7,250/mt today while the SHFE 1803 copper is to trade at 54,430-55,200 yuan/mt. We see spot discounts at 220-140 yuan/mt today as buying interest weakened following higher futures prices.Nickel: LME nickel is expected to stay rangebound today and its Chinese counterpart is to trade at 99,200-100,600 yuan/mt. Spot prices...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Following a robust growth in 2017, zinc prices face downward pressures in light of accumulated inventories.Inventories are expected to increase due to weak consumption even though domestic supply remained tight due to environmental concerns. Few trades were heard in the spot market last week during the off season, SMM learned.Zinc became the leader among base metals in...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: LME copper is expected to trade at $7,150-7,250/mt today while the SHFE 1803 copper is to trade at 54,430-55,200 yuan/mt. We see spot discounts at 220-140 yuan/mt today as buying interest weakened following higher futures prices.Nickel: LME nickel is expected to stay rangebound today and its Chinese counterpart is to trade at 99,200-100,600 yuan/mt. Spot prices...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are edging lower this morning, Tuesday January 16, posting an average loss of 0.7% on subdued trading volumes. Nickel prices, down by 1.6%, are the weakest, while copper and tin prices, both down by 0.2%, are showing the most resilience.This bout of profit-taking seems to be driven by a rebound in the dollar, pushing most commodity prices lower, in s...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close on Tuesday January 16, however tin prices shocked the complex by rallying $170 per tonne. The complex's rallies took a pause while the dollar pulled up from Monday's three-year low. "The strong performance seen yesterday on the LME was wiped out today as [Asian] traders hit the sell button from the Asia open. Even with...Read More
Comex copper prices fell to a multi-week low on Tuesday January 16 with the market in consolidation mode following an extended holiday weekend in the United States. Participants returned to the market following the national Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday in the US on Monday. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.70 cents or 0.8% to...Read More
Iron ore prices dropped below $76 per tonne cfr China on Tuesday January 16 on a lack of trading in the seaborne market.Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $75.71 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: down by $0.88 per tonneMonth-to-date average: $77.00 per tonneMetal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $61.76 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily...Read More
Comex copper prices fell to a multi-week low on Tuesday January 16 with the market in consolidation mode following an extended holiday weekend in the United States. Participants returned to the market following the national Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday in the US on Monday. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.70 cents or 0.8% to...Read More