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
Flat steel buyers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia preferred to delay their purchasing this week because end-user demand was not strong and buyers were still not used to the newly imposed 5% VAT regime, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday January 16.The UAE and Saudi Arabia both imposed a 5% rate of VAT with effect from January 1, 2018.UAEHot-rolled coil (HRC) was offered at $590-61...Read More
A summary of base metals premiums across the globe for the week to Tuesday January 16.Read More
Primary aluminium stocks at the three main Japanese ports (MJP) rebounded by 3% month on month in December, according to Marubeni Corp data released on Tuesday January 16. Total MJP aluminium stocks stood at 241,900 tonnes at end of December, compared with 234,900 tonnes at the end of November. Total aluminium stocks remained down 1.2% or 33,600 tonnes from December 2016 levels. Stocks could ease....Read More
China Hongqiao, the world's largest aluminium producer, will issue 650 million shares with a total value of about HK$6.2 billion ($800 million), it said in a filing to Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) on Tuesday January 16. The placing shares account for approximately 8.07% of the existing issued share capital of the company and about 7.46% of the issued share capital of the company as enlarg...Read More
Brazilian market participants are diverging about the imposition of anti-dumping duties into hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports from China and Russia.The divergence comes just after the Brazilian market was surprised by the finance ministry's acceptance that the adoption of trade measures against HRC from China and Russia would be detrimental to the national industrial chain and contribute to raise the...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transactions: HRC, CRC, HDGHot-rolled coilChina, export, hot-rolled coil, offered at $590-610 per tonne cfr, to the UAE.China, export,...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas has increased its flat steel prices for the domestic distribution chain by 13%, sources told Metal Bulletin this week.The adjustment, valid for hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG), comes into effect on January 29, the market participants added."The reasons behind Usiminas's price increase are similar to the ones that led...Read More
CIS export rebar and wire rod prices have gone up by $10-15 per tonne in the first half of January with mills selling material from February production at higher prices.In addition, the availability of material, wire rod in particular, was reduced due to the continued absence from the market of Russia's Abinsk Electric Steel Mill and satisfactory sales in previous weeks.Metal Bulletin's weekly pri...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transactions: rebarRebarUAE (Emirates Steel), domestic, rebar, offered at 2,340 dirhams ($637) per tonne ex-works.UAE (Conares...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transactions: billetBillet Iran, export, billet, traded at...Read More