The spot prices of manganese ore at the Chinese ports of Tianjin and Qinzhou have been diverging between Australian-origin and South African-origin since the start of August.Australian lump fot prices are now around 62 yuan ($9.07) per metric tonne unit in Tianjin port, the country's major manganese ore trading hub, according to sources in China. This equates to about $7.70 per mtu. Meanwhile fot...Read More
BHP has entered into an agreement to buy a small stake in an Australian junior mining company that owns and operates a copper-gold project in Ecuador.The move, which will see the UK-listed miner acquire a 6.1% stake in Brisbane-based SolGold Plc from Guyana Goldfields Inc, is intended to boost BHP's copper exploration portfolio and give it a bigger foothold in the Latin American country.The Cascab...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The spot prices of manganese ore at the Chinese ports of Tianjin and Qinzhou have been diverging between Australian-origin and South African-origin since the start of August.Australian lump fot prices are now around 62 yuan ($9.07) per metric tonne unit in Tianjin port, the country's major manganese ore trading hub, according to sources in China. This equates to about $7.70 per mtu. Meanwhile fot...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday September 5 pricing session in Europe. Key drivers - Persistent tightness in ferro-titanium availability, as well as higher grade scrap - particularly from Russia, has propelled markets higher again in the past week. Consumer buying has yet to emerge in full after the seasonal summer slowdown, potentially paving the way for a break above $6 per kg for alloy, sources...Read More
The Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap on Wednesday September 5, with prices rising.Three steel producers booked six deep-sea cargoes on Wednesday, totaling almost 160,000 tonnes, according to market sources.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $317 per tonne cfr.The same mill booked a second Baltic Sea cargo...Read More
Vietnam scrap prices started to move up after sellers increased their offers in the first half of the week, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday September 5."Prices are expected to exit the price trough this week and start ascending slowly," a trader in northeast Asia said."Especially after Turkish import prices increased yesterday," he added, referring to a deal done at $320 per tonne...Read More
BHP has entered into an agreement to buy a small stake in an Australian junior mining company that owns and operates a copper-gold project in Ecuador.The move, which will see the UK-listed miner acquire a 6.1% stake in Brisbane-based SolGold Plc from Guyana Goldfields Inc, is intended to boost BHP's copper exploration portfolio and give it a bigger foothold in the Latin American country.The Cascab...Read More
Comex copper prices sustained a minor recovery in midweek trading on Wednesday September 5 with a softening dollar supporting the base metals complex.Copper prices for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled by 7.55 cents or 2.8% to $2.5955 per lb. Earlier in the day, the contract had fallen to $2.58 per lb, the lowest price since August 15."After a sh...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part little changed this morning, Wednesday September 5, with consolidation mode setting in after Tuesday's losses.The main exceptions were nickel, which was down by 0.4%, and lead, which was up by 0.4%. Aluminium was up by 0.2%, while the rest were either side of unchanged. Copper was up by 0.1% at $5,846 per tonne.Volu...Read More
Prices for domestic hollow steel sections produced and delivered in Northern and Southern Europe rose this week on higher costs for hot rolled coil, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday September 5.Metal Bulletin's domestic price assessment range for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe narrowed upward to ?,?650-670 ($753-776) per tonne delivered on Septemb...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices retreated on Wednesday September 5 amid weak demand despite mills in Tangshan - the country's steelmaking hub in the north - confirming government-mandated production cuts for this month.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,350-4,360 yuan ($636-638) per tonne, down 10-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,250-4,260 yuan per tonne, narrowing downward 10 yuan per...Read More
Coking coal futures bucked a downtrend in China's ferrous futures market during morning trading on Wednesday September 5.Futures closing prices - morning sessionShanghai Futures ExchangeJanuary rebar: 4,078 yuan per tonne ($596), down 32 yuan per tonneJanuary hot-rolled coil: 4,099 yuan per tonne, down 17 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity ExchangeJanuary iron ore: 485 yuan per tonne, down 2.50 yuan p...Read More
Domestic prices for steel beams in Europe have held steady for a sixth consecutive week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday September 5.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm, category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe was flat at ?,?630-640 ($729-741) per tonne delivered on September 5."Overall, stocks are a little low and demand is good," one distributor said...Read More
Domestic prices for mesh-quality wire rod produced and delivered in Southern Europe have widened downward over the past week, with mills lowering their offers, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday September 5.Metal Bulletin's weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Southern Europe widened downward to ?,?540-560 ($625-648) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, compared with ?,...Read More
The Turkish steel mills continued to book deep-sea scrap on Wednesday September 5, with prices rising.Three steel producers booked six deep-sea cargoes on Wednesday, totaling almost 160,000 tonnes, according to market sources.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 25,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $317 per tonne cfr.The same mill booked a second Baltic Sea cargo...Read More
Iron ore prices were little changed on Wednesday September 5 following reports of steelmaking restriction plans for China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan being reissued.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $66.79 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.17 per tonne.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $65.82 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.17 per tonne.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low A...Read More
Vietnam scrap prices started to move up after sellers increased their offers in the first half of the week, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday September 5."Prices are expected to exit the price trough this week and start ascending slowly," a trader in northeast Asia said."Especially after Turkish import prices increased yesterday," he added, referring to a deal done at $320 per tonne...Read More
Iranian export billet and slab prices were mostly stable over the week ended Wednesday September 5, and several deals were heard to Southeast Asia and to other parts of the Middle East.Shipping from Iran has become more difficult because the introduction of new trading sanctions by the United States, and increased freight costs, have reduced the number of available vessels willing to carry Iranian...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices retreated slightly on Wednesday September 5 amid a drop in trading activity. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,440-4,480 yuan ($649-655) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 4,330-4,360 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonneBuyers, having secured materials actively in the past couple of down, slowed down their procurement on Wednesday.Weakenin...Read More