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
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
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
Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange climbed 1% by the close of trading on Wednesday September 5, supported by a marginal retreat in the US dollar index amid continued price dips in the three-month lead and nickel prices.Despite more than 100,000 tonnes of material freshly canceled since August 20 and on-warrant material down over 38% in the same period, three-month copper prices struggled t...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
Nickel premiums in China dipped on Tuesday September 4 as the closed arbitrage window has thinned buying interest, while European briquette premiums widened on renewed market interest following the end of summer holidays. China premiums dip on thin purchasing activity, closed arbitrage window Europe briquette premiums widen as interest returns to market US premiums stable in sluggish marketClosed...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday September 5. Base metals' prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading, buffeted by continued strength in the US dollar while emerging market weakness, notably in Argentina, continues to rattle commodity investment.That said, marginal upticks in the three-month copper and nick...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday September 5. Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly down during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, with nickel leading the complex lower. Tin was the only metal record any gains.Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here. A Japanese consumer has conclud...Read More
Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange climbed 1% by the close of trading on Wednesday September 5, supported by a marginal retreat in the US dollar index amid continued price dips in the three-month lead and nickel prices.Despite more than 100,000 tonnes of material freshly canceled since August 20 and on-warrant material down over 38% in the same period, three-month copper prices struggled t...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
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
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Prices for rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe have remained stable over the past week, and mills expect prices to remain strong in the coming weeks, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday September 5.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Northern Europe was unchanged at ?,?565-575 ($654-666) per tonne delivered on September 5."We are in the process of...Read More
Most secondary aluminium alloy prices ticked lower in the United States on Tuesday September 4, with a new record-wide spread between benchmark A380.1 and non-ferrous auto shred (twitch) heightening the pressure on alloys.The benchmark A380.1 price logged a half-cent drop on the low end of the range to 94-96 cents per lb on September 4, the lowest level since September 2017.Depressed prices in the...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
Metal Bulletin wishes to highlight minor changes to the publication of its Rotterdam aluminium P1020A premium monthly averages following the discontinuation of single number assessments on August 24.Metal Bulletin discontinued the publication of single number assessments for a range of base metals premiums, the full list of which can be found here. The monthly averages for Rotterdam duty-unpaid al...Read More
Chinese gold and copper miner Zijin Mining is set to outbid competitor Lundin Mining to acquire Canada's Nevsun Resources, in an agreement valued around C$6 ($4.56) per share and totaling C$1.86 billion ($1.41 billion), Nevsun said on Wednesday September 5.The takeover bid, which is set to be announced before September 18, comes after multinational minerals company Lundin Mining publicly announced...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