Flat steel production in Turkey is expected to remain strong in the rest of 2018 thanks to the strong demand locally and abroad, sources told Metal Bulletin this week.The country produced 5.17 million tonnes of slab - which is used to produce flat steel products - in the January-May period, up 7.12% from 4.83 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the Turkish Steel Producers Association (T???...Read More
European alloy steel surcharges for July deliveries of grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet have risen for the sixth consecutive month on an increase in nickel costs to reach their highest level since June 2011. The July alloy surcharge for 2mm grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet - based on data published by Outokumpu, Acerinox and Aperam - is ?,?1,624-1,648 ($1,886-1,914) per tonne. Th...Read More
Steelmakers around the world can improve their plant performance, safety and product quality by further digitizing their processes, delegates at the Asian Stainless Steel Forum 2018 heard on Thursday June 28.Mills could automate their electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) and converters, deploying smart sensors and collecting big data to improve processes, Zhai Yuyou, director of sales at technology provid...Read More
East Asia's stainless steel prices held steady over the past week amid an illiquid spot market.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil was $2,240-2,300 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday June 27, unchanged from a week earlier.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless trimmed hot-rolled sheet was...Read More
The Italian steel distribution network faces a shake-up from ArcelorMittal's efforts to meet its anti-trust obligations to acquire steelmaker Ilva.The European Commission (EC) EC has requested the "sale availability" of four ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia (AM CLN) steel service centers (SSCs), Cesare Vigan??, the managing director of ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia (AM CLN), said."T...Read More
Flat steel production in Turkey is expected to remain strong in the rest of 2018 thanks to the strong demand locally and abroad, sources told Metal Bulletin this week.The country produced 5.17 million tonnes of slab - which is used to produce flat steel products - in the January-May period, up 7.12% from 4.83 million tonnes a year earlier, according to the Turkish Steel Producers Association (T???...Read More
CVG Venalum has halted at least one shipment to a United States-based customer while the company deals with allegations that its senior management was involved in a money-laundering and drug trafficking scheme using the plant as cover, a person familiar with the matter told Metal Bulletin. The Venezuelan state-owned firm was recently named in a US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Ass...Read More
Turkish domestic rebar prices have slipped over the past week due to weak demand while wire rod prices have risen, with two mills opening their local sales at higher prices, sources said.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar was $550-565 per tonne ex-works on Thursday June 28, down from the $553-570 per tonne on June 21.The price fall reflects sluggish demand, caused by uncer...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed mostly in negative territory on Thursday June 28, with lead edging 1.5% lower amid broad downward trends in tin and copper. Although lead had previous shown some resilience to the recent slowdown across the complex, prices dropped below $2,400 per tonne for the first time since May 18. Broad strength in the dollar continues to weigh on th...Read More
The Italian steel distribution network faces a shake-up from ArcelorMittal's efforts to meet its anti-trust obligations to acquire steelmaker Ilva.The European Commission (EC) EC has requested the "sale availability" of four ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia (AM CLN) steel service centers (SSCs), Cesare Vigan??, the managing director of ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia (AM CLN), said."T...Read More
Prices for CIS export billet fell on Thursday June 28 due to slow trading in the country's key markets of Turkey and the wider Middle East, sources told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's CIS billet export index was $518 per tonne fob Black Sea on Thursday, compared with $520 per tonne fob Black Sea on June 27.CIS mill offers were predominantly around $520-525...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves for the start of the North American day on Thursday June 28.Zinc prices on the London Metal Exchange climbed 1.5% during morning trading, buoyed by a fresh cancelation of more than 15,000 tonnes in New Orleans, while a healthy US dollar index adds further pressure to the complex.Pushing back above $2,900 per tonne over the morning, zinc prices are taki...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday June 28.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were generally up during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with the complex continuing to benefit from easing concerns surrounding global trade tensions. Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here.Steel and aluminium pu...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed mostly in negative territory on Thursday June 28, with lead edging 1.5% lower amid broad downward trends in tin and copper. Although lead had previous shown some resilience to the recent slowdown across the complex, prices dropped below $2,400 per tonne for the first time since May 18. Broad strength in the dollar continues to weigh on th...Read More
Mainstream iron ore prices stayed rangebound on Thursday June 28 while high-grade lumps and fines were able to fetch higher premiums.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $64.44 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.16 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $52.02 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.47 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $91.10 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.50 per tonneMetal...Read More
A cargo of premium hard coking coal fetched a significantly higher price on Thursday June 28, though market participants have dismissed the transaction as one-off. The August-laycan cargo of a top Australian brand was sold at $211 per tonne cfr China to an end-user in northeastern China.Market participants were unanimous with the notion that it was "tough" for premium hard coking coal to trade any...Read More
European alloy steel surcharges for July deliveries of grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet have risen for the sixth consecutive month on an increase in nickel costs to reach their highest level since June 2011. The July alloy surcharge for 2mm grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet - based on data published by Outokumpu, Acerinox and Aperam - is ?,?1,624-1,648 ($1,886-1,914) per tonne. Th...Read More
Turkish rebar export prices pushed up over the past week, while wire rod prices remained largely unchanged, sources said on Thursday June 28.Steel mills in the country were offering rebar for export at around $550-560 per tonne fob on an actual weight basis, although some sources said offers for larger...Read More
Cobalt 27 Capital Corp has closed a deal to buy the equivalent of 32.6% of the cobalt production from a unit of Vale, creating the world's first pure cobalt stream. The production will come from Vale's Voisey's Bay mine, including its proposed expansion, and will start from January 2021. The electric metals investment vehicle has paid Vale an upfront cash consideration of $300 million, which repre...Read More
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are to work closer together while the United States moves to ease the regulatory burden on financial market participants. The agencies said that they have approved a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that specifically addresses the regulatory regime for swaps and security-based swaps, an area that...Read More