Prices for rebar and steel billet were stable and demand was low in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week because of the imminent Eid al-Fitr holiday, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday June 12.The Eid holiday will mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and will start toward the end of this week.Domestic rebarMajor rebar producers in the UAE announced new rebar prices...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday June 12. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly a little higher during morning trading, with aluminium, zinc and lead prices ticking higher while copper and tin prices drifted lower.Here is how the LME base metals complex looked at 12.59pm London time:For a snapshot of exchange news, check out ou...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday June12. Copper prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange weakened during Asian morning trading on Tuesday, with a firmer dollar and easing supply concerns weighing on investors' appetite for the red metal.The most-traded August copper contract price on the SHFE dropped to 53,830 yuan ($8,407)...Read More
Producing and then trading metal used to be the purview of just a few, with the supply chain more typically separated into silos and companies making occasional forays into different areas. But as the line between producer and trader has become increasingly blurred, the differentiator between companies is becoming the services they provide. As Christophe Allain, group portfolio director for non-fe...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were stable on Tuesday June 12, but trading activity in the second-tier segment is picking up, market sources said. A 40,000-tonne cargo of a second-tier product was heard to have been traded at around $182 per tonne fob Australia. Offers for premium hard coking coal remained above $200 per tonne cfr China, though there were no firm bids heard during the day. A cargo of...Read More
The price gap between different grades of iron ore continued to hold up on Tuesday June 12 amid modest gains for this segment of the steelmaking raw materials market during the day.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $67.23 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.48 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $54.29 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.45 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $88....Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly a little higher during morning trading on Tuesday June 12, with aluminium, zinc and lead prices ticking higher while copper and tin prices drifted lower.Copper's three-month price slipped more than 0.4% lower over the morning, dipping below $7,200 per tonne - it had reached five-year highs at the end of last week. Unresolved labo...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were stable this week because of the expected start of the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday June 12.Buyers preferred to postpone booking activity during the holy month of Ramadan, which started in mid-May. The holiday, marking the end of the holy month, will start toward the end of this week.Wo...Read More
Seaborne coking coal prices were stable on Tuesday June 12, but trading activity in the second-tier segment is picking up, market sources said. A 40,000-tonne cargo of a second-tier product was heard to have been traded at around $182 per tonne fob Australia. Offers for premium hard coking coal remained above $200 per tonne cfr China, though there were no firm bids heard during the day. A cargo of...Read More
Tin premiums were assessed flat across global markets, as slow spot trades kept European premiums unchanged, while steady supply and demand fundamentals in the United States and Asia kept premiums static in their respective markets. Quiet European spot trades on weak euro, high London Metal Exchange pricesUS anticipates Indonesia volumesAsia premiums flat, fundamentals steady European premiums sta...Read More
Aluminium scrap prices in the United States continued to maintain a steady footing with inventory positions and scrap flows generally in check, although some market participants reported signs of softness for the upcoming summer months. Smelter- and mill-grade scrap prices were unchanged nearly across the board, aside from aluminium-copper radiators, which slipped by 3 cents per lb on Monday June...Read More
The US Midwest aluminium premium has slipped at the start of this week, with market participants noting that discounting off of published premiums is becoming more widespread among parties trying to make spot deals. American Metal Market's assessment of the US Midwest aluminium spot premium was at 21.75-22 cents per lb on Tuesday June 12, down from 22-22.25 cents per lb on Friday. The pr...Read More
Glencore-owned copper producer Katanga Mining has settled its legal dispute in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with state-run miner G?(C)camines and has agreed to resolve the capital deficiency at their jointly owned operating subsidiary, Kamoto Copper Co (KCC).The company has written off roughly $5.6 billion in a debt-for-equity swap, ending an attempt by G?(C)camines to dissolve KCC in or...Read More
Luxembourg trader Nizi International is planning to diversify into metal concentrates with a slew of new hires, including former MRI chief executive officer, Mark Lowe.Lowe, who was also head of refined metals at Trafigura, took the position as Nizi's new head of base metals this week, Nizi International CEO Ulf Berg told Metal Bulletin in an emailed statement on Tuesday June 12. Richard Latter, f...Read More
Brazil's long steel import volumes fell by 37.2% year-on-year in May 2018, with reduced shipments from China and South Korea, the country's two biggest sources of such products.Imports of non-alloyed long steel products amounted to 12,355 tonnes last month, compared with 19,662 tonnes a year earlier, according to figures released by Brazil's foreign trade ministry, MDIC, last week.Imports of long...Read More
Brazil's flat steel import volumes declined by 4.4% year-on-year in May 2018, mainly due to reduced shipments from China.Imports totaled 116,235 tonnes over the month, compared with 121,575 tonnes in May 2017, according to figures released in early June by the country's foreign trade ministry, MDIC.China was the largest provider of flat steel to Brazil...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday June 12. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly a little higher during morning trading, with aluminium, zinc and lead prices ticking higher while copper and tin prices drifted lower.Here is how the LME base metals complex looked at 12.59pm London time:For a snapshot of exchange news, check out ou...Read More
The market was quiet for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) in the Commonwealth of Independent States over the week ended Monday June 11, while mills were preparing to revise offers for July-rolled products.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for CIS-origin HRC exports was unchanged at $535-555 per tonne fob Black Sea on June 11. "We will see some improvement next week, when [th...Read More
China's major steel mills lowered their daily crude steel output rates in late May after prices experienced a sharp drop during the period. Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) produced crude steel at an average rate of 1.95 million tonnes per day during the last 11 days of May, down 2.5% from 2 million tpd in the second 10 days of...Read More
Vanadium prices continued their ascent in the European and US markets amid tightened supply and an uptick in activity, while Chinese vanadium prices began to recover on low availability of material. Fob China vanadium prices rebound on tightening availabilityEuropean vanadium market strengthens furtherUS ferro-vanadium prices jump; market sees more inquiries Metal Bulletin's price quotation...Read More