The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday June 8.Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange continued to drive higher at the close of trading on Thursday June 7, climbing by 1.5% to finish the day above $7,300 per tonne for the first time since January 2014. Read more in our live futures report. Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:The European Commission&...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange ended lower at the close of trading on Friday June 8, despite broad gains in copper, nickel and lead prices week on week. Bucking the trend, zinc was the only metal to trade in positive territory at the close of the afternoon kerb session, climbing 0.6% to close above $3,200 per tonne for the first time since April 24. Copper's three-month price was th...Read More
Comex copper prices inched higher in the US on Friday June 8, while concerns surrounding the highly anticipated Escondida negotiations drove the red metal's rally this week.Copper for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.8 cents or 0.55% to $3.293 per lb."LME copper has railed strongly, by 5%, so far this week, up 6%...Read More
China's crackdown on imports of lead waste products has sent ripples through the smelting industry there, with some companies pondering capacity cuts amid one of the tightest concentrate markets in years. Chinese customs publicly named Glencore at the end of May as attempting to import 16,000 tonnes of lead waste products labeled as concentrates originating in Germany, detaining two employees...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. ...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in the week ending Friday June 8. China Prices rose in China's domestic ferro-chrome market due to environmental inspections cutting output in the country's major production hub of Inner Mongolia. The recovery in the domestic ferro-chrome market was reflected in...Read More
Recent spikes in the price of copper may not go very far, with supply trends showing a mixed picture, market analysts said on Friday June 8.While market watchers attribute price rises to concerns about the stability of supply, because of the wage negotiations at Escondida in Chile and a shutdown of Sterlite's smelter in southern India, the rising terms of copper concentrates treatment charges (TCs...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in the week ending Friday June 8. China Prices rose in China's domestic ferro-chrome market due to environmental inspections cutting output in the country's major production hub of Inner Mongolia. The recovery in the domestic ferro-chrome market was reflected in...Read More
China's crackdown on imports of lead waste products has sent ripples through the smelting industry there, with some companies pondering capacity cuts amid one of the tightest concentrate markets in years. Chinese customs publicly named Glencore at the end of May as attempting to import 16,000 tonnes of lead waste products labeled as concentrates originating in Germany, detaining two employees...Read More
Europe import prices and UK domestic prices for austenitic alloy steel scrap increased this week with nickel prices continuing to rise, reversing the losses seen last week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday June 8.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for 18/8 stainless steel solids imported into mainland Europe was ?,?1,190-1,220 ($1,405-1,441) per tonne cif main European ports on Friday,...Read More
Turkish scrap import prices became firmer in the week ended Friday June 8 with demand for steel from the country's mills increasing because the United States imposed on other countries and regions the import tariffs threatened under its Section 232 trade legislation, thus leveling the international markets.This trend was in contrast to scrap prices elsewhere, however, with weak demand in India and...Read More
The UK light iron scrap market was stable over the past week for the ninth week in a row amid mixed reports of monthly delivery settlements to consumers in June, industry sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday June 8.The inter-merchant light iron scrap market will probably move in line with monthly delivery settlements that should be finalized next week, sources said. Some sources reported tha...Read More
Comex copper prices inched higher in the US on Friday June 8, while concerns surrounding the highly anticipated Escondida negotiations drove the red metal's rally this week.Copper for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 1.8 cents or 0.55% to $3.293 per lb."LME copper has railed strongly, by 5%, so far this week, up 6%...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange consolidated on the morning of Friday June 8 amid concerns that the latest trade figures from China could stoke further trade tensions. This as world leaders gather in Canada for the 44th G7 Summit, where likely topics for discussion include global economic issues such as trade relations and tariffs.The three-month aluminium price on the...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. ...Read More
Lower-cost material availability alongside persistently low consumption pushed down battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices ex-works China on Thursday June 7, while prices in the rest of the world were steady week on week. Battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices soften in China Continued deceleration in consumption alongside cheaper material available in the market...Read More
Argentinian steel producers have been granting temporary discounts in prices to their domestic market, because of a strong fall in the exchange-rate value of the country's currency.Discounts of around 5% in most domestic steel prices were granted for a period of 15-20 days, after which prices will be expected to return to their previous levels, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday June 8.Metal Bu...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices were mixed on Friday June 8, with those in the east region easing slightly while the market in north china picked up some strength.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,300-4,320 yuan ($673-676) per tonne, narrowed downward by 10 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tianjin): 4,220-4,240 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonne A softening of the futures market led to...Read More
China's steel futures maintained their strength during morning trading on Friday June 8, though the steelmaking raw materials contracts were subdued despite the steady gains in their physical markets so far this week.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange October rebar: 3,822 yuan ($598) per tonne, up 36 yuan per tonne October hot-rolled coil: 3,954 yuan per tonne, up 3...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Import prices for containerized HMS-grade scrap in Taiwan dropped further this week amid persistently poor end-user demand in the spot market.Trading activity remained lackluster in the iron ore market on Friday June 8, with lower prices reported for Australian fines at Chinese ports, although a seaborn...Read More