The London Metal Exchange's new cash-settled cobalt contract will run alongside the existing physically-delivered contract at first, and it may prove sustainable to run the two in parallel going forward, the bourse's chief executive officer said."There are people who have been supportive of the physical contract. After the summer, we will engage with users to see if they want to continue with the...Read More
Import prices for flat steel products in South America were once again unchanged this week, Metal Bulletin heard on Friday May 25.Some offers involving Chinese materials were heard on the region's Pacific coast, but no deals were concluded because buyers continue to resist their higher prices.China-origin cold-rolled coil (CRC) volumes were offered to the Chilean market at $665-670 per tonne cfr,...Read More
Most flat steel prices in Turkey's domestic, import and export markets have been stable this week, with demand remaining limited, market participants told Metal Bulletin on Friday May 25.Domestic producers are accepting orders for July production. And with the Turkish lira continuing to lose value against other currencies during the week, imports are becoming increasingly expensive.The lira was tr...Read More
China's ferrous futures were subdued during morning trading on Thursday May 24, with only the hot-rolled coil contract ending the session just above negative territory after posting solid gains a day earlier.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange October rebar: 3,568 ($559) per tonne, down 22 per tonne October hot-rolled coil: 3,797 yuan per tonne, up 1 per tonne Dalian...Read More
Steady demand, tight supply and reduced imports in the United States have kept domestic and import beam prices firm compared with a month ago, market participants said. American Metal Market's assessment of domestic W8- x 8-inch beams was at $42 per hundredweight fob mill on Thursday May 24, in line with mill list prices, while import medium sections were steady at $7...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Physical iron ore prices softened on Friday May 25 amid declining futures and despite gains in the steel market. They reached their lowest level since April 16, when prices were $63.93 per tonne.Chinese demand for iron ore is expected to be stable this year, with steel producers prioritizing capacity cu...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices have risen by at least 800 rupees ($12) per tonne this week on rising demand for finished long products such as rebar, Metal Bulletin heard on Friday May 25.Prices on Friday for Indian domestic secondary billet, mainly produced via induction furnaces, were 36,600-36,800 rupees ($535-538) per tonne ex-mill, up by 800 rupees per tonne compared with last week's...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices softened during the week ended Friday May 25, with falling Turkish scrap prices and the country's weaker lira muting trade activity both within the country and internationally.The fall in the value of the lira reduced the number of cargoes booked this week, leading to weaker offer prices. The markets in the United States and India both stagnated as a result of the Turki...Read More
The UK light iron scrap market was stable over the past week, for the seventh week in a row, but downward pressure is expected to come in the near term after a fall in export prices, industry sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday May 25.The market has been steady since mid-April, since which time sterling has fallen in value against the dollar - by about $0.10 to $1.338 on May 25. This has shored...Read More
Global direct-reduced iron (DRI) output increased 14.86% year on year in April 2018, according to new statistics published by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) on Friday April 25.Total output was 7.11 million tonnes in April 2018 compared with 6.19 million tonnes a year previously, an increase of 920,000 tonnes. Production was...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 25 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals, except for SHFE tin, rose across the board on Friday May 25. SHFE nickel led the increases with a gain of 1.8%. SHFE zinc and aluminium gained over 1%, lead and copper inched up,Most ferrous metals closed higher. Hot-rolled coil rose close to 1%, rebar and coke nudged up. Coking coal and iron ore dipped.Copper: The SHFE 1807 contract rebounded from...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 25 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals, except for SHFE tin, rose across the board on Friday May 25. SHFE nickel led the increases with a gain of 1.8%. SHFE zinc and aluminium gained over 1%, lead and copper inched up,Most ferrous metals closed higher. Hot-rolled coil rose close to 1%, rebar and coke nudged up. Coking coal and iron ore dipped.Copper: The SHFE 1807 contract rebounded from...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 25 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals, except for SHFE tin, rose across the board on Friday May 25. SHFE nickel led the increases with a gain of 1.8%. SHFE zinc and aluminium gained over 1%, lead and copper inched up,Most ferrous metals closed higher. Hot-rolled coil rose close to 1%, rebar and coke nudged up. Coking coal and iron ore dipped.Copper: The SHFE 1807 contract rebounded from...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part weaker on the morning of Friday May 25, down between 0.2% and 0.6%, with copper down by 0.6% at $6,872 per tonne. Zinc was the single exception, up by a marginal 0.1%. Volume on the LME has been average, with 6,612 lots traded as of 7.34 am London time. This follows a general day of firmness on Thursday, when all th...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 7 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures moved slightly lower following release of April Durable Goods Orders at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop of 1.4% versus gain of 2.7% in March. Actual was a drop of 1.7%. Excluding transportation, April Durable Goods Orders were expected to increase 0.5%. Actual was an incr...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 25 (SMM) – To improve air quality and regulate pollution for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Qingdao, Shandong province, environmental protection authorities in Shandong and Jiangsu will undertake inspections from May 30-June 11. All of Shandong province will subjected to the probes while just Xuzhou and Lianyungang in Jiangsu will be affected. The ef...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 25 (SMM) – Nickel ore inventories across all Chinese ports increased 170,000 wmt from last Friday to 8.12 million wmt as of Friday May 25, SMM data showed.The increase translated to 67,000 mt in metal content, up 2,000 mt from last week. Nickel ore stocks across seven major Chinese ports grew 120,000 wmt from the previous week and registered 5.45 million wmt. Fo...Read More
Indian domestic secondary billet prices have risen by at least 800 rupees ($12) per tonne this week on rising demand for finished long products such as rebar, Metal Bulletin heard on Friday May 25.Prices on Friday for Indian domestic secondary billet, mainly produced via induction furnaces, were 36,600-36,800 rupees ($535-538) per tonne ex-mill, up by 800 rupees per tonne compared with last week's...Read More
NANNING, May 25 (SMM) – Stricter environmental policies in China are likely to weigh on the zinc die-casting industry, said Ren Lixing, an analyst at Leekee Group in Hong Kong.The industry faces pressure from policies such as production cuts, regulations around dust and explosions and environmental taxes, Ren told delegates at the SMM Lead Zinc Summit on Friday May 25 in Nanning, G...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 25 (SMM) – To improve air quality and regulate pollution for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Qingdao, Shandong province, environmental protection authorities in Shandong and Jiangsu will undertake inspections from May 30-June 11. All of Shandong province will subjected to the probes while just Xuzhou and Lianyungang in Jiangsu will be affected. The ef...Read More