SHANGHAI, May 23 (SMM) – China will slash import tariffs on certain vehicles to 15%, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Tuesday May 22. Cuts will take effect on July 1.This includes the current 25% tariff levied on 135 items and the 20% duty on four items.Tariffs on 79 auto parts will fall to 6%, from current levels of 8-25%. Auto parts that will have lower import duti...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 23 (SMM) – China will slash import tariffs on certain vehicles to 15%, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Tuesday May 22. Cuts will take effect on July 1.This includes the current 25% tariff levied on 135 items and the 20% duty on four items.Tariffs on 79 auto parts will fall to 6%, from current levels of 8-25%. Auto parts that will have lower import duti...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 23 (SMM) – Copper: Copper prices rebounded as the US dollar weakened overnight. LME copper touched a high of $6,999/mt as the inventory shrank 2,752 mt following days of increase. It is likely to trade at $6,930-7,030/mt today with strong support while the SHFE 1807 contract is to trade at 51,800-52,200 yuan/mt. Adequate supplies are likely to widen spot discounts to ...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 23 (SMM) – Copper: Copper prices rebounded as the US dollar weakened overnight. LME copper touched a high of $6,999/mt as the inventory shrank 2,752 mt following days of increase. It is likely to trade at $6,930-7,030/mt today with strong support while the SHFE 1807 contract is to trade at 51,800-52,200 yuan/mt. Adequate supplies are likely to widen spot discounts to ...Read More
Prices for domestic hollow steel sections edged downward slightly in Northern Europe this week, with trade activity remaining thin, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday May 23.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made and delivered in Northern Europe widened downward by ?,?5 per tonne to ?,?640-655 ($754-772) per tonne delivered on May...Read More
Argentina's crude steel output grew by 26% year on year in April, according to figures released by the national steel association, Acero Argentino, on Tuesday May 22.The country produced 463,000 tonnes of crude steel last month, compared with 367,400 tonnes in the same period a year earlier.But April's output was down by 2.3% in comparison with the 473,900 tonnes produced in March.Steel consumptio...Read More
A fire at United Stainless Steel Company's (USCO) stainless steel re-rolling mill in Salman Industrial City in Al Hidd, northern Bahrain, early on Tuesday May 22, has halted operations and could result in lost production, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday May 23.A fire at United Stainless Steel Company's (USCO) stainless steel re-rolling mill in Salman Industrial City in Al Hidd, nor...Read More
The European Commission (EC) will set a 25% safeguard duty on steel and aluminium imported from the US from June 20 this year if the EU is not exempted from Section 232 tariffs.The EC will only apply the measures if the World Trade Organization (WTO) approves the move. The duties will affect a number of US products, including steel and aluminium.If applied, the measures will be enacted in two...Read More
Taiwan's ferrous scrap imports surged by 34% on the year in March, according to the territory's customs agency.Taiwan imported 331,821 tonnes of ferrous scrap during the month, 84,569 tonnes higher than the 247,252 tonnes it took in a year earlier, data from the Taiwanese Customs Administration showed.March's...Read More
Prices for domestic hollow steel sections edged downward slightly in Northern Europe this week, with trade activity remaining thin, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday May 23.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made and delivered in Northern Europe widened downward by ?,?5 per tonne to ?,?640-655 ($754-772) per tonne delivered on May...Read More
Domestic prices for mesh-quality wire rod produced and delivered in both Northern and Southern Europe were unchanged this week, with weaker demand in the domestic market and a lack of import offers, sources said on Wednesday May 23.The Southern European domestic price for mesh-quality wire rod was unchanged over the week at ?,?525-535 ($619-631) per tonne delivered on May 23."There is a degree of...Read More
Iranian export steel billet prices picked up in the week ended Wednesday May 23 because of the limited volumes of material available for shipment before August, when renewed trading sanctions are expected to be enforced on the country by the United States.The US withdrew from an international deal on Iran's nuclear power industry on May 8, and has said that it will reimpose its trading sanctions a...Read More
Domestic prices for steel beams in Northern Europe fell again this week on continuing limited demand, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday May 23. Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic S235-grade, 200x200mm category-2 H-beam in Northern Europe dipped ?,?5 per tonne to ?,?590-615 ($695-724) per tonne delivered on Wednesday May 23, from ?,?595-620...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday May 23. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading, with tin recording the only positive move despite continued strength in lead and nickel prices. Falling 1.8% over the morning, copper's three-month price has lost most of Tuesday's gains, with the red metal drifting ba...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday May 23.Copper prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) outperformed during Asian morning trading on Wednesday May 23 as the US dollar weakened. Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here.LME snapshot at 0255 London timeLatest 3M LME Prices Price ($/t) Change sinc...Read More
One of the takeaways from LME Asia Week 2018 last week in Hong Kong was that changes in trading patterns, against the backdrop of rising algorithmic, computer-driven business, have resulted in a marked drop in average transaction sizes. But does this mean that the electronic platform, LME Select, and "one-lot wonders" are the way forward for metal traders and the industry, and that larger business...Read More
Chris Evans has become head of strategy at Circulor, which provides blockchain technology to the electric vehicles (EV) supply chain. Evans, who was most recently commercial director at NFEx Markets, will be based in London. He was previously head of...Read More
Lead prices on the London Metal Exchange held firm at the close of trading on Wednesday May 23, while copper's three-month price fell 1.6% amid a fresh 2018-high for the US dollar index. Keeping firm above $2,450 per tonne, lead's three-month price has rallied more than 5% this week, reaching prices unseen since March 1. "Concerns over potential shortages continue to draw lead to its highest...Read More
The Rotterdam aluminium premium fell for a second straight day, with a looming backwardation in the July/August spread pushing the market down and stirring expectations of further drops.P1020A aluminium in Rotterdam on a duty-unpaid basis fell to $120-135 per tonne on Wednesday May 23 from $125-140 per tonne on Tuesday. The benchmark premium has fallen nearly 20% since the start of the month.Nearb...Read More
Seaborne iron ore market weakened further on Wednesday May 23 amid increased competition between medium-grade products. Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $64.11 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.30 per tonne Metal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $53.04 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.17 per tonne Metal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $82.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.60 per tonne Metal B...Read More