Market acceptance of the quarterly European ferro-chrome benchmark system will continue for at least the short term, according to market participants polled by Metal Bulletin. Discontent with the settlement in previous years appears to have faded because of the stability it offers in relation to the volatility seen on the Chinese spot market. The benchmark is set in negotiations between the buy an...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Tuesday May 15, with copper falling 1.1%. Copper stocks on the LME have fallen more than 10% this month; the price of the metal continues to consolidate around $6,800 per tonne. Stronger demand from China, as well as disruptions in output across the United States and India are weighing on the market. ...Read More
The new and tighter regulatory environment has left bullion banks in a state of transformation, leaving exchanges to seize the new opportunities. Speaking at the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) precious metals seminar during LME Week Asia on Tuesday May 15, managing director of Scotiabank Sunil Kashyap highlighted the challenges bullion banks face following over-the-counter (OTC) regulations...Read More
The outlook for the seaborne coking coal market remains unclear, with buyers and sellers not seeing eye to eye when it comes to prices.A cargo of low-ranked premium hard coking coal was offered at $192-193 per tonne cfr China on Tuesday May 15, which resulted in a $7-8 per tonne gap with end-users' bids.There are at least three cargoes of premium low-vol materials and seven cargoes of premium mid-...Read More
Turkish steel producers broke their silence in the deep-sea scrap markets with the purchase of a UK cargo on Tuesday May 15.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked the cargo, comprising 44,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $345 per tonne and 22,000 tonnes of shredded at $366 per tonne cfr.Shredded scrap usually trades at a $5 per tonne premium over HMS 1&2 (80:20), but the supplier said that the...Read More
The new and tighter regulatory environment has left bullion banks in a state of transformation, leaving exchanges to seize the new opportunities. Speaking at the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) precious metals seminar during LME Week Asia on Tuesday May 15, managing director of Scotiabank Sunil Kashyap highlighted the challenges bullion banks face following over-the-counter (OTC) regulations...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday May 15.Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Tuesday May 15, with broad consolidation taking place across the complex.Here is how the LME base metals complex looked at 12.10pm London time:For a snapshot of exchange news, check out our live futures report.South Kor...Read More
The arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Tuesday May 15*Copper -$69.87 (-444.72 yuan) Aluminium -$535.03 (-3,405.26 yuan) Zinc -$10.99 (-69.95 yuan) Nickel -$634.98 (-4,041.38 yuan) *Metal Bulletin calculates the physical arbitrage for import into...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower during morning trading on Tuesday May 15, with broad consolidation taking place across the complex. Nickel's three-month price remains unchanged at $14,500 per tonne after climbing 3% at Monday's close. The metal reached a high of $14,635 per tonne this morning, breaking above its most recent resistance level at $14,500 per tonne and...Read More
South Korea's Public Procurement Service (PPS) has awarded a 1,000-tonne special-high-grade zinc tender at a premium of $151 per tonne, a higher premium than one it had awarded for a similar zinc tender in late April.The tender for London Metal Exchange-registered brands with purity of more than 99.995% for delivery to the South Korean port of Incheon on a cif basis by August 3 was awarded to Kore...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths on the morning of Tuesday May 15, with copper, nickel, lead and tin down by between 0.2% and 0.6%, while aluminium was unchanged and zinc prices had rebounded by 0.7%.Volume on the LME has been average, with 4,526 lots traded as at 06.55 am London time. Precious metals prices were broadly down with gold off by 0.1% at $1,311.9...Read More
Chinese electrolytic aluminium production reached 2.77 million tonnes in April, up 1.1% from the same period last year, with growing stocks likely to put downward pressure on prices.According to the key production data for industrial enterprizes above a designated size, published by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday May 15, aluminium production increased in April and for...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Cia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) plans to increase its flat steel prices to distributors and industrial clients by 7.5-10% by June due to the devaluation of the local currency and higher international prices.The company announced at the end of March that it would increase flat steel prices by 7.5% in June. At that time, the upswing was driven by an improved domestic market...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker CSN is considering the sale of its Lusosider flat steel subsidiary in Portugal to reduce debt levels, chief executive officer Benjamin Steinbruch said on Tuesday May 15.The decision to divest the facility is also motivated by the European Union's establishment of anti-dumping duties against Brazil-origin hot-rolled coil (HRC). Tariffs assigned to CSN amount to ?...Read More
The graphite electrodes used in electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking have changed from being a commodity to a strategic material, with prices surging last year amid drastic changes in market conditions, an industry conference has heard.Dr Mark Shujun Ma, the vice-chairman of the China Association of Small & Medium Enterprises, was speaking at the 78th meeting of the International Rebar Producers...Read More
Earnings at Brazilian steel and iron ore producer CSN dropped by 7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2018 because of a fall in international iron ore prices over the same period.The fall in earnings came despite a boost to revenues from CSN's steel business due to a recovery in the domestic steel market, notably in the automotive and original equipment manufacturing sectors.The company's adjus...Read More
German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp expects "continued stable and high prices on the commodity and material markets" over the remainder of its financial year, which will end on September 30, 2018, it said on Tuesday May 15."Assuming that prices on the materials markets remain stable at a high level throughout the fiscal year, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes [Ebit] [will be] significantly hi...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia decreased slightly this week because of limited demand, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday May 15.Buyers preferred to postpone bookings ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which starts this week and will lead to a further reduction in market activity.Working hours will be reduced in Saudi Arabia, with Ramadan always...Read More
Industrial action has halted traffic along a key road for moving semi-carbonate manganese ore from mines in Hotazel in South Africa's Northern Cape. The R31 main road was blockaded on Tuesday morning in a dispute over pay to truck drivers. "This could seriously affect deliveries to all parts for all the miners in the area," a source said. The R31 is used to access various ports for "huge volumes"...Read More
Chinese ferro-silicon prices strengthened in the week ending Friday May 11 after production was cut in the country due to higher electricity costs for producers, with the trend seen persisting through June. Chinese consumers look to buy ahead of higher prices US market sags amid inactivity, more imports European spot market stagnates after second-quarter settlements Chinese domestic f...Read More