Domestic prices for mesh-quality wire rod produced and delivered in both Northern and Southern Europe remained unchanged this week because of the low levels of market activity, sources said on Wednesday May 9.Public holidays in several European countries this week have contributed to the drop in activity.The Southern European domestic price for mesh-quality wire rod was ?,?525-550 ($624-654) per.....Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday May 9. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange edged slightly higher during morning trading, with nickel the only metal in the complex to trade lower."The base metals' recent attempts to rally ran into supply and prices are consolidating once again. The combination of less than bullish economic data, the st...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday May 9. Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down across the board during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, dragged lower by the stronger dollar. Zinc prices, trading little changed to weaker, were the most resilient of the complex.Check Metal Bulletin's live fut...Read More
Shahnawaz Islam, who left CME Group last month, will join Amalgamated Metal Trading (AMT) in July to develop the London Metal Exchange ring-dealing member's ferrous and aluminium premium contract brokerage services. "AMT strongly believe that these contracts have a significant future on the LME and CME," managing director Nick Fellowes told Metal Bulletin in an emailed statement on Wednesday May 9...Read More
Ferrous scrap will increasingly replace natural resources as the main raw material to produce steel, according to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) head of raw materials, Dr Baris Bekir ??ift??i.This is mainly due to ferrous scrap's increasing availability globally, as well as structural reforms in major steelmaking countries to increase the usage of electric-arc furnaces in the steel produ...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange kept firm at the close of trading on Wednesday May 9, with copper's 1% climb leading a positive afternoon surge across the complex. The three-month copper prices traded as low as $6,766 per tonne today, finding support throughout the afternoon and climbing back over the $6,800 per tonne support level at the close. The red metal dropped marginally aft...Read More
Shahnawaz Islam, who left CME Group last month, will join Amalgamated Metal Trading (AMT) in July to develop the London Metal Exchange ring-dealing member's ferrous and aluminium premium contract brokerage services. "AMT strongly believe that these contracts have a significant future on the LME and CME," managing director Nick Fellowes told Metal Bulletin in an emailed statement on Wednesday May 9...Read More
Aluminium stocks at London Metal Exchange-approved warehouses have fallen by over 100,000 tonnes since the United States slightly loosened sanctions against Russian producer UC Rusal, leading to traders becoming more willing to deal with old stocks. As of Wednesday May 9, total aluminium stocks on the LME have declined 108,600 tonnes, more than 7%, since the US Department of the Treasury's Office...Read More
Prices for Iranian exports of steel billet and slab increased in the week to Wednesday May 9, with new deals reported by market participants. Market sentiment was negative because of US President Donald Trump's announcement yesterday that the United States would be withdrawing from the multi-lateral nuclear pact with Iran, with plans to reinstate trade sanctions. Recent...Read More
Peru's zinc mine production rose by 7.2% year-on-year in March, attributed to a recovery from last year's decline caused by the torrential rainfall that hit the country then. Production came to 117,753 tonnes, from 109,873 tonnes in March 2017, according to the latest figures from the country's energy and mines ministry, MEM. The increase mostly reflects the impact of weak output achieved in March...Read More
Tin premiums in Europe ticked higher again in the week to Tuesday May 8 on the back of a temporary supply crunch, which resulted from the halt in exports from Indonesia at the start of the quarter. Shipments have now resumed and material is already on its way to consuming regions including Europe and the United States, but it arrives later this month and supply is getting tighter meaning premiums...Read More
Copper mine production in Peru grew by 5.8% year on year in March, boosted mainly by higher volumes from Cerro Verde and Antamina mines. Output totaled 200,482 tonnes in the month, compared with 189,426 tonnes in March 2017, according to the latest figures published by the country's energy and mines ministry, MEM. Severe rainfall in Peru in March 2017 had affected copper mine production in the cou...Read More
Shahnawaz Islam, who left CME Group last month, will join Amalgamated Metal Trading (AMT) in July to develop the London Metal Exchange ring-dealing member's ferrous and aluminium premium contract brokerage services. "AMT strongly believe that these contracts have a significant future on the LME and CME," managing director Nick Fellowes told Metal Bulletin in an emailed statement on Wednesday May 9...Read More
Primary aluminium consumers in Brazil are being denied import licenses with a 6% tariff exemption because the country's quota on tax-free imported aluminium ingot has largely been depleted, Metal Bulletin understands.The current quota, which covers 353,000 tonnes of aluminium ingot imported into Brazil since August 2016, is valid until June 30 - meaning that it has almost been totally consumed som...Read More
First-quarter revenue from the commodities business of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) fell 7% year on year to HK$267 million ($34 million), hurt by lower trading fees at the London Metal Exchange."While the ADV [average daily volumes] of metals contracts traded was 20% higher compared to the first quarter 2017, the impact of fee reductions for short and medium-dated carry trades intro...Read More
Horizonte plc, which acquired the Vermelho project from Vale, is exploring whether the project can produce nickel and cobalt sulfate suitable for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, it said on Wednesday May 9. Mining company Horizonte acquired the Brazil-based nickel-cobalt project for $8 million in December 2017. "The Vermelho project also contains a large cobalt resource which Vale planned to...Read More
The United States' Section 232 tariff on steel imports will help ease global steel overcapacity and boost domestic production, but it is only one step toward achieving those goals, according to industry executives. "Tariffs in the US alone won't curb global overcapacity. It's a global issue and we have to work with our partners to counteract it," Steel Dynamics Inc (SDI) president and chief execut...Read More
Latin American steelmaker Gerdau sees the results of the Section 232 investigations of steel imports into the United States as being "positive" for the company, chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck has said."From the Gerdau North America perspective, the quotas [imposed by the US government after the conclusion of the process] will contribute to reducing imports and increasing the company's uti...Read More
Tata Steel Europe has begun to seek potential buyers for its non-core business units so as to strengthen its forecast for the steel strip business, the company said on Tuesday May 8.The sale process will include five business units.The first is Cogent, a manufacturer and processor of electrical steels. It has three assets, at Newport in South Wales in the UK, at Burlington in Ontario in Canada, an...Read More
Wire rod processors have called for the removal of the material from the list of products targeted by the safeguard investigation opened by the European Commission (EC) into imports of steel from non-EU origins."The imposition of safeguard measures on imports of this product would only serve to exacerbate the persistent shortages in the market, which we highlighted to the Commission two years ago,...Read More