Domestic prices for mesh-quality wire rod produced and delivered in both Northern and Southern Europe have widened downward week on week because of reduced demand, sources said on Wednesday May 2.Public holidays in several European countries this week have contributed to a drop in market activity.Southern European domestic prices for mesh-quality wire rod fell ?,?5 per tonne at the lower end of th...Read More
Prices for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe narrowed upwards in the week to Wednesday May 2, which reflected a slight increase in scrap prices, sources told Metal Bulletin.Market activity remained quiet, however, with public holidays in several European countries.Metal Bulletin's weekly domestic price assessment for rebar in Southern Europe narrowed upwards by ?,?5 per tonne week on...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market remained quiet on Wednesday May 2, after a break for public holidays in Turkey and across much of Europe on May 1, but steel mills were still expected to book more cargoes for May delivery.Turkish steel mills have booked more than 20 deep-sea cargoes for May delivery so far, and more cargoes are expected to be bought in the next few days, according to marke...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market picked up after the May 1 public holiday, following the announcement by steel mills of price hikes for early May shipments. Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $66.98 tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1.55 per tonne Metal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $55.94 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.46 per tonne Metal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.30 per tonne cfr Qi...Read More
Holidays in Turkey and across much of Europe for the traditional May 1 Labor Day meant that there was little change in prices for Turkish imports of deep-sea scrap from European and US suppliers, sources said on Tuesday May 1.Renewed business activity is expected later in the week when traders return to work, they added.Market sentiment is cautious about how much more prices may increase in the ne...Read More
Prices for Iranian exports of steel billet and slab decreased somewhat in the week ended Wednesday May 2 with customers targeting lower prices because of the unstable conditions in the global billet market.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Iranian billet exports was $480-500 per tonne fob on May 2, against $495-505 per tonne fob a week earlier.Recent bookings of Iranian billet were repo...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were for the most part firmer on the morning of Wednesday May 2, with five of the six base metals showing gains averaging 0.6%, while tin bucked the trend with a 0.1% decline. Copper led on the upside with a 1% gain to $6,816 per tonne. Volume on the LME has rebounded with the return of Chinese participants following public holidays in China on Monda...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices increased sharply on Wednesday May 2 following the rise in billet and futures. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,020-4,060 yuan ($634-640) per tonne, up 130 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,870-3,900 yuan per tonne, up 120-130 yuan per tonneBillet prices increased by 50 yuan per tonne over the long weekend break and by a further by...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the April ADP employment report. Consensus for April private employment was 193,000 versus 241,000 in March. Actual was 204,000.First quarter earnings continue to pour in. Reports released since yesterday's close included ADP, Ameri...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals rebounded on the afternoon of May 2, buoyed by ferrous metals. SHFE lead rose 1.58% and nickel gained close to 1%. Zinc inched up slightly. Copper closed nearly 1% lower while aluminium and tin edged down.The ferrous complex rose across the board. Rebar led the increase with a gain of 4.28%. Coke and coking coal grew about 4%. Hot-rolled co...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals rebounded on the afternoon of May 2, buoyed by ferrous metals. SHFE lead rose 1.58% and nickel gained close to 1%. Zinc inched up slightly. Copper closed nearly 1% lower while aluminium and tin edged down.The ferrous complex rose across the board. Rebar led the increase with a gain of 4.28%. Coke and coking coal grew about 4%. Hot-rolled co...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals rebounded on the afternoon of May 2, buoyed by ferrous metals. SHFE lead rose 1.58% and nickel gained close to 1%. Zinc inched up slightly. Copper closed nearly 1% lower while aluminium and tin edged down.The ferrous complex rose across the board. Rebar led the increase with a gain of 4.28%. Coke and coking coal grew about 4%. Hot-rolled co...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) – Weak demand and the new, lower value-added tax (VAT) weighed down spot copper offers in Shanghai on Wednesday April 2. Spot copper with invoices for May was mostly offered at a discount of 50 yuan/mt to a premium of 20 yuan/mt over the SHFE 1805 contract. Prices fell in both the copper futures and spot market in Shanghai on the first trading day after the Labour...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) – China’s zinc inventories in warehouses across Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong shrank 800 mt to 154,500 mt as of Wednesday May 2 after the Labour Day holiday. SMM data showed that fewer deliveries arriving in Shanghai accounted for an inventory decline of 5,500 mt.For the same period, inventories in Guangdong rose 1,000 mt to 41,200 mt while invent...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) – China's import of ternary precursors in February grew 24% month on month but fell 38% on the year, according to data from China Customs. China imported about 132 mt of ternary precursors in February. Average import prices fell 3% from January as a batch of low-priced scrap was included in February's imports and this lowered overall prices. The F...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) – Imported copper concentrate traded actively as smelters saw stronger demand for stockpiling in the second quarter of the year, SMM learned. Traded prices of treatment charges (TCs) mostly stood at $73-76/mt, according to members of the China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT).Market participants took a pessimistic outlook on TCs in the second half of the ye...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper fell under the pressure of stronger US dollar during the Labour Day holiday. Technically, it now stands below all moving averages and without support. We expect it to trade at $6,740-6,800/mt today with the SHFE 1806 copper at 51,000-51,500 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen at 100-50 yuan/mt with May invoices.Aluminium: LME aluminium is expe...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper fell under the pressure of stronger US dollar during the Labour Day holiday. Technically, it now stands below all moving averages and without support. We expect it to trade at $6,740-6,800/mt today with the SHFE 1806 copper at 51,000-51,500 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen at 100-50 yuan/mt with May invoices.Aluminium: LME aluminium is expe...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 2 (SMM) – Spot copper in the Shanghai market was offered at a discount of 20 yuan/mt to a premium of 20 yuan/mt against the SHFE 1805 contract on the morning of Wednesday May 2, SMM learned. For editorial queries, please contact Daisy Tseng at daisy@smm.cn For more information on how to access our research reports, please email service.en@smm.cn Read More
The Argentinian government has agreed to quotas on steel products exported to the United States, thus avoiding tariffs associated with the US' Section 232 investigation, according to national steel association Acero Argentino.The country agreed to limit exports of steel products to the US to 180,000 tonnes per year, based on the average of steel exports during the past three years plus an addition...Read More