Metal Bulletin will follow guidance provided by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the London Metal Exchange on the treatment of Rusal production when assessing its aluminium premiums.Transactions, bids and offers in the US, Japanese and European markets for Rusal's aluminium ingots and products produced after April 6 will be discarded and not taken into consideration when assessin...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Wednesday April 25, with zinc falling 2.5% after a 30,075-tonne delivery into Antwerp rattled price sentiment.The metal recorded its widest intraday price move in a week, reaching a low of $3,129.50 per tonne. Positive backdrops continue to support a potential uptrend for zinc however, with Metal Bulletin's...Read More
The manganese supply squeeze continued to push manganese flakes higher this week, with prices climbing more than 8%.Metal Bulletin assessed the manganese flake in-warehouse price at $2,495-2,640 per tonne on Wednesday April 25, up 8.7% from the previous assessment and trading at levels last seen in December 2016. The supply squeeze in Rotterdam and a lack of offers from China have pushed manganese...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday April 25.Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were broadly lower during morning trading, with zinc the biggest downward mover. Some 30,075 tonnes of zinc was delivered into Antwerp this morning, with overall stocks rising approximately 16%. The metal's three-month price has subsequently fallen 1.6% this...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday April 25.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly higher during Asian morning trading on Wednesday April 25, after buying sentiment in China picked up following comments from the country's central government which suggested a degree of flexibility in its monet...Read More
Lucas Giannini, an aluminium trader with Gerald Group in London, will leave the company at the end of April, sources close to the situation told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday April 25.Giannini joined the company in...Read More
Despite its potential impact on nickel ore supply, the latest development in the Philippine mining industry is having lesser impact on Shanghai Futures Exchange nickel prices while market participants focus on demand-side issues. SHFE nickel prices have trended down since the most-traded SHFE July nickel contract hit a high of 109,790 yuan ($17,396) per tonne on April 18, the highest since May 201...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close of trading on Wednesday April 25, with zinc falling 2.5% after a 30,075-tonne delivery into Antwerp rattled price sentiment.The metal recorded its widest intraday price move in a week, reaching a low of $3,129.50 per tonne. Positive backdrops continue to support a potential uptrend for zinc however, with Metal Bulletin's...Read More
The Shanghai in-warehouse zinc premium inched higher after import losses narrowed, while zinc and lead premiums in other regions remained largely stable, with the exception of India where primary lead eased on Tuesday April 24. Shanghai in-warehouse premium rises $10 per tonne India primary lead premium down on lower-priced deals and weak battery demand Lead premiums in Southeast Asian...Read More
The London Metal Exchange has announced further guidance on treating sanction-affected contracts, highlighting an extended wind-down period for open positions with UC Rusal. Following an April 23 announcement by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets and Control (OFAC), the LME has extended the period to close out contracts with Rusal from June 5 to October 23 of this ye...Read More
Tin premiums in Europe increased slightly in the week to Tuesday April 24 due to a lack of supply from Indonesia, while premiums in China and the United States were unchanged week on week. Indonesia exports less than half prior-month level so far in April Premium in Rotterdam at fresh two-month highs US premium supported by trucking shortage, China eyes LME price Premium nears $400/t...Read More
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently raised its economic growth forecast for Latin America and the Caribbean while a gradual recovery continues in the region, which was severely affected by the 2014-16 decline in commodity prices.The region's gross domestic product (GDP) is now expected to rise by 2% year-on-year in 2018, against a previous forecast of a 1.9% increase, the IMF said i...Read More
Lucas Giannini, an aluminium trader with Gerald Group in London, will leave the company at the end of April, sources close to the situation told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday April 25.Giannini joined the company in...Read More
Chinese nickel premiums hit a fresh nine-month low on Tuesday April 24 on sluggish import demand, while the US market saw increased demand and deal volume in Europe ticked up. Lack of import demand in China pushes premiums down US market unchanged, demand up after LME volatility European market stable with uptick in volume Chinese premiums hit nine-month low The cif Shanghai full-plat...Read More
The Shanghai in-warehouse zinc premium inched higher after import losses narrowed, while zinc and lead premiums in other regions remained largely stable, with the exception of India where primary lead eased on Tuesday April 24. Shanghai in-warehouse premium rises $10 per tonne India primary lead premium down on lower-priced deals and weak battery demand Lead premiums in Southeast Asian...Read More
United Arab Emirates steel producer Conares Steel cut its domestic rebar price on Wednesday, April 25. The company is offering rebar at 2,216 dirhams ($603) per tonne ex-works, down from 2,381.5 dirhams per tonne ex-works. The...Read More
Crude steel production in Argentina grew by 20.80% year-on-year in March, according to figures released by national steel association Acero Argentino on Tuesday April 24.Production came to 473,900 tonnes, compared with 392,300 tonnes in the corresponding month last year.March's crude steel output also went up by 13.56% from the previous month's level of 417,300 tonnes.The...Read More
Global crude steel production rose by 4% year-on-year in March 2018, partly due to an increase in China, according to statistics published by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) on Wednesday April 25.World crude steel output was 148.33 million tonnes in March, compared with 142.68 million tonnes in the corresponding month of 2017.China, the world's largest steelmaking country, increased its c...Read More
European authorities are thought to be considering whether to start an anti-dumping case into imports of steel hollow sections originating from Macedonia, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday April 25."The information has been circulating in the market that the European Commission [EC] might start a trade case into Macedonian hollow sections. But it is unclear if [European steel association] E...Read More
Prices for domestic hollow steel sections edged downward slightly in Northern Europe this week due to low levels of activity but Southern European prices remained stable, market sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday April 25.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made and delivered in Northern Europe was down by ?,?5 to ?,?660-665 ($806-812) per...Read More