The vanadium markets in Europe and the United States retreated last week, with traders continuing to sell off inventories to protect against weakening prices in the Chinese market as well as slowing spot market demand. Chinese ferro-vanadium, vanadium pentoxide prices fall on softer demand outside of China. European ferro-vanadium market slides on pressure from quiet spot marketEuropean...Read More
Antimony prices in Europe continued to edge lower last week amid increasing availability of stocks in Rotterdam, while Chinese prices fell on dull downstream demand and expectations of increased concentrate supplies. Metal Bulletin assessed the MMTA standard grade II antimony in-warehouse Rotterdam price at $8,400-8,550 per tonne on Friday, unchanged from Wednesday's assessment, when prices h...Read More
Turkish steel mills have continued their bookings for May deliveries of material as expected, while prices went up slightly on Tuesday April 17.A steel producer in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 13,000-17,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $356 per tonne and 7,000-8,000 tonnes of shredded at $361 per tonne cfr late on April 16.The cargo was scheduled to...Read More
Vietnam's ferrous scrap imports increased 14.4% to 423,214 tonnes in March 2018, up from 370,069 tonnes in the same period last year.Japan was the largest supplier of ferrous scrap, sending 126,695 tonnes in March, up from 113,251 tonnes sent in March last year.The United States was the second-largest supplier, sending 102,307 tonnes, up from 73,159 tonnes sent in March 2017. Vietnamese...Read More
Comex copper prices failed to maintain enough momentum to open higher in the Tuesday April 17 session in the US, with geopolitical tensions outweighing a solid fundamental outlook.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 3.2 cents or 1.1% to $3.0635 per lb. However, the contract gained significantly in the past two sessions.Over the next few months,...Read More
Base metals prices had a strong start to the trading week after a solid close on Monday April 16. Two metals dominated the headlines yesterday: the London Metal Exchange's three-month aluminium price continued its vertical surge, while nickel closed above $14,000 per tonne amid growing concerns that the United States could implement additional sanctions on Russia. But overnight news suggests that...Read More
Metal Bulletin has added four battery-grade lithium price assessments to its existing coverage of the battery raw materials sector. Metal Bulletin has established a dedicated, global team to track the lithium ion battery raw materials supply chain while it evolves and responds to demand from the electric vehicle (EV) sector. China is the world's largest consumer of lithium, and is expected to ramp...Read More
Metal Bulletin will today add two graphite price assessments to its existing coverage of the battery raw materials sector. Metal Bulletin has established a dedicated, global team to track the lithium-ion battery raw materials supply chain while it evolves and to respond to developments in the electric vehicle sector. Metal Bulletin will be using its standard price discovery pro...Read More
Flat steel import prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia continued to fall this week, with market participants expecting further declines, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday April 17.Demand was weak in both countries, and no improvement was expected because the Islamic holy month of Ramadan will start in mid-May and market activity will reduce even more.UAEChina offered hot-rolled...Read More
Russia's Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) reduced shipments of steel products to foreign customers by 20.7 % year on year, to 605,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2018, the company said on Tuesday April 17.Russia's Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) reduced shipments of steel products to foreign customers by 20.7 % year on year, to 605,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2018, the co...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices edged up on Tuesday April 17 amid a strengthening of the paper market, particularly in the morning trading session.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,940-3,980 yuan ($627-634) per tonne, narrowed upward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,880-3,900 yuan per tonne, up 10 yuan per tonne In Shanghai, spot cargoes were traded at the higher end of range in th...Read More
Fears that a global trade war would swiftly follow the imposition of Section 232 tariffs by the United States have been overplayed, World Steel Association (Worldsteel) director-general Edwin Basson has said, launching its latest short-range forecast.The tariff debate is moving further and further away from steel, according to Basson, who said that initial fears of a significant effect on steel pr...Read More
European flat steel product distributors reported a slight increase in shipments in February.The European federation for steel, tube and metals distribution and trade, Eurometal, said on Tuesday April 17, there had been a 0.6% year-on-year increase in shipments in February despite significant rise in prices. Metal Bulletin's price assessment for domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Northern Europe...Read More
Turkish steel mills have continued their bookings for May deliveries of material as expected, while prices went up slightly on Tuesday April 17.A steel producer in the Iskenderun region booked a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising 13,000-17,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $356 per tonne and 7,000-8,000 tonnes of shredded at $361 per tonne cfr late on April 16.The cargo was scheduled to...Read More
The stoppage of Anglo American's Minas-Rio iron ore operation in Brazil will have an effect, albeit a small one, on worldwide supplies and prices of high-grade materials.The miner first halted iron ore output at its venture on Monday March 12, after a rupture of the slurry pipeline designed to transport material from the mining site in Minas Gerais state to the port terminal in Rio de Janeiro stat...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices outperformed portside values on Tuesday April 17.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $64.51 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.58 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $52.22 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.13 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $82 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $1 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe China Port Price Index: 458 yuan per wet ton...Read More
Prices for imported steel rebar in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia decreased this week, while billet import prices were stable, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday April 17.Demand for imported rebar in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia remained weak, however.Domestic rebarThe major rebar producers in the UAE announced their current prices on March 26.The biggest steel producer, Emirates S...Read More
Volatile...ACCESS RESTRICTEDTo read the rest of this analysis please take a free sample or subscribeFREE SampleReceive a free sample of market analysis and price forecasts.Free SampleSUBSCRIBEReceive unlimited access to all current and archive content going back to 2008 including downloadable pricing data and forecasts.Plus download the latest issue as soon as it’s published.S...Read More
Differing inventory levels in China's two major rebar markets led to prices in the eastern region edging up while those in the north weakened on Tuesday April 17.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,650-3,710 yuan ($581-591) per tonne, widened upward by 10 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,620-3,670 yuan per tonne, down 10-20 yuan per tonne In Shanghai's spot market, rebar inventory level...Read More
LME price has raced to a...ACCESS RESTRICTEDTo read the rest of this analysis please take a free sample or subscribeFREE SampleReceive a free sample of market analysis and price forecasts.Free SampleSUBSCRIBEReceive unlimited access to all current and archive content going back to 2008 including downloadable pricing data and forecasts.Plus download the latest issue as soon as it...Read More