SHANGHAI, Apr 9 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last week and what is expected today.Last weekThe US dollar closed at 90.12 on Friday April 6, up 0.25% over the week. LME metals fell across the board on Friday except for aluminium, which was up over 3% inventory dropped for the first time in over nine months. Copper edged down close to 1%. Zinc and tin fell over 1...Read More
SHANGHAI, Apr 9 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last week and what is expected today.Last weekThe US dollar closed at 90.12 on Friday April 6, up 0.25% over the week. LME metals fell across the board on Friday except for aluminium, which was up over 3% inventory dropped for the first time in over nine months. Copper edged down close to 1%. Zinc and tin fell over 1...Read More
SHANGHAI, Apr 9 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rebounded to a high of $6,870/mt last Friday due to a weaker US dollar. In the short term, the upward trend for copper prices will face resistance as a China-US trade war continues to brew. We see LME copper trading at $6,740-6,800/mt with the SHFE 1805 contract at 50,000-50,600 yuan/mt today. On the spot market, we see premiums slightly lower at 10-...Read More
SHANGHAI, Apr 9 (SMM) – Spot copper in the Shanghai market was offered at a premium of 70-110 yuan/mt on the morning of Monday April 9, SMM learned. This compared with premiums of 50-80 yuan/mt on the morning of Wednesday April 4. 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...Read More
SHANGHAI, Apr 9 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rebounded to a high of $6,870/mt last Friday due to a weaker US dollar. In the short term, the upward trend for copper prices will face resistance as a China-US trade war continues to brew. We see LME copper trading at $6,740-6,800/mt with the SHFE 1805 contract at 50,000-50,600 yuan/mt today. On the spot market, we see premiums slightly lower at 10-...Read More
Indian steelmaker Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) achieved its highest-ever quarterly production of crude steel in January-March 2018 after a new blast furnace began operating, the firm said on Monday April 9.Steel production at JSPL's Indian production sites came to 1.26 million tonnes over the three-month period, which was an annual rise of 350,000 tonnes compared with 910,000 tonnes in January-Ma...Read More
Seaborne iron ore prices are expected to weaken in 2018 amid ample supply, with the decline set to continue over a longer term, according to the Australian government's Department of Industry, Innovation & Energy. China's ongoing steel capacity reduction plans, which have the opposing effect on prices for the steelmaking raw material, will continue to create price volatility, the department said i...Read More
China's major mills raised their crude steel output rates in mid-March after restrictions on production put in place for the winter heating season in the northern region came to an end.Member mills of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) produced crude steel at an average rate of 1.7872 million tonnes per day during the second 10 days of March, up 55,200 tonnes - or 3.2% - from 1.732 million...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Monday April 9, with only lead and zinc bucking the trend.Aluminium's three-month price climbed the most, increasing 4.2% to close at $2,139 per tonne, the highest since March 6. The price has soared since the Friday April 6 announcement that the US had sanctioned and frozen the assets of Oleg Deripaska a...Read More
Indian steelmaker Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) achieved its highest-ever quarterly production of crude steel in January-March 2018 after a new blast furnace began operating, the firm said on Monday April 9.Steel production at JSPL's Indian production sites came to 1.26 million tonnes over the three-month period, which was an annual rise of 350,000 tonnes compared with 910,000 tonnes in January-Ma...Read More
PCC BakkiSilicon will start producing silicon at its smelter in H??sav?-k on the north coast of Iceland on Wednesday April 11, an industry source told Metal Bulletin. The company, a subsidiary of German holding company PCC SE, has already tested production from the plant's two furnaces, each with an annual production capacity of 16,000 tonnes of silicon metal. "The ramp-up of production will start...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part stronger this morning, Monday April 9. Zinc is the exception with a 0.6% decline, while the rest are up between 2.8% for aluminium ($2,113 per tonne) and 0.2% for tin. Copper prices are up by 1.1% at $6,831 per tonne. Volume has been extremely high at 24,925 lots - the bulk of that has been seen in aluminium (11,180 lots) where...Read More
CIS export rebar and wire rod prices became firmer in the week ended Monday April 9 because the availability of the products, as well as the semi-finished products used to make them, was reduced by recent strong sales.This was despite the continuing downward trend in the global long steel markets, most notably in Turkey and China.The CIS region's major long-steel supplier, ArcelorMittal, was offer...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday April 9. Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange rallied 2.9% during morning trading, with copper the only other metal to be trading higher than Friday's close. The three-month aluminium price climbed to a high of $2,124 per tonne earlier this morning, its highest since March 14. The movement is a strong...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Monday April 9.Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower during Asian morning trading on Monday, with risk-off sentiment in the market pressuring prices lower. Aluminium bucked the general weakness, however, finding support from the news that the United States h...Read More
The challenge facing the world's major copper miners is how to tread the fine line between keeping capital expenditure in check while bringing new capacity online to take advantage of future higher prices. With memories of the 2008-09 global financial crisis fresh in the minds of company executives and management boards, the focus over the past several years has been on cutting costs, selling non-...Read More
Copper mining's lack of investment in new projects is nothing new, but with executives gathering for the annual Cesco Copper Week in Santiago, Chile, the industry is beginning to scope out capital expenditure (capex) opportunities and could be on the verge of a boom in acquisitions.Copper mining majors have once again begun to size up greenfield and brownfield opportunities, hoping to be in prime...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly higher at the close of trading on Monday April 9, with only lead and zinc bucking the trend.Aluminium's three-month price climbed the most, increasing 4.2% to close at $2,139 per tonne, the highest since March 6. The price has soared since the Friday April 6 announcement that the US had sanctioned and frozen the assets of Oleg Deripaska a...Read More
Volume traded on the London Metal Exchange has rocketed since the United States Treasury sanctioned and froze the assets of Oleg Deripaska and UC Rusal. The US sanctioned and frozen the assets that are subject to US jurisdiction on Friday April 6, prompting bullish sentiment and expectations of tightness in the US aluminium market. Some 29,823 lots of aluminium had traded on the LME as of 3pm Lond...Read More
The Asian aluminium market is considering the impact on aluminium premiums after the US sanctioned and froze the assets of Oleg Deripaska and UC Rusal, with responses mixed among Asian industry participants so far.The US' announcement last Friday has prompted bullish sentiment and expectations of tightness in the US aluminium market, but reactions from Asia on the impact on its domestic aluminium...Read More