Did you catch Metal Bulletin's recent web seminar on key factors driving the battery raw materials markets? If you missed it, follow the link below to listen to the free recording: What's driving the battery raw materials market? During the web seminar, members of Metal Bulletin's global battery raw materials team discussed: EV subsidies and government policy in China and beyond Changes...Read More
Did you catch Metal Bulletin's recent web seminar on key factors driving the battery raw materials markets? If you missed it, follow the link below to listen to the free recording: What's driving the battery raw materials market? During the web seminar, members of Metal Bulletin's global battery raw materials team discussed: EV subsidies and government policy in China and beyond Changes...Read More
Turkish steel mills went through Thursday April 5 with no deep-sea bookings and prices remaining stable, according to sources in the market.The most recent deal was for a Baltic Sea cargo sold at $356 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), $361 per tonne for HMS 1&2 (90:10) and shredded,...Read More
Comex copper prices bounced back in US morning trading on Thursday April 5 amid easing tensions between the United States and China. Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 6.65 cents or 2.2% to $3.0770 per lb. "We remain modestly constructive on metals going into April, as we suspect...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are mixed this morning, Thursday April 5. The main movers are nickel, with prices up by 0.6% at $13,230 per tonne, and zinc where prices are down by 0.5% at $3,237 per tonne. Copper prices are up by 0.1% at $6,721 per tonne.Volume has been light with 2,187 lots traded as of 06.46 am London time, this because China is off for the rest of the week to m...Read More
Major Indonesia producer PT Krakatau Steel is maintaining its June 2018 start-up date for its new blast furnace, a company official told Metal Bulletin on April 5."The company will keep to the June 2018 date and there will be no delays," the official said, dismissing persistent market chatter that the blow-in could be delayed until 2019.The new 1.2 million tonnes per year blast furnace is located...Read More
Japan's Kobe Steel plans to increase its automotive steel production to meet growing demand for such steel, and is targeting to a February 2021 start-up for a 240,000-tonnes-per-year continuous annealing line for steel sheet at its Kakogawa Works.The move is prompted by expectations of growing demand for high-strength and lightweight car bodies."Rising demand for automotive high-strength steel and...Read More
The executive board of Italian steel association Federacciai has chosen Alessandro Banzato to be its next president, it announced this week.Banzato, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Italian steelmaker Acciaierie Venete, will hold the position for two years, Federacciai said on...Read More
The merger between ArcelorMittal Brasil and local long steel producer Votorantim Siderurgia was concluded on Sunday April 1, resulting in the creation of the country's largest long steel mill, with output capacity for around 5 million tonnes per year."We become more competitive in a market that is very challenging," the chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal Long Carbon Central & South Americas,...Read More
China has requested consultations with the United States under the Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding tariffs settled on Chinese goods, the WTO said on Thursday April 5.China made the request after the US government released a proposed tariff list on April 3, naming 1,300 Chinese goods that the US administration...Read More
The export market for CIS-origin pig iron was quiet in the week ended Thursday April 5 because of the Easter holidays in the United States and Europe."There is no activity in the US due to Easter and the expectations of scrap market price [movements] in April," a source close to pig iron suppliers told Metal Bulletin.In the US, the offer price for low-manganese pig iron was $425 per tonne cfr. Tha...Read More
Turkish steel mills went through Thursday April 5 with no deep-sea bookings and prices remaining stable, according to sources in the market.The most recent deal was for a Baltic Sea cargo sold at $356 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), $361 per tonne for HMS 1&2 (90:10) and shredded,...Read More
Turkish billet prices continued to decrease over the past week on lower offers from CIS suppliers and weakening imported scrap values, sources said on Thursday April 5.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $530-540 per tonne cfr, down from the $540-550 per tonne of last week.The suppliers in the CIS region...Read More
Import prices for steel billet in Egypt fell this week on declining demand, sources told Metal Bulletin on Thursday April 5.CIS-origin billet was on offer in Egypt at $540-545 per tonne cfr, down from last week's $550-555 per tonne cfr. No new price was heard from Iran. Metal Bulletin's weekly...Read More
Major Indonesia producer PT Krakatau Steel is maintaining its June 2018 start-up date for its new blast furnace, a company official told Metal Bulletin on April 5."The company will keep to the June 2018 date and there will be no delays," the official said, dismissing persistent market chatter that the blow-in could be delayed until 2019.The new 1.2 million tonnes per year blast furnace is located...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia continued to soften over the past week due to thin buying interest and sellers trying to destock, even as market participants in Taiwan took a breather due to a string of public holidays on the island.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil was $2,080-2,130 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the w...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 13 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for February U.S. Trade Deficit was $56.8 billion versus $56.6 billion in January. Actual was $57.6 billion. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was 226,000 versus 215,000 last week. Actua...Read More
Car production in Brazil rose by 13.50% year-on-year in March, driven by higher sales to the local market.Production came to 267,500 units, against 235,600 vehicles in the corresponding month last year, according to figures released by national automobile association Anfavea on Thursday April 5.Car sales to the Brazilian domestic market increased by 9.60% in March on an annual...Read More
Turkey's Oyak Group - owner of the country's biggest steel producer, Erdemir Group - is to invest in a new port in Kocaeli in partnership with Japan's Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line), Erdemir announced on Thursday April 5.The investment will be $110 million, for the port to be located on the Yarimca peninsula of Kocaeli's K??rfez district, east of Istanbul. It will be a...Read More
Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia continued to soften over the past week due to thin buying interest and sellers trying to destock, even as market participants in Taiwan took a breather due to a string of public holidays on the island.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil was $2,080-2,130 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the w...Read More