Exporters of CIS-origin pig iron have been focusing on the market in the United States, where demand is higher and prices are expected to rise, unlike in the Italian market where prices have reached a peak, sources told Metal Bulletin this week.Metal Bulletin's export price assessment on Thursday March 22 for high-manganese pig iron from the CIS region widened to $370-395 per tonne fob Black Sea,...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap import market had another quiet day on Thursday March 22, with the country's steel mills absent from trading for a second week, sources said.There has been no significant trading since the mills in the Middle Eastern country stepped back from the deep-sea scrap markets on March 9, when the United States applied a 25% duty on imports of steel products following its Sectio...Read More
The physical iron ore market did not see too much activity on Thursday March 22 despite more blast furnaces in north China being allowed to return to production.Key driversSteelmakers in north China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan can now operate according to their off-peak production plans now that the winter heating season is over, subject to them meeting their prescribed emissions standards, acco...Read More
Turkish billet prices have weakened in line with poor export demand for the country's finished long steel products and falling steel prices in China, sources said on Thursday March 22.Suppliers in the CIS region have reduced their billet offers to Turkey by around $5-10 per tonne to $560-565 per tonne cfr, but Turkish mills were showing no interest in such prices yet.Metal Bulletin's weekly price....Read More
Domestic prices for rebar and import prices for steel billet in Egypt both increased this week even though demand has started to fall, Metal Bulletin has heard.Beshay Steel was offering rebar at E ?12,996 ($736) per tonne ex-works on Saturday March 17, and the country's biggest producer, Ezz Steel, has been offering rebar at E ?12,790 per tonne ex-works since March 14, including 14% VAT.Metal Bull...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices started retreating again on Thursday March 22 after holding steady for a day with traders eager to offload their materials.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,610-3,700 yuan ($570-585) per tonne, down 30-60 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 3,830-3,860 yuan per tonne, down 20 yuan per tonne Trading activity was low on Wednesday when traders kept their prices u...Read More
Stainless steel prices in East Asia remained in a downward trend over the past week amid soft demand and a softening of the nickel market. Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed CRC was $2,170-2,250 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday March 21, narrowing downward by $10 per tonne from $2,170-2,260 per tonne cif a week earlier. Metal Bu...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures registered gains for the most part on Thursday March 22 except for SHFE nickel which closed slightly lower. SHFE lead gained 3%, zinc rose 1.6% and copper climbed close to 1%.The ferrous complex was weaker as iron ore saw a narrower rise of 1%. Coke edged up but coking coal fell close to 2%. Hot-rolled coil dipped almost 1% an...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures registered gains for the most part on Thursday March 22 except for SHFE nickel which closed slightly lower. SHFE lead gained 3%, zinc rose 1.6% and copper climbed close to 1%.The ferrous complex was weaker as iron ore saw a narrower rise of 1%. Coke edged up but coking coal fell close to 2%. Hot-rolled coil dipped almost 1% an...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures registered gains for the most part on Thursday March 22 except for SHFE nickel which closed slightly lower. SHFE lead gained 3%, zinc rose 1.6% and copper climbed close to 1%.The ferrous complex was weaker as iron ore saw a narrower rise of 1%. Coke edged up but coking coal fell close to 2%. Hot-rolled coil dipped almost 1% an...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 19 points in pre-opening trade. Investors are responding to reports that the U.S. government will impose tariffs against Chinese goods valued at $50 billion. U.S. equity index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the Weekly Jobless Claims report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was 225,000 versus 226,000 las...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – China's aluminium industry is likely to take a greater hit than the steel industry as a result of the US' recent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, said director and top economist at the Rushi Advanced Institute of Finance, Guan Qingyou.He made the statement as Chinese aluminium accounted for 16.6% of the US' aluminium import...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – China's aluminium industry is likely to take a greater hit than the steel industry as a result of the US' recent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, said director and top economist at the Rushi Advanced Institute of Finance, Guan Qingyou.He made the statement as Chinese aluminium accounted for 16.6% of the US' aluminium import...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – China's aluminium industry is likely to take a greater hit than the steel industry as a result of the US' recent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, said director and top economist at the Rushi Advanced Institute of Finance, Guan Qingyou.He made the statement as Chinese aluminium accounted for 16.6% of the US' aluminium import...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – As LME inventories of nickel is likely to grow, we see limited upward room for prices of LME nickel even as the US dollar weakens. Investors are more likely to take long positions on copper or zinc that saw larger drops.LME nickel inventory rose 0.9% to 325,800 mt, and cancelled warrants dipped 7.1% on Wednesday March 21. This indicated that the d...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – SHFE zinc is likely to stay rangebound at lows with strong upward resistance in the short term, given high inventories and a slow recovery of consumption, SMM expects.The 1805 contract fell below the 24,500 yuan/mt level at the end of the day on Wednesday March 21. Overall momentum was weak as inventories were high. Despite production cuts from ma...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Spot copper in the Shanghai market was offered at a discount of 190-140 yuan/mt on the morning of Thursday March 22, SMM learned.This compared with discounts of 210-160 yuan/mt on the morning of Wednesday March 21. For editorial queries, please contact Daisy Tseng at daisy@smm.cn For more information on how to access our research reports, please email service...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – SMM expects prices of nickel ore to continue its decline in the short term as supply grows.Nickel ore exports from the Philippines are rising as the weather improved from mid-March, an SMM survey showed.High-grade nickel ore with 1.8% Ni traded at $53.5/wmt cif this week, down some $2/wmt from the previous week. For editorial queries, please contact D...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar dropped below 90 at one point and then hovered around 89.7 as the Federal Reserve anticipated hiking interest rates three times in 2018, below market expectations of four hikes. Nonferrous metals rose due to the weak US dollar and higher oil prices....Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightThe US dollar dropped below 90 at one point and then hovered around 89.7 as the Federal Reserve anticipated hiking interest rates three times in 2018, below market expectations of four hikes. Nonferrous metals rose due to the weak US dollar and higher oil prices....Read More