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) –Copper: LME copper rebounded from the $6,700/mt level overnight as long positions entered the market. Copper prices are expected to rebound if China's economic data remain strong and the global bearish sentiment eases. We see LME copper trading at $6,800-6,860/mt today, with the SHFE 1805 contract trading at 51,000-51,600 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen smaller a...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rebounded from the $6,700/mt level overnight as long positions entered the market. Copper prices are expected to rebound if China's economic data remain strong and the global bearish sentiment eases. We see LME copper trading at $6,800-6,860/mt today, with the SHFE 1805 contract trading at 51,000-51,600 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen smaller a...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 22 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper rebounded from the $6,700/mt level overnight as long positions entered the market. Copper prices are expected to rebound if China's economic data remain strong and the global bearish sentiment eases. We see LME copper trading at $6,800-6,860/mt today, with the SHFE 1805 contract trading at 51,000-51,600 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen smaller a...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange plummeted at the close on Thursday March 22, while the dollar index staged a recovery.Nickel prices were the worst affected closing 2.7% lower and trading at a low of $13,060 per tonne - its lowest since February 12. The metal is under pressure from poor underlying demand from Chinese stainless steel mills. "Stainless steel prices in China have strug...Read More
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
Volatility is the key risk to lead and zinc prices for the next few years and traders should begin to hedge their risk, Oliver Nugent, commodity strategist at ING Bank, said on a panel at Metal Bulletin's Lead & Zinc conference in London on Thursday March 22. "Volatility is on the horizon and so much can happen - the lead and zinc prices are especially prone to this," he told delegates at the two-...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 latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday March 22.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange mostly edged higher during morning trading on Thursday March 22, with the dollar experiencing a bout of weakness.The dollar came under pressure on the US Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) slightly dovish tone - the committee did not suggest it was...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday March 22.Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly higher during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with support coming from a weaker dollar following Wednesday's US Federal Reserve meeting.The most-traded May copper contract on the SHFE was at 51,110 yuan ($8...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange plummeted at the close on Thursday March 22, while the dollar index staged a recovery.Nickel prices were the worst affected closing 2.7% lower and trading at a low of $13,060 per tonne - its lowest since February 12. The metal is under pressure from poor underlying demand from Chinese stainless steel mills. "Stainless steel prices in China have strug...Read More
Volatility is the key risk to lead and zinc prices for the next few years and traders should begin to hedge their risk, Oliver Nugent, commodity strategist at ING Bank, said on a panel at Metal Bulletin's Lead & Zinc conference in London on Thursday March 22. "Volatility is on the horizon and so much can happen - the lead and zinc prices are especially prone to this," he told delegates at the two-...Read More
Rising zinc stocks on the London Metal Exchange could be an effect of "sluggish" conditions in China, Nicholas Snowdon, a metals analyst at Deutsche Bank, said at Metal Bulletin's Lead & Zinc conference in London on Thursday March 22. The largest zinc delivery in nearly five years hit the LME on March 5, with 78,950 tonnes delivered into New Orleans warehouses in one go. "If you look at the state...Read More
Rising zinc stocks on the London Metal Exchange could be an effect of "sluggish" conditions in China, Nicholas Snowdon, a metals analyst at Deutsche Bank, said at Metal Bulletin's Lead & Zinc conference in London on Thursday March 22. The largest zinc delivery in nearly five years hit the LME on March 5, with 78,950 tonnes delivered into New Orleans warehouses in one go. "If you look at the state...Read More
Asian zinc alloy users from different sectors are quickening their pace to test new alternative raw materials following the price hike last year, major zinc alloy distributor Lee Kee Group told Metal Bulletin in an interview."We talk very often with downstream zinc users. For substitution, the zinc price is only one of the concerns. Yet the high price gap between zinc and aluminium has definitely...Read More
The Chinese zinc market was in surplus by well over 300,000 tonnes last year and experienced significant demand substitution, Claire Hassall of consultancy CHR Metals said at the Metal Bulletin Zinc and its Markets Seminar. Higher prices and developments in technology have meant that aluminium substitution has eaten into Chinese zinc demand, which also took a hit from the government-led environmen...Read More
Comex copper prices failed to maintain Wednesday's gains in US morning trading on Thursday March 22 with the dollar recovering after falling under pressure from the US Federal Reserve meeting. Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.30 cents or 0.8% to $3.0365 per lb. The red metal saw relief yesterday after the United States central bank indicate...Read More
Metal Bulletin has made changes to its pricing methodology for both its spot and quarterly aluminium P1020 cif main Japanese ports (MJP) premiums, following a market consultation.Metal Bulletin has made changes to its pricing methodology for both its spot and quarterly aluminium P1020 cif main Japanese ports (MJP) premiums, effective March 23.The amendments follow a one-month consultation period....Read More
The Brazilian government will monitor imports of steel products in order to detect if there is any diversion of volumes previously exported to the United States following that country's imposition of a 25% tariff on steel imports from certain countries, according to national steel institute A??o Brasil. "We discussed the issue with [Brazilian] President Michel Temer and Brazil has decided to estab...Read More
The Brazilian flat steel market is concerned about a possible increase in domestic prices, although no adjustment has been officially announced, several sources told Metal Bulletin."Everyone is scared about an additional price rise [in domestic coils]," a market participant said.A Brazil-based trader agreed, saying that clients are "afraid" that an increase will be applied by national mills."The [...Read More