Trials to discover reference prices for London Metal Exchange contracts through the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of transactions are planned to begin at the end of the year or the start of 2019, the LME's chief executive officer said. The exchange is currently engaged in a member-by-member discussion of how a VWAP would work, a process that Matthew Chamberlain said has seen saw market part...Read More
Iron ore prices edged up on Thursday March 15 amid improved sentiment following the release of data showing a drop in steel inventories in the Chinese market. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $72.11 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.47 per tonne Month-to-date average: $73.95 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $57.71...Read More
Steel billet import prices and domestic rebar prices in Egypt increased again in the week ended Thursday March 15, with demand being better compared with previous weeks.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Egyptian billet imports rose to $550-565 per tonne cfr on Thursday from $530-545 per tonne cfr previously.An unconfirmed quantity of...Read More
Turkish domestic rebar prices have gone down slightly over the past week, while wire rod prices in the country's local market were largely stable, sources said on Thursday March 15.The local rebar prices have not changed much on Turkish lira basis, but the US dollar values fell slightly with the lira weakening in currency trading.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar...Read More
Comex copper prices reversed lower on the morning of Thursday March 15 in the United States amid general hesitancy from traders and a stronger dollar.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped by 4.55 cents or 1.4% to $3.113 per lb. Yesterday, the contract reached a two-week high at $3.192 per lb."The limited rebound indicates that traders remain ske...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday March 15.The LME aluminium price shrugged off news of a 22,270-tonne delivery in to listed warehouses in Port Klang. But the three-month tin price was the worst performer, falling $350 to $20,800 per tonne, coming under pressure from improved availability in China. Here is how the LME base meta...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday March 15*Copper -$123.40 (-780.92 yuan) Aluminium -$410.64 (-2,598.75 yuan) Zinc -$98.03 (-620.39 yuan) Nickel -$537.25 (-3,400.06 yuan) *Metal Bulletin calculates the physical...Read More
Trials to discover reference prices for London Metal Exchange contracts through the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of transactions are planned to begin at the end of the year or the start of 2019, the LME's chief executive officer said. The exchange is currently engaged in a member-by-member discussion of how a VWAP would work, a process that Matthew Chamberlain said has seen saw market part...Read More
BHP has invited unions representing workers at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, to high-stakes labor contract talks that were originally set to commence on June 1, the union said."The union has summoned partners this and next week, to discuss the invitation and decide whether to accept or reject it," the Union No. 1 said in a statement.BHP...Read More
Dutch wire products supplier Van Merksteijn has confirmed that it has ordered an electric arc furnace (EAF) and wire rod rolling mill, enabling the company to secure supplies and substantially reduce its reliance on wire rod imports.The new facility will have a wire rod production capacity of 900,000 tonnes per year, and will be built at the seaport of Eemshaven in the north of the Netherlands.Wir...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transaction: rebarRebar Egypt, domestic (Beshay Steel), rebar, offered at...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. ...Read More
The Turkish rebar and wire rod export markets have remained quiet over the past week on sluggish demand, sources said on Thursday March 15.Turkish steel mills continued to offer rebar for exports at $610-620 per tonne fob actual weight, but buyers were not interested in paying any more than $600 per tonne.There have been no significant transactions heard so far this week,...Read More
Norwegian ferro-silicon producer Finnfjord Smelteverk will cut about 5,000 tonnes of production between April and June of this year because of planned maintenance to its furnaces, according to an industry source.The company, which has its plant in the north of the country, operates three furnaces, one with capacity for 20,000 tonnes per year and two with capacities for 40,000 tpy."Maintenance shou...Read More
Spot prices for European molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum have eased in Metal Bulletin's midweek assessment, with dealers booking profits after a market rally for much of the year to date.Market participants expect the move to persist in the near term, with lower spot prices already being offered and expected to be booked soon, they said.Oxide prices have dropped on around 140 tonnes of reporte...Read More
China led upward momentum in the global ferro-silicon price in December last year, disproving opinions that China had lost its foothold on the global ferro-silicon market because its export volumes only account for about 20% of total output.December 2017 saw much activity in the global ferro-silicon market. Chinese domestic spot prices for ferro-silicon, basis 75% Si, hit nine-year highs at 10,000...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is modifying its technology to allow it to launch multiple contracts at once, something it plans to do at the end of the year, according to the exchange's chief executive officer. Matthew Chamberlain said that the move, designed to add a level of dynamism to the LME's systems, would delink the launch of new contracts from the release of new technology. The exchange is the...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday March 15.Base metals traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly weaker during Asian morning trading on Thursday, with heavy losses seen in nickel and zinc prices, while lead was the only metal to push higher. Disappointing US data overnight and dovish speech from European...Read More
Iron ore output in Peru increased by 32.99% year-on-year in January, according to figures released by the country's mining ministry, MEM, late on Wednesday March 14.Production for the month came to 985,955 tonnes, against 741,373 tonnes a year before.This growth was due to increased output at Shougang Hierro Per??, a subsidiary of China-based Shougang Group, as well...Read More
Iron ore prices edged up on Thursday March 15 amid improved sentiment following the release of data showing a drop in steel inventories in the Chinese market. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $72.11 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.47 per tonne Month-to-date average: $73.95 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $57.71...Read More