Iron ore prices fell on Monday March 5 after China's ferrous futures weakened across the board.Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $77.03 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: down by $1.31 per tonneMonth-to-date average: $78.25 per tonneMetal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $60.78 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: down by $0.89 per tonneMonth-to-date average: $61.50 per tonneMetal....Read More
So President Trump confirmed, last week, that from later this week, he will formally introduce a blanket tariff on steel imports, at 25%, and aluminium, at 10%.Both tariffs are in fact higher than those recommended by the DOC (Dept. of Commerce). In return, he stated to a number of metal manufacturers Thursday (March 1) "You'll have to regrow your industries; that's all I'm asking". To be fair to...Read More
Growth in the Chinese manufacturing sector slowed significantly in the first two months of 2018, and coupled with falling figures for car and house sales the outlook would appear to be far from positive.With a large portion of the year so far having been taken up by official holidays, however, the overall health of China's economy is clearly distorted right now, so it is difficult to draw any clea...Read More
The Turkish steel mills have continued their April scrap bookings at comparatively higher prices, sources said on Monday March 5.A steel mill in the Izmir region was heard booking a Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $372 per tonne and bonus at $382 per tonne cfr. The breakdown of the cargo was not clear at...Read More
European aluminium premiums have dipped below $100 per tonne in recent days due to a prolonged tightness in London Metal Exchange spreads, but could rebound now that the market is back in contango, despite the prospect of US import duties, market participants said. The benchmark Rotterdam P1020a duty-unpaid premium dropped to $95-105 per tonne on Friday March 2 from $100-107 per tonne the day...Read More
Comex copper prices inched higher in early-Monday trading on March 5 after trending lower last week.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.1 cents or 0.1% to $3.1255 per lb. Last week, the contract traded at a multi-week low before recovering slightly Friday afternoon."We should now get an update on how bullish underlying support...Read More
The largest zinc delivery in nearly five years has swung zinc's London Metal Exchange cash/three-month spread into contango for the first time in 2018. Some 78,950 tonnes were delivered into LME-approved warehouses in New Orleans on Monday March 5 - the largest inflow since July 2013, increasing on-warrant stock levels by 94%. And it is not just the LME which has seen stocks rising; Shanghai Futur...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday March 5.The three-month zinc price is trading 1.5% lower on the London Metal Exchange, following a large stock delivery into New Orleans.On-warrant stock levels in LME-listed warehouses in New Orleans have almost doubled following the 78,950 tonne delivery. This is the largest one-day net increase for zinc stoc...Read More
Hydro chief financial officer Eivind Kallevik has been appointed interim head of bauxite and alumina amid the company's disrupted operations and a force majeure at its Alunorte alumina refinery in Par??, Brazil. Kallevik held the position as head of finance for bauxite and alumina in Brazil for two years before becoming CFO in 2013. He also led the bauxite and alumina division for an interim perio...Read More
The three-month zinc price is trading 1.5% lower on the London Metal Exchange this morning, Monday March 5, following a large stock delivery into New Orleans. On-warrant stock levels in LME-listed warehouses in New Orleans have almost doubled following the 78,950 tonne delivery. This is the largest one-day net increase for zinc stocks in this location since July 2013. The backwardation in the cash...Read More
Arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Monday March 5*Copper -$63.99 (-406.20 yuan) Aluminium -$440.42 (-2,795.73 yuan) Zinc -$109.02 (-692.06 yuan) Nickel -$426.25 (-2,705.82 yuan) *Metal Bulletin calculates the physical...Read More
Brazilian exports of carbon steel slab and billet fell in February, according to figures released by the country's foreign trade ministry, MDIC, on Monday March 5. Exports of carbon steel slab reached 511,172 tonnes last month, down by 16.82% from the 614,560 tonnes sold in February 2017.The United States was the largest buyer of carbon slab during the month, with 221,934 tonnes, a growth from 103...Read More
Brazilian long steel imports increased by 198.66% year-on-year in February 2018, with higher shipment volumes coming from Turkey.Imports of non-alloyed long steel products amounted to 29,392 tonnes during the month, against 9,841 tonnes in the February 2017, according to figures released by the country's foreign trade ministry, MDIC,...Read More
Brazilian flat steel import volume dropped by 10.55% year-on-year in February 2018, mostly because of lower inbound shipments from China.Imports came to 56,048 tonnes, against 62,656 tonnes in February 2017, according to figures released by the country's foreign trade ministry, MDIC, on Monday March 5.China was the...Read More
Turkey's import volumes of flat steel increased by 4.06% year-on-year in January 2018, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).The country imported 682,069 tonnes of flat steel, compared with 655,477 tonnes in January 2017, TUIK statistics published on Friday March 2 showed.Demand for flat steel is strong in Turkey, with local producers fully booked until late May, so import volumes...Read More
The Chinese ferro-silicon market dropped on Friday March 2, with one major tender signaling a slower return in demand from Chinese consumers after the recent national week-long holiday. Chinese steel tenders signal shift in demand Other consumer markets also dropped European market moves sideways, eyes March business US steady on reduced imports Chinese domestic ferro-silicon pr...Read More
Low-grade manganese ore prices sailed through the $8 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) mark on Friday March 2 in China after producers ratcheted up their offers and on continued demand. Low-grade ore prices exceed $8 per dmtu in ChinaHigh-grade ore market lags in thin tradingSmelter backlash fails to slow rallyAlloy prices hold in most regionsUS ferro-manganese prices edge higher Low-grade mangane...Read More
Export volumes of Brazilian pig iron fell by 24.77% year-on-year in February, mainly due to reduced buying activity in the United States and Italy.Shipments totaled 178,260 tonnes, against 236,952 tonnes a year before, according to figures released by Brazilian foreign trade ministry MDIC on Monday March 5.Brazil exported 75,784 tonnes of pig iron to the US last month, down from 106,137 tonnes in...Read More
Brazilian iron ore export volumes to China were virtually unaltered in February, decreasing by only 0.58% on an annual basis, amid lower sales prices.Shipments totaled 13.67 million tonnes, compared with 13.75 million tonnes a year before, according to figures released by Brazilian foreign trade ministry MDIC on Monday March 5.In the same comparison, the average fob iron...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices strengthened over the past week, in line with rising imported scrap costs, sources said on Monday March 5.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle scrap (DKP grade) was TRY1,260-1,400 ($331-367) per tonne delivered on March 5, narrowing upward from last week's TRY1,230-1,400 per tonne.The change came about after a number of steel mil...Read More