The London Metal Exchange will introduce a financial over-the-counter (OTC) booking fee, which will be payable from June 1, the exchange said on Thursday March 1. Following a consultation period with the market, the exchange announced on Thursday that it will set a OTC booking fee of $1 per equivalent LME lot which will be paid by financial institutions for each OTC trade executed in place of an L...Read More
Nickel stocks in the Shanghai-bonded zone surged in February due to the enlarged negative arbitrage between London Metal Exchange prices and the Chinese domestic market, while higher zinc stocks were attributed to sufficient domestic supply and soft demand in the China market. In February 2018, Shanghai-bonded nickel stocks increased by 69.8% month on month, after the sustained negative arbitrage...Read More
Chilean lithium producer SQM's share prices have gone down by 13% in less than a week to stand at $50.71 at the close of the market on Wednesday February 28, compared with $58.32 on February 23.Investors' fears of oversupply in the lithium market were triggered on February 26 with the release by investment bank Morgan Stanley of research suggesting that the price of lithium could fall by 45% by 20...Read More
Ferro-alloys trader Naja Nedergaard has joined the ferro-alloys department of ThyssenKrupp Raw Materials, the company told Metal Bulletin on Thursday March 1.Nedergaard formerly worked in the ferro-niobium department of China...Read More
Noranda is seeking to ship its bauxite directly from Jamaica instead of transferring it from Panamax into Capesize vessels in Trinidad, a move that will shave several dollars off the cost of transportation, a senior Noranda Bauxite and Alumina executive said at Metal Bulletin's Bauxite & Alumina conference in Jamaica. According to Chris Young, vice president of sales and marketing, it costs around...Read More
Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world's largest copper-gold-silver mines, has lifted its one-and-a-half-month long force majeure on concentrates delivery with effect from March 1, operator Turquoise Hill said on Wednesday February 28. The Vancouver-based company, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, is confident that any force majeure-related sales impact will be "made up over the next few quarters," according to...Read More
Codelco's commercial vice president, Rodrigo Toro, and the general manager of its Salvador division, Juan Carlos Avenda??o, are leaving the company, the Chilean copper miner said late on Wednesday February 28.Toro will leave Codelco on April 1 and will be replaced by Roberto Ecclefield, who is currently in charge of sales for the company's...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap for April while the prices were still rising, sources said on Thursday March 1.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Canadian cargo, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10), 10,000 tonnes of shredded and 10,000 tonnes of plate and structural scrap (P&S) at an average price of $372...Read More
Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world's largest copper-gold-silver mines, has lifted its one-and-a-half-month long force majeure on concentrates delivery with effect from March 1, operator Turquoise Hill said on Wednesday February 28. The Vancouver-based company, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, is confident that any force majeure-related sales impact will be "made up over the next few quarters," according to...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part consolidating after recent weakness, the exceptions are aluminium prices that are up by 0.7% at $2,147 per tonne and lead prices that are down by 0.5% at $2,490 per tonne. The rest are little changed, with copper prices recently quoted at $6,943 per tonne.Volume has been average with 8,708 lots traded as of 07.12 am London time....Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices regained some upward momentum on Thursday March 1 following the release of data showing a lower-than-expected rise in inventory levels over the past week.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,170-4,190 yuan ($659-662) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,100-4,120 yuan per tonne, up by 10 yuan per tonneThe increase in the HRC market's...Read More
China's steel and iron ore futures largely fluctuated downward during morning trading on Thursday March 1 while coking coal and coke contracts ended the session slightly higher than their opening prices.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 4,047 yuan ($639) per tonne, down 3 yuan per tonne May hot-rolled coil: 4,097 yuan per tonne, down 16 yuan per tonne Da...Read More
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the eurozone manufacturing sector has contracted for the second month in a row, amid a slowdown in the growth of new export orders, data organization IHS Markit said on Thursday March 1.February's final manufacturing PMI for the eurozone was 58.6, compared with 59.6 for January and the record high of 60.1 in December 2017.Anything above 50 indicates that th...Read More
Prices for steel hollow sections have remained largely unchanged across Europe this week, with extreme weather in the region contributing to the low demand, sources said.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for Northern European domestic hollow sections remained at ?,?650-670 ($794-818) per tonne delivered on Wednesday February 28."Most [of Scandinavia]...Read More
German metals distributor Kl??ckner made a 12.3% year-on-year increase in earnings over the full year of 2017 because of higher prices and efficiency measures, the company said on Wednesday February 28.Kl??ckner's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) rose to ?,?220 million ($269 million) in 2017, up from ?,?196 million in 2016.The increase was a result of interna...Read More
Exporters of CIS-origin pig iron have increased their offer prices, citing rises in scrap prices, sources have told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's export price assessment on Thursday March 1 for high-manganese pig iron from the CIS region was $350-365 per tonne fob Black Sea, narrowing from $345-370 per tonne fob Black Sea a week earlierAfter several cargoes of Ukraine-origin pig iron were sold t...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap for April while the prices were still rising, sources said on Thursday March 1.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a Canadian cargo, comprising 30,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10), 10,000 tonnes of shredded and 10,000 tonnes of plate and structural scrap (P&S) at an average price of $372...Read More
Iron ore prices recovered some losses on Thursday March 1 and returned above $79 per tonne though demand remained sluggish.Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $79.39 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.78 per tonne Month-to-date average: $79.39 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $62.05 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: up by $0.43...Read More
Turkish steel billet prices have continued to climb up over the past week, amid strengthening scrap values and good demand for the material, sources said on Thursday March 1.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey on Thursday was $535-545 per tonne cfr, up from the last week's $525-540 per tonne.Suppliers in the CIS region have enjoyed the demand from Turkish custom...Read More
Steel billet import prices in Egypt increased in the week ended Thursday March 1, although demand was only moderate.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Egyptian billet imports increased to $525-540 per tonne cfr from $515-530 per tonne cfr previously.CIS-origin billet was on offer in Egypt at $525-540 per tonne cfr this week, while Iran offered...Read More