The Jamalco alumina refinery at Clarendon in Jamaica will end its reliance on oil within the next two or three years when it converts to using natural gas, its managing director has said.A new heat and power facility, developed through a joint agreement with New Fortress Energy, will produce 100 MW of energy, of which 94 MW will be exported to the country's grid, Austin Mooney said."The natural ga...Read More
The environment secretariat in Brazil's northern state of Par?? has ordered Hydro to cut by 50% the production of calcine alumina at its Alunorte refinery, the Norwegian aluminium producer said on Wednesday February 28. The reduction must be completed by March 1, the secretariat determined. A failure to meet the deadline will mean a daily fine of nearly 500,000 Brazilian Reais ($154,664). While it...Read More
Vale is reevaluating its plans for its Vale New Caledonia nickel project due to its improved results and the positive impact of higher cobalt prices, chief executive officer Fabio Schvartsman said on Wednesday February 28."We are waiting to see where things are going to move forward to in order to make a decision in the VNC situation," he told analysts during a conference call. "It is clear that t...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Metal Bulletin has launched two assessments to track spot and annual refining charges (RC) for blister copper imported to China following a month-long consultation. Blister copper, an intermediate copper product used by smelters for refined copper production, is known as one of the first options for scrap replacement. Import volumes of the increasingly popular blister copper, together with anodes,...Read More
The Turkish steel mills stayed back from the scrap markets on Wednesday February 28, booking no deep-sea cargoes, but they are expected to secure more transactions for April, Metal Bulletin was told.Scrap prices were also expected to increase further, amid strong demand from the country's steel producers."I hear that a number of mills are looking for material for April now. I think we will continu...Read More
Comex copper prices softened in the US morning on Wednesday February 28, with a stronger dollar and lower-than-expected Chinese data weighing on the base metals complex. Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 3.10 cents or 1% to $3.1555 per lb. Earlier, the contract touched $3.1525, the lowest since February 13. Earlier this morning, China's manufa...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are mainly weaker this morning, Wednesday February 28, with prices off by an average of 0.4%.Lead prices lead the decline with a 1% drop, followed by copper prices (-0.6%) at $6,989 per tonne. Tin, zinc and nickel prices are off between 0.2% and 0.4%, while aluminium prices are little changed.This follows a day of general weakness on Tuesday that saw...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil (CRC) in the EU have been largely unchanged over the past week, although import prices have inched upward, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday February 28."The market is more or less quiet, because buyers have booked their required volumes. Non-EU suppliers have increased their offers so imports are not having any negative effect on prices," a German trade...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the EU have been largely stable over the past week, with buyers holding back from new deals after booking sufficient volumes earlier, sources have told Metal Bulletin."Second-quarter production coil is well sold, so buyers are in no hurry to make new deals until a new trend in the market becomes clear," a German trader said.In the meantime, prices are u...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Southern Europe have been largely unchanged over the past week, but the mills will insist on higher transaction prices for future deals, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday February 28.The increase is likely to supported by growth in slab prices, according to market sources.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic grade-S235JR heavy steel...Read More
German steelmaker Salzgitter expects to benefit from generally stable selling prices in the EU steel market in 2018, combined with raw material prices for iron ore and coking coal that will stay close to the levels seen at the end of 2017.The positive outlook, however, is threatened by significant volumes of coil imports into Europe from such countries as Turkey and India, despite anti-dumping mea...Read More
Gerdau considers its current portfolio of assets in the United States and Canada to be "adequate" following the divestments in January of some of its US rebar production units, a wire rod mill and two downstream facilities, it has said."We reached a point where we consider our portfolio [in North America] adequate, and from now on we will draft our growth strategy," Gerdau chief finance officer Ha...Read More
Prices for domestic steel wire rod inched upward by ?,?5 per tonne in Southern Europe this week with mills well-booked and supply tight, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday February 28.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic mesh-quality wire rod in Southern Europe widened upward to ?,?535-560 ($658-688) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, compared with ?,?530-555 per tonne delive...Read More
The Turkish steel mills stayed back from the scrap markets on Wednesday February 28, booking no deep-sea cargoes, but they are expected to secure more transactions for April, Metal Bulletin was told.Scrap prices were also expected to increase further, amid strong demand from the country's steel producers."I hear that a number of mills are looking for material for April now. I think we will continu...Read More
Iron ore prices slid below $79 per tonne cfr China on Wednesday February 28 amid sluggish demand for the steelmaking raw material in the seaborne market. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $78.61 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.54 per tonne Month-to-date average: $77.35 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $61.62 per tonne cfr...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market softened on Wednesday February 28 with few bids made in response to the large number of offers, most of them from traders.Key driversChina's benchmark iron ore futures contract retreated for a second day, while spot rebar and hot-rolled coil prices in the country also fell 10-20 yuan ($1.60-3.20) per tonne during the day.With downstream steel demand yet to pick up afte...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices withdrew on Wednesday February 28 amid weak demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,020-4,060 yuan ($637-643) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 4,100-4,130 yuan per tonne, narrowed downward by 10 yuan per tonne Demand for rebar from the construction sector remained weak due to China's soft housing market, participants said. Since early t...Read More
Brazil-based steel group Gerdau is confident about a recovery in steel demand in the country, mainly from the industrial and automotive industries."We are seeing an increase in demand, especially in the industrial and automotive sectors," chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said on Wednesday February 28."In construction, there are signs of a gradual recovery, and at a stronger pace than in 201...Read More
China's steel purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell into contraction territory in February after nine months of expansion.The index fell 1.4 points to 49.5 points in comparison with that for January, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing (CFLP) on Wednesday February 28.Business activity in the steel industry thinned...Read More