Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have continued to go up this week, in line with the rising costs for steel scrap and billet, sources said on Thursday February 15.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey on Thursday was $565-575 per tonne fob, up from the $550-560 per tonne of last week.Turkish steel mills were offering rebar...Read More
Gerdau has entered into a deal with Kinross Brasil Minera????o to sell its two hydroelectric plants in Brazil's mid-western Goi??s state for 835 million Reais ($255 million), as a further step in its strategy to focus on profitable steel assets, it said late on Wednesday February 14. The Ca??u and Barra dos Coqueiros hydroelectric power units, which started operations in 2010, have total capacity...Read More
The number of new passenger car sales in the EU increased by 7.15% year on year in January 2018, following a slight decline in December last year.New car sales in Europe totalled 1,253,877 units in January 2018, compared with 1,170,256 vehicles sold in the...Read More
Domestic prices for rebar in Southern Europe have fallen ?,?5 per tonne from last week on lower scrap costs and continued low demand, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday February 14.Metal Bulletin's weekly domestic price assessment for rebar in Southern Europe on Wednesday was ?,?520-535 ($641-660) per tonne delivered, compared with ?,?525-540 per tonne delivered on February 7."Scrap pri...Read More
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe saw improved sales and earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 on higher steel prices, the company said on February 14.The company's adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) jumped to ?,?160 million ($198 million) in the last three months of 2017, from ?,?28 million in the same period of 2016. This rise was driven by...Read More
Peruvian iron ore producer Shougang Hierro Per?? nearly doubled its net profit in 2017 on an annual basis, driven by higher sales prices.Its profit for the year totaled 417.44 million nuevos soles ($127.27 million), against 208.04 million nuevos soles in 2016, the company said in a note to the Peruvian securities regulator, SMV, on Thursday February 15.Sales...Read More
The market for CIS-origin pig iron has weakened over the past week on lower booking prices in Italy, Metal Bulletin has heard.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for imported high-manganese pig iron in Italy dropped $5 from last week to $365-370 per tonne cfr on February 15. A Ukrainian producer has sold two cargoes, to a trader and a steel producer, at $365-370 per tonne cfr Italy, Meta...Read More
Metal Bulletin's Iron Ore Index was largely unchanged at just above $78 per tonne on Thursday February 15 as the week-long Chinese New Year holiday officially begins.Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $78.43 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: up 2 centsMonth-to-date...Read More
Outokumpu Americas, the Northern American subsidiary of the Finnish stainless steelmaker, is limiting sales of excess prime and secondary stainless steel material to preferred customers, according to an email seen by Metal Bulletin.The move is likely to affect availability of stainless scrap for several buyers, market participants said. "We have selected a limited number of preferred customers for...Read More
The seaborne coking coal market is stable on Thursday February 15 amid a lull in trading, with China off for the Lunar New Year holiday. "Prices will remain pretty much stable as historically appetite is relatively low after the Lunar New Year holidays," a Japanese trader said. On the ongoing uncertainties surrounding Aurizon's reduction in rail capacity, an Indian end user said that there is "pot...Read More
Vietnam's ferrous scrap imports more than doubled year on year to 593,119 tonnes in January from 268,203 tonnes in the same month last year, according to the country's Ministry of Finance.This is up 20% from the 493,131 tonnes imported in December 2017.The country imported 268,427 tonnes in the first half of January, while...Read More
Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange were broadly higher during Asian morning trading on Thursday February 15, though trading remained subdued with Chinese participants out for the week-long Lunar New Year break.Copper and nickel prices led on the upside with aluminium and lead registering slight gains, helped by continued weakness in the dollar, while tin was unchanged and zinc was the...Read More
Manganese flake prices climbed to a fresh multi-month high this week on a continued supply squeeze with the Lunar New Year holiday expected to disrupt supply further. Metal Bulletin assessed the manganese flake in-warehouse Rotterdam price at $2,075-2,220 per tonne on Wednesday February 14, up 1.8% from the previous assessment. The last time manganese flake prices climbed to that level was in...Read More
Global crude stainless steel production is forecast to grow by around 4% year-on-year to 52.10 million tonnes in 2018, according to metals market research company SMR.This would be up from 50.10 million tonnes of crude stainless steel produced in 2017, SMR said. China was the largest producer of stainless steel in 2017 with 27.0 million tonnes, while it consumed more than 20 million tonnes of stai...Read More
Prices for stainless steel in East Asia held steady with manyparticipants exiting the market for the Lunar New Year holiday.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm cold-rolled coil was $2,250-2,320 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday February 14, the same as a week earlier.Metal Bulletin's assessment...Read More
Aluminium scrap prices in the United Kingdom fell this week, following the aluminium price's February decline on the London Metal Exchange.Group 1 pure 99% litho on a delivered consumer works basis fell to ?1,400-1,450 ($1,949-2,018) per tonne on Wednesday February 14, from ?1,420-1,470 per tonne a week earlier.This marks the first decline for the grade since late November 2017, and touched...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for the January Producer Price Index was an increase of 0.4% versus a decline of 0.1% in December. Actual was an increase of 0.4%. Excluding food and energy, consensus for the January Prod...Read More
(Kitco News) - From here on out, gold prices will be on a downward trajectory until they hit $1,100 in Q4 of 2018, OCBC Bank said in its 2018 Commodities Outlook.“The yellow metal should continue to fade lower into the year as interest rates gradually rise amid a positive global growth backdrop. We keep our outlook at $1,100/oz at year-end,” OCBC’s economist Barnabas Gan wrote in...Read More
(Kitco News) - Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE, TSX: AEM) reported a profitable fourth quarter Wednesday and hiked its output guidance for 2018 and 2019.The company listed quarterly net income of $35.1 million, 15 cents per share, down from $62.7 million, or 28 cents, in the year-ago period.The October-December results included mark-to-market adjustments and derivative losses of $1 million, non-recu...Read More
(Kitco News) - Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX: K, NYSE: KGC) reported late Wednesday that the company posted a profit in the fourth quarter and acquired two hydroelectric power plants in Brazil to provide electricity to its Paracatu mine.Net earnings in the October-November period were pegged at $217.6 million, or 17 cents per share, a turnaround from a net loss of $116.5 million, or 9 cents, in the four...Read More