Ferro-alloys producer Ferroglobe has successfully completed the acquisition of a 100% interest in Glencore's manganese alloys plants in Mo i Rana (Norway) and Dunkirk (France) from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glencore International, it said on Thursday February 1. Ferroglobe has received the necessary regulatory approvals in France, Germany and Poland for the purchases, the company added. The new...Read More
Slowing spot demand caught up with the molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum markets this week, with prices dropping after suppliers cut their offer prices to book profits following a strong rally in recent weeks, sources told Metal Bulletin. Metal Bulletin assessed molybdic oxide prices at $11.80-12.00 per lb in-warehouse Rotterdam on Wednesday January 31, down 20 cents from Friday. The market...Read More
Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for spot market copper concentrates dropped significantly during the second half of January, with smelters coming to the market for tonnages below benchmark rates and mine sales going at aggressive numbers.Metal Bulletin's copper concentrate TC/RC index dropped by $9.4 per tonne/0.94 cents per lb. Of that drop, $3.2/0.32 cents was due to the addition of a co...Read More
Indonesian miner PT Aneka Tambang's (PT Antam) bauxite production increased 192% to 705,322 wet metric tonnes (wmt) in the financial year 2017, ended on December 31, according to the company.Antam's bauxite sales volume amounted to 838,069 wmt in 2017, a 181% increased from 298,012 wmt in 2016. 71,079 wmt of this total volume was supplied to the Tayan Chemical Grade alumina plant, whilst the remai...Read More
Battery recycling is a viable way to ensure sustainable supplies of lithium and cobalt, but scalability, collaboration and primary raw material prices will all be key to its success, according to Christian Hagel? 1/4 ken, Umicore's director of EU government affairs. "Closing the battery loop [is] more than just getting access to material. Recycling is a sustainable source of cobalt, lithium and ni...Read More
The Turkish scrap import market remained quiet on Thursday February 1, with mills holding back in anticipation of a new price level, according to sources.There have been no new transactions heard since a US cargo was sold on January 30 at $348 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20).Suppliers did not want to follow that US cargo and lower their offer prices, Metal Bulletin was told."The mills are t...Read More
As China's copper smelters are looking to import more blister copper, an intermediate product of refined copper production, to fill the supply gap arising from the drastic drop in the scrap import quota this year, Metal Bulletin is looking to provide regular trackers on the refining charges (RCs) of the increasingly popular product. For the first 11 months 2017, China had imported 731,339 tonnes o...Read More
Comex copper prices were trading in negative territory once again on Thursday February 1 with a bout of poor Chinese data offsetting strong US manufacturing figures. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.15 cents or 0.1% to $3.1940 per lb. The red metal has failed to set a clear price direction over the past few weeks and inconsistent data r...Read More
The decarbonization of the transport industry played a huge part in the precious metals story in 2017 when palladium exceeded platinum for the first time in 16 years, Hunter Hillcoat told Metal Bulletin.Investec topped the Apex 2017 price prediction table for both the precious metals (97.9% accuracy) and iron ore categories (90.7% accuracy). "2017 was a good year for precious metals all in all but...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are struggling to extend gains and are consolidating in high ground this morning, Thursday February 1. Copper ($7,073 per tonne), zinc, aluminium and nickel prices are off between 0.2% and 0.4%, while lead and tin prices are up by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.Volume has been below average with 6,950 lots traded as of 07.07 am London time. This follows...Read More
As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Metal Bulletin provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in January 2018.The case list below includes only updates.(1) BRAZIL HRC(2)...Read More
China's domestic prices for hot-rolled coil turned around on Thursday February 1 after declining over the past couple of days amid a strengthening paper market. DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,090-4,120 yuan ($649-654) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tianjin): 3,970-4,000 yuan per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonneHRC futures nearly rose to the 4,000-yuan-per-tonne mark in the morn...Read More
China's ferrous futures had little movement during morning trading on Thursday February 1 following talk about the possible extension of steelmaking restrictions in Hebei province.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,952 yuan ($627) per tonne, down 1 yuan per tonne May hot rolled coil: 3,979 yuan per tonne, up 9 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange Ma...Read More
Demand and prices for Indian finished steel products are likely to be boosted over the coming year after the country's government announced stronger spending on infrastructure in its new budget, Metal Bulletin heard on Thursday February 1.India's budget allocation for infrastructure spending in its 2018-19 financial year, which begins in April, will rise to 5.97 trillion rupees ($93.65 billion), c...Read More
Finished long steel prices in Europe are expected to remain largely stable in February after rising steadily through January, market participants told Metal Bulletin this week.Domestic offer prices from European steel mills are still supported by high production costs and strong demand from end-users.Market participants expect domestic rebar prices in Northern Europe to remain strong in February,...Read More
Bahrain rebar producer Unirol is planning to increase its rebar production capacity to 300,000 tonnes per year from 200,000 tpy, a company executive told Metal Bulletin on Thursday, February 1. The company also plans to start exporting rebar by 2019, mainly to the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries. Rebar demand in the Middle East is currently moderate, while most...Read More
The falling scrap market pushed prices for CIS-origin pig iron down during the week ended Thursday February 1, Metal Bulletin has heard."The market has weakened, and producers can no longer keep pig iron prices high while the scrap market is crashing," a trader told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's export price assessment for high-manganese pig iron from the CIS region fell to $350-375 per tonne fo...Read More
The Turkish scrap import market remained quiet on Thursday February 1, with mills holding back in anticipation of a new price level, according to sources.There have been no new transactions heard since a US cargo was sold on January 30 at $348 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20).Suppliers did not want to follow that US cargo and lower their offer prices, Metal Bulletin was told."The mills are t...Read More
Iron ore prices remained largely stable on Thursday February 1 with transactions at Chinese ports and in the seaborne market being concluded at levels close to those a day earlier. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $72.88 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.04 per tonne Month-to-date average: $72.88 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $59.59...Read More
Turkish billet prices have fallen over the past week because of the poor demand in the domestic and export markets and the lower costs for imported scrap, while demand for imported billet has recovered slightly, sources said on Thursday February 1.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $505-520 per tonne cfr on the day, down from the $515-525 per tonne of last...Read More