Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed in positive territory across the board on Wednesday January 31, supported by dollar weakness. The three-month nickel price remained the strongest performer of the complex throughout the day, supported from dip-buying. "A combination of surging China imports, tightening supplies and fund interest are expected to sustain prices of stainless stee...Read More
An 8% year-on-year drop in Norilsk Nickel's 2017 full-year nickel output pushed up the nickel full-plate premium cif China in the third quarter of 2017 and encouraged Norilsk to offer a historically high long-contract nickel premium of $300-320 per tonne to Chinese trading firms for 2018. Norilsk's total nickel output in 2017 came to 217,000 tonnes, down from year-ago levels of 236,000 tonnes, mai...Read More
Tin premiums for standard material were stable globally in the week ended Tuesday January 30 but the market is looking hungrier for Indonesian material and keenly awaiting exports to resume as expected in the coming days. 99.9% tin premiums stable in Europe and China but a bit higher in the United States Indonesian export permit renewal process still main focus Low-lead tin premiums a...Read More
Finnish stainless steelmaker Outokumpu expects to encounter continued cost pressure from high prices for graphite electrodes and ferro-silicon in 2018, it said on Wednesday January 31."We're seeing increases in graphite electrode [contract] prices into the early part of 2018 of more than 300% [year-on-year from the average cost in 2017]," chief financial officer Christoph de la Camp said during a...Read More
Tharisa plans to build two new plants and upgrade another, part of its aim to lift production to 2 million tonnes per year of chrome concentrate by 2020, the South African miner said on Wednesday January 31.An upgrade of the miner's Genesis Plant is scheduled for commissioning in July this yearTharisa is aiming for an increase of 15% or 180,000 tonnes per year in plant throughput, it said, adding...Read More
Tharisa plans to build two new plants and upgrade another, part of its aim to lift production to 2 million tonnes per year of chrome concentrate by 2020, the South African miner said on Wednesday January 31.An upgrade of the miner's Genesis Plant is scheduled for commissioning in July this yearTharisa is aiming for an increase of 15% or 180,000 tonnes per year in plant throughput, it said, adding...Read More
The appreciation of the South African rand since mid-November 2017 should preclude near-term price drops for the country's ores and alloys and will probably lead to further increases, according to producers. Metal Bulletin's indices for South African manganese ore, chrome ore and charge chrome have all been rising since early in December amid strong demand from China. Of those three commodities, t...Read More
New market entrant Syrah Resources forecast a macro change in graphite global supply in the coming years, with battery and EV end markets leading China to become a net importer of the mineral. The graphite market will undergo a shift in structure and pricing that could see China becoming a net importer of natural graphite to meet forecast local demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, according...Read More
Billet import volumes into Turkey have fallen over the past three years, with the producers opting to buy scrap because the price margin between these two products has widened since the second half of 2016, making scrap imports more profitable.In 2015, Turkey imported 7.85 million tonnes of steel billet, while scrap imports totaled 16.25 million tonnes in the same year, according to the Turkish St...Read More
Turkish steel producers went quiet again on Wednesday January 31 but still expected to book more cargoes for March, according to sources.Market participants expected the Turkish buyers to show some buying interest through to the end of the week."The Turks need to buy more scrap for March. I think they will be back in the...Read More
Commodities fund Tiberius is seeking to underpin a new world of digital currency transactions with a bullish future for industrial and precious metals, by launching a physical metals-backed cryptocurrency called Tiberius Coin.The fund, based in Zug in Switzerland, has more than $300 million of assets under management. In March, it will allow initial investment in the currency ahead of an ICO, or I...Read More
Comex copper prices bounced back on Wednesday January 31 after a multi-session downturn with a softening dollar lifting the metals complex. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 2.90 cents or 0.9% to $3.2180 per lb. The contract had been on a four-day losing streak. "Judging by the limited pullback and decent dip-buying interest, bulls are sti...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part firmer this morning, Wednesday January 31, the exceptions being aluminium (-0.3%) and lead that is little changed, while the rest of the complex is up by an average of 0.6% - ranged between tin (0.4%) and nickel (0.7%), with copper prices up by 0.5% at $7,117 per tonne. Volume has been average with 8,535 lots traded as of 07.08...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe are expected to rise following the positive trend settled in the region's market for steel coil products, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday January 31.High slab costs are also expected to support higher plate prices, especially in Southern European, where the majority of plate produced by re-rollers, according to market source.Metal Bulletin's...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil (CRC) increased in the European Union this week, in line with a general upturn in sentiment in the region, sources told Metal Bulletin.Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil (CRC) increased in the European Union this week, in line with a general upturn in sentiment in the region, sources told Metal Bulletin.Prices for domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) have incr...Read More
High prices for steel slabs from the CIS region and Brazil are unlikely to cause further price increases in the Turkish coil and Italian heavy plate markets, according to market sources.The increase in slab costs was supported by reduced availability of the material, and has already been reflected in finished steel product prices in two main outlet markets - Turkey and the European Union. Further...Read More
Earnings at ArcelorMittal's Brazilian division rose by 59.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2017, due to increased volumes and prices.Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) totaled $341 million in the October-December period, up from $213 million a year before, ArcelorMittal announced on Wednesday January 31.The company shipped 3.05 million tonnes of steel p...Read More
Mills and stockholders are taking differing approaches to the domestic European beam markets in light of a fresh price rise for the material, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday January 31.Prices for domestic steel beams narrowed upward in Northern Europe this week, with the market continuing to be supported by the strong demand seen since last year.But some sources felt that stockholders who...Read More
Export prices for Southern European rebar have gone unchanged week-on-week amid continued low market activity, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday January 31.Metal Bulletin's weekly export price assessment for Southern European rebar was ?,?490-505 ($607-626) per tonne fob main ports on Wednesday."There is little activity but we cannot rush into the market and drop prices immediately. The bes...Read More
Billet import volumes into Turkey have fallen over the past three years, with the producers opting to buy scrap because the price margin between these two products has widened since the second half of 2016, making scrap imports more profitable.In 2015, Turkey imported 7.85 million tonnes of steel billet, while scrap imports totaled 16.25 million tonnes in the same year, according to the Turkish St...Read More