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
Iron ore prices continued to hover around $73 per tonne cfr China on Wednesday January 31 amid an inactive physical market. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $72.92 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.05 per tonne Month-to-date average: $75.83 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $59.96...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
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
China's domestic rebar prices were still largely flat on Wednesday January 31 amid an inactive market. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,820-3,880 yuan ($603-613) per tonne, narrowed downward by 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,900-3,940 yuan per tonne, unchangedThe market remained inactive during the day with more contractors stopping procurement.A few sellers lowered their prices...Read More
The German metals sector is being hit with a number of day-long strikes this week while negotiations over pay between employers and trade union IG Metall continue, Metal Bulletin heard on Wednesday January 31.German metals companies could incur a significant loss of revenue, due to production and delivery shortfalls as a result of the strikes, along with additional costs for catching up on outages...Read More
The European Commission (EC) has reintroduced definitive anti-dumping duties on imports from China of cast-iron castings, it announced on Wednesday January 31.Anti-dumping duties will be set at 15.50-38.10% for products such as manhole covers and gratings used in street drainage systems, according to...Read More
The German metals sector is being hit with a number of day-long strikes this week while negotiations over pay between employers and trade union IG Metall continue, Metal Bulletin heard on Wednesday January 31.German metals companies could incur a significant loss of revenue, due to production and delivery shortfalls as a result of the strikes, along with additional costs for catching up on outages...Read More
Gerdau has entered into a definitive agreement with Optimus Steel to sell its wire rod mill and two downstream facilities located in Texas, United States, for $92.50 million, the Brazil-based steelmaker announced on Wednesday January 31.The Beaumont steel unit has a maximum melt shop capacity of around 700,000 tonnes per year and produces both wire rod and coiled rebar.American Metal Market's...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
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
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
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
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai, as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday January 31.Nickel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were weaker during Asian morning trading on Wednesday, tracking the pullback in prices seen on the London Metal Exchange in the previous session.Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here.LME snapshot at 02.01 am Lond...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
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures maintained gains following release of the January ADP employment report at 8:15 AM EST. Consensus was an increase of 195,000 versus 242,000 in December. Actual was 234,000.The Canadian Dollar added to overnight gains to US 81.54 cents following released of Canada's November...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 31 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures fell across the board on Wednesday as SHFE nickel led the loss with over 2% drop. Both lead and aluminium were down some 1%, while zinc and tin slipped.In the ferrous complex, coking coal went back up in the afternoon while coke and iron ore were down some 1%. Hot-rolled coil and rebar edged down slightly.Copper: The SHFE 1803 copper contrac...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 31 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures fell across the board on Wednesday as SHFE nickel led the loss with over 2% drop. Both lead and aluminium were down some 1%, while zinc and tin slipped.In the ferrous complex, coking coal went back up in the afternoon while coke and iron ore were down some 1%. Hot-rolled coil and rebar edged down slightly.Copper: The SHFE 1803 copper contrac...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 31 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures fell across the board on Wednesday as SHFE nickel led the loss with over 2% drop. Both lead and aluminium were down some 1%, while zinc and tin slipped.In the ferrous complex, coking coal went back up in the afternoon while coke and iron ore were down some 1%. Hot-rolled coil and rebar edged down slightly.Copper: The SHFE 1803 copper contrac...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 31 (SMM) –Copper: Lacklustre downstream consumption has dragged the performance of copper futures of late but we see support for SHFE copper at 53,000 yuan/mt. LME copper, meanwhile, is set to trade at $7,050-7,110/mt. We see spot discounts stable today at 210-150 yuan/mt amid quiet physical market.Aluminium: LME aluminium will test support at the $2,200/mt level today while th...Read More