Russia's Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) has increased its production of downstream products 6.1% year on year in 2017 amid improved demand from the automotive industry and railcar producers.The company's range of downstream products includes tin plate, galvanized steel, polymer-coated steel, band, formed sections and pipes.In total, the company produced 2 million tonnes of various downstrea...Read More
Buying activity in the Iranian flat steel import market remained sluggish in the week ended Wednesday January 24, while local prices were more competitive to import.Iran's national currency - the rial (IRR) - continued to devalue against the US dollar, which made import prices less attractive compared to domestic ones.On Wednesday January 24, $1 was equivalent to IRR 36,567, while on January 17, $...Read More
The International Tin Research Institute (ITRI) will change its name to International Tin Association Ltd on February 1 to reflect its evolution toward more diverse activities including sustainability, it said. Established in 1932 in London, ITRI for its first 70 years brought together tin producing governments and producers to focus on the promotion of tin and the research and...Read More
Comex copper prices were little changed in the US morning on Thursday January 25 after the metal experienced outsized price movements over the last couple of sessions. Copper for March settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.10 cents or 0.1% to $3.2295 per lb. The red metal saw prices tumble to a one-month low on Tuesday before rebounding on Wednesday, sugg...Read More
Freeport-McMoRan is in talks with a group led by the Indonesian government to negotiate and create documentation for the divestment of a stake in its Grasberg project interests, the company said.The parties have a mutual objective of completing negotiations and the required documentation during the first half of 2018, Freeport added.Freeport operates the Grasberg copper and gold mine through its 9...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Thursday January 25.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed during morning trading, while most metals held on to Wednesday's rally.The weak dollar remains a key supporting factor for base metals prices. It fell to a low of 88.81 this morning, its lowest since 2014.Here is how the LME base m...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were little changed during morning trading on Thursday January 25, while most metals held on to Wednesday's rally. The weak dollar remains a key supporting factor for base metals prices. It fell to a low of 88.81 this morning, its lowest since 2014. "Every few years it seems an event takes place that upturns current market logic and changes the entir...Read More
Movements in the pricing of steel and steel commodities in 2018 will not be sharp, according to G??khan Demiruz, chairman of Turkey's Flat Steel Importers, Exporters & Industrialists Association (Yisad).Price movements will continue in 2018, but will not change prices by more than 20-25%, Demiruz said.Turkey consumed about 16.50 million tonnes of flat steel in 2017, while imports totaled about 8 m...Read More
German steel producer Salzgitter will upgrade its platemaking facilities to anneal and further process 200,000 tonnes per year of heavy plates by 2020, the company has announced.The investment will boost the availability of plate suitable for high-wear uses including the construction of offshore wind turbines and pressure vessels, among other demanding purposes.Salzgitter will invest more than ?,?...Read More
Turkish billet prices have weakened over the past seven days, in line with the falling cost of scrap imported into the country, sources said on Thursday January 25.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for billet imports into Turkey was $515-525 per tonne cfr on January 25, down from the $520-530 per tonne of last week.The downward movement in the weekly assessment came after CIS-region supplie...Read More
Turkish domestic long steel prices have remained firm over the past week despite strong demand, sources said on Thursday January 25.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic rebar was $570-580 per tonne ex-works on January 25, widening upward from the $570-575 per tonne of last week.The domestic rebar...Read More
Turkish rebar and wire rod export prices have fallen over the past week, in line with the weak demand in the country's major export markets and decreasing imported scrap costs, sources said on Thursday January 25.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for rebar exports out of Turkey on January 25 was $550-560 per tonne fob, down from the $565-570 per tonne...Read More
Steel billet import prices in Egypt fell slightly and domestic rebar prices remained unchanged in the week to Thursday January 25. Billet import prices fell amid lower bids and a news of a low-priced deal for material from Iran. "The market is slow this week [and] most people are waiting for a further price drop," a trader told...Read More
Analysts at Macquarie have cut their price forecasts for cobalt, citing easing tightness for the battery raw material in the coming years amid expectations of supply growth. Rising output from Glencore's copper-cobalt operations in Africa will push the market into a surplus in the medium term, for example, the analysts said. Cobalt output from Glencore's Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of...Read More
The current rally in molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum prices has persisted this week, with deals reported pushing price ranges up to new highs although demand is slowing, sources told Metal Bulletin.The rally this year has propelled oxide prices to a three-and-a-half-year high, with ferro-molybdenum prices increasing to the same historical comparison. Molybdenum drummed molybdic oxide prices we...Read More
Ferro-alloys trader Massimiliano Gentile has joined Belgian trading house Metraco, the company told Metal Bulletin. Formerly a senior trader at Euromet SA in Switzerland, Gentile will trade ferro-titanium from...Read More
Molybdenum prices in China climbed to their highest level since March 2013 this past week, underpinned by concerns of tightening supply following the recent suspension of operations at a major mine and healthy demand from the domestic stainless steel sector.Metal Bulletin assessed molybdenum concentrate 45% Chinese free market in-warehouse prices at 1,610-1,650 yuan ($252-259) per metric tonne uni...Read More
Iron ore prices strengthened further on Thursday January 25 though trading activity appears to have slowed down following higher fixed-price transactions concluded recently. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $75.04 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.51 per tonne Month-to-date average: $76.31 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transaction: Iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, tender, 210,000 tonnes of 61% Fe...Read More
Gains in China's steel and futures markets led to more offers for seaborne iron ore being made on Thursday January 25, outnumbering the number of bids, and despite higher fixed-price transactions, premiums for index-linked cargoes weakened.Key driversChina's ferrous futures rose across the board during the day, while spot prices for rebar and hot-rolled coil also increased 10-30 yuan ($1.60-4.70)...Read More