Base metals traded on the London Metal Exchange are for the most part weaker on Wednesday January 3, led by a 1% fall in nickel prices to $12,530 per tonne. The rest are off between 0.4% for copper and 0.8% for aluminium, while tin is bucking the trend with a 0.5% rise. Volume has been light, with 5,367 lots traded as of 06:35 am London time. This comes after a mixed performance on Tuesday that sa...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 3 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: LME copper prices continued to see corrections as longs took profits. We expect LME copper to trade at $7,170-7,280/mt today and SHFE copper at 54,800-55,400 yuan/mt. Spot copper discounts are to narrow to 150-90 yuan/mt following lower futures prices.Aluminium: Weaker momentum is seen for LME aluminium to trade higher and it is expected to hover in the range of...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 3 (SMM)? 1/4 ?Copper: LME copper prices continued to see corrections as longs took profits. We expect LME copper to trade at $7,170-7,280/mt today and SHFE copper at 54,800-55,400 yuan/mt. Spot copper discounts are to narrow to 150-90 yuan/mt following lower futures prices.Aluminium: Weaker momentum is seen for LME aluminium to trade higher and it is expected to hover in the range of...Read More
Buying activity in Iran's hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) import market has been sluggish in the week ending Wednesday January 3.Sources told Metal Bulletin this was largely due to national holidays affecting suppliers in the CIS region, which is the leading supplier of steel to Iran.However, had CIS mills been active in the market, trading activity with Iran would hardl...Read More
2017 was a strong year for base metals on the London Metal Exchange with zinc, copper and aluminium all setting multi-year highs.The latest rally took place within the last few days of the year, with aluminium climbing to a yearly high of $2,290 per tonne on the last trading day of 2017, and just in time to make it the strongest performer of the year. "Copper [was] trading close to a four-year hig...Read More
Most global nickel premiums were flat, while new Chinese import duties pushed free-trade briquettes to China from Australia to a historic high. Chinese full plate premiums were flat on thin trading. European market sees no effect from new Chinese import duties after quiet start to 2018. US market quiet as well to start the new year.Briquettes from Australia to China see historic high after new imp...Read More
Freight and FOT components moved marginally during December.MARKET COMMENTARY:The differential between cancelling aluminium from London Metal Exchange warehouses in Asia and shipping it into the US Midwest was largely steady, with only marginal higher FOTs because of slight currency swings, for the month of December according to the Metal Bulletin Arbitrage indicator.The freight and FOT component...Read More
Brazilian flat steel producer CSN has applied an increase of 23% in its annual pricing contracts to local automakers, effective Monday January 1, the company confirmed to Metal Bulletin on January 3.The adjustment is in line with higher raw materials costs and international flat steel prices, according to Brazil-based sources...Read More
Argentinian steelmaker ArcelorMittal Acindar has named Marcelo Marino Pena Luz its new chief executive officer, the company announced on Tuesday January 2.He replaces Jos?(C) Ignacio Giraudo in the position.Pena Luz was previously vice president of operations at ArcelorMittal's Long Steel division in...Read More
Due to a technical error, the following prices were not published by Metal Bulletin Group on Monday January 1:CIS Export Semi-finished and Flat steelCIS Export Semi-finished and Long steelCIS Billet IndexRussia Domestic Long and Flat steelTurkey Domestic Ferrous Scrap AssessmentsAll prices were rolled over from the previous week, due to seasonal holidays.Metal Bulletin Group's Price Book has been...Read More
Turkey's flat steel export volumes rose by 9.73% year on year in November, according to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The main reason for the increase was the fact that flat steel buyers placed orders in September after the summer slowdown in July and August, according to market participants. Additionally, export prices for Turkish flat steel products were highly c...Read More
Domestic prices for rebar in Southern Europe have remained unchanged over the past week, with the majority of market participants yet to return from seasonal holidays, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday January 3.Metal Bulletin's weekly domestic price assessment for Southern European rebar was stable at ?,?505-530 ($608-638) per tonne delivered on Wednesday."We have only just returned to the...Read More
Prices for steel beams in the European domestic market remained flat this week with the majority of market participants and steel beam-making mills still on holiday.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for commodity-grade, 200 x 200mm category-2 H-beams made in both Northern and Southern Europe remained at ?,?615-645 ($741-777) per tonne delivered...Read More
The latest ferro-tungsten and ammonium paratungstate (APT) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe, Vietnam and China. Blue tungsten oxide (BTO) and yellow tungsten oxide (YTO) deals are taken into consideration.The latest ferro-tungsten and ammonium paratungstate (APT) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe, Vietnam and China. Blue tungsten oxide (BTO) and yellow tungst...Read More
The latest ferro-vanadium and vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe.The latest ferro-vanadium and vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe.To view the latest price quotations, follow the links below:Europe- Ferro-vanadium delivered duty-paid in Europe- Vanadium pentoxide in-warehouse RotterdamChina- Ferro-vanadium, 78%...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys and ores prices changed on Wednesday January 3:Noble alloys Molybdenum Europe drummed molybdic oxide, $/lb: $10.70-11.00 per lb from $9.80-9.90 Ferro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg Mo: $26.20-26.80 per...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday January 3. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange dipped across the board during morning trading today, with the recent price rallies taking a break. Copper has dipped back below the $7,200 per tonne level, beginning to retreat slightly as the result of some profit-taking. The three-month zinc price...Read More
Metal Bulletin is proposing minor amendments to its manganese ore indices to reflect evolving industry standards. Metal Bulletin proposes adjusting the delivery window of the manganese ore 37% Mn fob Port Elizabeth index to within nine weeks from within six weeks at present. This proposal will result in a larger volume of spot market transactions being included in the index calculation. As well, M...Read More
Brazil-focused vanadium producer Largo Resources produced 903 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide at its flagship Marac??s Menchen mine in December 2017, setting a new monthly production record in the process. The previous production record of 888 tonnes was set in August 2017. December's output surpassed the plant's nameplate capacity by 12.9%, the company said on Wednesday January 3. Vanadium pentoxide...Read More
China will increase sourcing of chrome ore to support its ferro-chrome production growth. Chinese domestic ferro-chrome output will continue to grow in 2018 as the country's chrome ore imports increase and consumers seek investments and deals aimed at accessing upstream supply, market sources predict. For the first 10 months of 2017, China imported 11.37 million tonnes of chrome ore, up 38% year o...Read More