Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower again during morning trading on Tuesday March 20, with nickel the sole metal in positive territory. The three-month nickel price recovered $70 this morning to recoup some of Monday's losses after stocks continued to slide. "The significant decline in available stocks level continues to underpin nickel prices, we feel. At 196,392 ton...Read More

Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday March 20.Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower during Asian morning trading on Tuesday amid a risk-off tone in financial markets ahead of the United States Federal Open Market Committee's monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.Check Metal Bulletin's liv...Read More

Brazil's flat steel market will not be affected by the steel import tariffs being imposed by the United States government following its Section 232 investigation, according to national flat steel association Inda."In the Brazilian market of finished flat steel goods, Section 232 [measures] should not cause any problems," Inda president Carlos Loureiro said on Tuesday March 20. Current flat st...Read More

Sales of flat steel products from Brazilian distributors increased by 20.60% year-on-year in February, according to figures released by the country's flat steel institute, Inda, on Tuesday March 20.Sales totaled 259,800 tonnes last month, compared with 215,500 tonnes in March 2016."The flat steel market is much stronger than we estimated," Inda president Carlos Loureiro said.Inda estimates that fl...Read More

European steel association Eurofer has called on the region's political leaders "to stand united in backing a broad, firm and decisive response [to import tariffs in the United States] to safeguard the viability of the EU steel industry."Eurofer made the announcement on Tuesday March 20, hoping to influence Europe's response to the imposition by the US of a 25% import duty on steel products after...Read More

Prices for imported billet in the United Arab Emirates increased this week on higher offers, but demand for rebar imports remained limited, sources told Metal Bulletin on Tuesday March 20. Demand for locally produced rebar in the UAE still remained strong, however. Domestic rebar The major rebar producers in the UAE rolled over prices for March and April production late in February. New prices are...Read More

The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot-dipped galvanized coil, pre-painted galvanized iron, steel plate, steel sheet and other flat steel products. Latest transactions: HRC, CRC, HDGHot-rolled coilIndia, export, hot-rolled coil (2mm), offered at $660 per tonne cfr, to the UAE. India, export, hot-rolled coil (2mm), traded at $660 per tonne...Read More

Canada-based junior miner Wealth Minerals has entered into an agreement with Chile's state-owned Empresa Nacional de Mineria (Enami) to help it develop and commercialize its Salar de Atacama and Laguna Verde lithium projects. The strategic alliance gives the companies two years to study and assess the properties and to form a partnership for their exploration, development and mining, as well as fo...Read More

The second-quarter European ferro-chrome benchmark price will rise sharply once it is announced later this week, market participants spoken to by Metal Bulletin said.Traders have reported reduced liquidity while market participants await the release of the new settlement.On Friday, Metal Bulletin's benchmark indicator predicted that the settlement would be $1.41 per lb, which would represent a qua...Read More

Would-be lithium traders could learn from the development of the copper concentrate pricing structure to open the battery raw material to greater pricing transparency and liquidity, Lord Copper suggests. In the metals business, we are accustomed to a particular form of price discovery that has largely stood the test of time, even through technological change and development. Despite occasional mut...Read More

Chinese vanadium suppliers pushed up their offer prices considerably last week, after the market continued to be supported by low availability of stocks. Chinese suppliers elevate offers on thinning inventories European ferro-vanadium market stabilizes temporarily amid spot demand slowdownUS ferro-vanadium market quiet, but further gains expected after strong late week dealsChinese vanadium export...Read More

Tensions are building in the manganese market with ore consumers protesting a four-month price rally that has left them effectively boycotting the market for their raw material.Manganese ore prices have risen as much as 70% since early December but showed signs of faltering last week. Metal Bulletin's 37% manganese ore index, fob Port Elizabeth dropped 5 cents to $7.52 per dry metric tonne unit (d...Read More

Domestic prices for ferrous scrap in Italy increased by ?,?30 ($35) per tonne this month following the positive trend in the international market, sources told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's monthly price assessment for domestic grade E3 scrap in Italy was ?,?290-310 ($357-381) per tonne delivered in March, up from ?,?260-280 per tonne delivered a month earlier. The increase was...Read More

Iron ore prices slipped below $67 per tonne cfr China on Tuesday March 20 following further losses in China's steel and futures markets. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $66.94 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: down by $0.51 per tonne Month-to-date average: $72.69 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $54.58 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: unchanged Month-to-dat...Read More

Physical iron ore prices dipped further on Tuesday March 20 amid further losses in China's steel and futures markets, though some are expecting a turnaround.Key driversChina's steel and iron ore futures tanked further in the morning before recovering the losses in the afternoon, though the contracts still ended negatively compared with Monday's settlement prices. Iron ore remained the worst perfor...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, 170,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, sold at $65.77 per tonne cfr China,...Read More

Participants in the seaborne coking coal market continued to take a wait-and-see approach on Tuesday March 20.A top Australian brand with an approaching loading date was offered at $221 per tonne cfr China while an April-laycan cargo of premium hard coking coal was offered at $211 per tonne fob Australia during the day, according to market sources. Despite a lack of clarity over the direction of t...Read More

Glencore has reached an agreement to acquire Rio Tinto's 82% interest in the Hail Creek coal mine in Queensland, Australia, as well as other resources, for a total cash consideration of $1.7 billion, it said on Tuesday March 20.The transaction also includes adjacent coal resources, as well as Rio Tinto's 71.2% interest in the Valeria thermal coal resource in central Queensland, Australia. The rema...Read More

China's ferrous futures continued to trend downward during morning trading on Tuesday March 20, extended the losses from a day earlier when most contracts recorded big losses.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange May rebar: 3,623 yuan ($572) per tonne, down 34 yuan per tonne May hot-rolled coil: 3,813 yuan per tonne, down 19 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange May...Read More

Market participants say they expect mercury prices to remain elevated after over two thirds of signatories ratified the Minamata Convention, which came into force on August 16, 2017. Metal Bulletin assessed mercury prices at $2,700-3,000 per flask on an in-warehouse basis on Friday March 11, down from $2,500-3,450 per flask two weeks ago but still 54% higher than at the start of the year. Mer...Read More