SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – China’s market for air conditioners is likely to maintain its upward momentum given potential demand, stable exports and leadership in manufacturing, said He Jinming, vice Chief Manager at ChinaIOL and chief manager at the Appliance Department.The market for air conditioner has seen robust growth in the last few years. Sales in China exceeded 80...Read More
The uncertainty created by the announcement of import tariffs under Section 232 in the United States kept Turkish steel mills out of the deep-sea scrap markets during the working week from Monday March 19 to Friday March 23, although strong demand in the US domestic market kept sentiment positive.But the poor demand for material sent Taiwanese import prices downward.Turkey importsThe Turkish steel...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightAs trade tensions between the US and China intensified overnight, the US dollar fell and hovered at 89.7.Most base metals closed lower given the simmering trade war. SHFE nickel slipped over 2%, copper dropped 1%. LME nickel slumped 2.6%, and copper, lead, zi...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) –Copper: As prospects of a trade war loomed, prices for copper are likely to edge down in the near future with pressure from short bets. We see LME copper trading at $6,630-6,700/mt, and SHFE copper at 50,000-50,400 yuan/mt today. Spot discounts are seen at 200-120 yuan/mt as consumers are eager to restock.Aluminium: Increasing US trade protectionism dragged alumi...Read More
Prices for Brazil-origin steel slab remained unchanged this week, but the market expects there to be increases after the country was temporarily exempted from tariffs related to the Section 232 investigation on steel imports in the United States.Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of Brazil's slab export prices was $580-590 per tonne fob on Friday March 23, stable from the previous week.Most Brazil...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – Prices of copper scrap are likely to rise as China’s ban on scrap import will shrink supplies in the market, said Li Shilong, vice president at the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, Secondary Metals Branch and director at the China Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance for Resources Recycling Industry (CIAR).Effective from the end of 2018, t...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) –Copper: As prospects of a trade war loomed, prices for copper are likely to edge down in the near future with pressure from short bets. We see LME copper trading at $6,630-6,700/mt, and SHFE copper at 50,000-50,400 yuan/mt today. Spot discounts are seen at 200-120 yuan/mt as consumers are eager to restock.Aluminium: Increasing US trade protectionism dragged alumi...Read More
Crises can take numerous forms for miners, from earthquakes and social unrest to disease outbreaks and the breakdown of infrastructure such as dams or power circuits, to name just a few.When mining companies lack a disciplined approach for managing crises, the consequences can prove devastating. Workers' safety and lives may be threatened. A company can lose its licence to operate at a particular...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed the week in negative territory on Friday March 23, with zinc the only metal to increase by the close. Nickel prices were the worst affected, losing $240 per tonne at the close - despite a 10,278 tonne cancellation in Johor.Yesterday, President Donald Trump signed off on import tariffs for Chinese products - this triggered further worries of a...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – The growth rate of global copper ore output is expected to rise back to 3.3% in 2018, said SMM senior analyst Ye Jianhua. Given copper ore supplies in 2017 and price increases, the supply of copper ore in unlikely to be significantly affected in 2018, even as some 40 salary negotiations would occur at overseas miners this year.China's demand for overseas ore...Read More
The ratings agency says international sanctions on Russia have certainly exacerbated its domestic economic pain since the country was plunged into recession in 2014 by low commodity prices.But Putin's government has done "little to address the weak spots"."Experience tells us that Vladimir Putin's fourth presidential term, which he won Sunday, will likely not bring a sea change in economic policy...Read More
The base price assessments for flat and long stainless steel products in Europe have gone unchanged this week in a slow market, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 23.Metal Bulletin's weekly base price assessment on Friday for 2mm, grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet was stable over the week at ?,?1,050-1,130 ($1,295-1,393) per tonne delivered in Northern Europe on Friday."Market activity w...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – LME copper prices are set to trade in the range of $6,400-7,800/mt in 2018 while SHFE copper at 49,000-60,000 yuan/mt, according to SMM senior analyst Ye Jianhua. Prices are also expected to stay in an upward trend this year, he told delegates at the SMM Copper Aluminium Summit in Shanghai on Friday March 23. For editorial queries, please contact Daisy Ts...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday March 23. Most base metals opened lower on the London Metal Exchange on Friday March 23, after US President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs raised concerns of an impending trade war. Nickel was the worst performer, down $150 or 1.1% to $13,040 per tonne. Zinc was the only metal in the positive,...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.Last nightAs trade tensions between the US and China intensified overnight, the US dollar fell and hovered at 89.7.Most base metals closed lower given the simmering trade war. SHFE nickel slipped over 2%, copper dropped 1%. LME nickel slumped 2.6%, and copper, lead, zi...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday March 23.Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange traded sharply lower during Asian morning trading on Friday after United States President Donald Trump signed off on import tariffs for Chinese products, triggering fears of a global trade war and slowdown in global economic...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM) –Copper: As prospects of a trade war loomed, prices for copper are likely to edge down in the near future with pressure from short bets. We see LME copper trading at $6,630-6,700/mt, and SHFE copper at 50,000-50,400 yuan/mt today. Spot discounts are seen at 200-120 yuan/mt as consumers are eager to restock.Aluminium: Increasing US trade protectionism dragged alumi...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Section 232The European steel association Eurofer is calling for quota-based safeguard trade measures even though the EU has been temporary exempted from Section 232 import tariffs in the United States. The impact of the United States' Section 232 aluminium import tariffs on Asian aluminium...Read More
It was all going so well for the London Metal Exchange metals at the turn of the year: Robust late-2017 price strength was initially carried through into January, with a commensurate increase in turnovers, and the words "bull market" were on many people's lips. But, as winter turns into spring and temperatures mostly rise, the heat has gone out of the market, and much of that bullish ardor has coo...Read More
Trump giveth... Trump taketh away.The post-election stock market ran further and further again, mostly because of the pretty plums Trump dangled in front of investors:Tax cuts… deregulation... infrastructure.Until last month's "correction," the overall market had swelled some 30% since that unforgettable night in November 2016.Has the president delivered the full cargo of goods - and on the...Read More