Nickel was the best performer on the London Metal Exchange at the close on Friday March 9, gaining more than 4%, with most of the complex ending the week on a high.The three-month nickel price recovered by $570 per tonne after a large 27,244-tonne cancellation at LME-listed warehouses this morning."Nickel is still enjoying overall bullishness that has been in place since it recovered from its June...Read More

Physical iron ore prices fell below the $70-per-tonne-cfr mark on Friday March 9 amid persistent losses in China's steel and futures markets.Key driversChina's ferrous futures recorded across-the-board losses for a third day. The benchmark iron ore contract continued to be the worst performer, with a 5.2% decline in comparison with the settlement price on Thursday. The contract closed at a 3.5-mon...Read More

Prices in the seaborne coking coal market gained more downward momentum on Friday March 9, with the number of offers continuing to outpace bids. "Sellers have visibly softened their attitude toward the prices of their cargoes since it is difficult to prop them up based on just the sole factor of the weather," an East Asian end-user source said. Although there are still "two to three more weeks to...Read More

The base price assessments for flat and long stainless steel products in Europe fell slightly this week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday March 9.The reason behind the declines was tough competition with imports from Asia, according to market sources."Offers from Taiwan are at least 10% lower than domestic prices [in Europe]," a trader said. "So if that situation is...Read More

The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel scrap has been largely unchanged over the past week while market participants wait for nickel prices to settle, sources said on Friday March 9.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?950-980 ($1,317-1,359) per tonne delivered on Friday, compared with ?950-990 per tonne delivered last...Read More

Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week. Base metalsSwitzerland-based Tiberius Group is making a return to base metals trading under the helm of former TMT Metals head trader Arefe Khosravi, with a focus on refined aluminium, several industry sources have said. Unionized workers at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres mine in Chile have v...Read More

After US President Donald Trump signed into law a 10% tariff on aluminium imports into the United States, premiums in the US saw some movement but European premiums were stuck waiting for more clarity on the trade measures. Market tentative, awaiting US tariff effect The US foundry alloy premium moved slightly higher following the formalization of Trump's tariffs on aluminium and steel imports - w...Read More

Nickel was the best performer on the London Metal Exchange at the close on Friday March 9, gaining more than 4%, with most of the complex ending the week on a high.The three-month nickel price recovered by $570 per tonne after a large 27,244-tonne cancellation at LME-listed warehouses this morning."Nickel is still enjoying overall bullishness that has been in place since it recovered from its June...Read More

Comex copper prices rebounded in morning trading on Friday March 8 in the United States after the publication of a jobs report that exceeded expectations.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange recovered 3.4 cents or 1.1% to trade recently at $3.1130 per lb. Yesterday, the contract slid to the lowest point since February 12.This morning, the US non-farm...Read More

Unionized workers at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres mine in Chile have voted to strike, rejecting the latest offer for a collective labor agreement from the miner."Around 99% of the voting workers voted in favor of a legal strike," Federacion Minera de Chile treasurer Dino Saltori said in a statement on the organization's website.Antofagasta had offered improvements for miner benefits and a "salary r...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday March 9.The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange regained $100 per tonne in morning trading, supported by a large cancellation of stocks at LME-listed warehouses. Most other metals were largely unchanged but under pressure.Here's how base metals prices looked at 12:20 London time:Read our live...Read More

A predicted deficit in the copper concentrates market could be exacerbated, with mining companies facing ever greater hurdles to bring new projects on stream, according to panellists at the Metal Bulletin Copper Conference.The copper market has for years experienced declining ore grades at major mines, and this combined with consistent demand growth could lead to deficits in the coming years, acco...Read More

Metal Bulletin proposes to make the South Korean cif and fca P1020 aluminium premiums duty-free only to better reflect current market conditions.The current assessments - Aluminium P1020 cif South Korea and Aluminium P1020 fca South Korea - include both duty-free and non-duty free aluminium. Metal Bulletin proposes to only include in both assessments aluminium which can be imported into South Kore...Read More

The Chilean government has started an anti-dumping case against rebar imports from Mexico, according to a document made public on Friday March 9. The country's anti-price distortion commission will analyze imports of rebar from Mexico from January to December 2017.In 2015, Chile launched an anti-dumping probe into rebar imports from Mexico, resulting in anti-dumping duties of...Read More

Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.All eyes this week were on US President Donald Trump's decision to confirm his previously announced tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium imports into the US.Metal Bulletin's team has extensively analyzed the likely effects on the global steel market of the trade action signed off under t...Read More

Import prices for flat steel goods in the South American market edged up this week, driven by higher hot-rolled coil (HRC) values."HRC is always the first [product] to feel the effects of higher slab costs," a trader said.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for HRC imports into South America was $660-670 per tonne on Friday March 9, up from last week's $650-660 per tonne cfr.China-origin...Read More

European steel association Eurofer has condemned the decision by US President Donald Trump to set import tariffs on steel and aluminium as being "damaging and counterproductive for both the US and EU economies."Trump set blanket tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium imports on Thursday March 8. They were announced last week as a response to the Section 232 investigation into the nat...Read More

Indian mills have raised their offer prices for exports of commercial-grade hot-rolled coil (HRC) by at least $10 per tonne to $670-675 per tonne fob Indian ports, compared with bookings achieved about a week ago at $660-665 per tonne fob Indian ports.But the mills have not been able to achieve HRC export bookings after raising their export offers, market participants said."We have not booked HRC...Read More

Key data from Metal Bulletin's Wednesday March 7 pricing session in China.Molybdenum concentrate Metal Bulletin Chinese free market, 45% Mo, in-warehouse China, RMB per mtu Key drivers- Supply is tight on earlier plant turnarounds conducted by major miners.- Recent surge in Chinese exports for January 2018 further underpins supply tightness.-...Read More

The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys, bulk alloys and ores prices changed on Friday March 9:Noble alloys Molybdenum Europe drummed molybdic oxide, $/lb: $12.90-13.10 per lb from $13.00-13.20 Molybdenum US canned molybdic oxide, $/Ib $13.00-13.10 per Ib from $12.90-13.10 Ferro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg Mo: $30.80-31.40 per kg from $30.80-31.80 Ferro-molybdenum US 6...Read More