Millions of tonnes of material are likely to be redirected to steel markets outside of the United States if US President Donald Trump levies strict tariffs or quotas on imports after the Section 232 investigation. While US domestic steel prices are expected to spike if the US Department of Commerce's 232 recommendations lead to trade defense measures, there are two schools of thought as to how thi...Read More
The benchmark cash/three-month spread in aluminium at the start of this week hit backwardation levels not seen since before the Global Financial Crisis, which is a landmark event but not necessarily a signal of a major shift in market dynamics.It is most probably a short-term aberration caused by the potent combination of February date shorts clashing with dominant longs but given added spice and...Read More
Wieland Group will strengthen its position as Europe's largest semi-finished copper products producer by acquiring Aurubis' rolled-products division later this year, yet the deal is intended to kickstart growth in the US and Asian markets, chief executive officer Erwin Mayr told Metal Bulletin. The two German companies said they were in talks over the acquisition, which will see Wieland take on a...Read More
The benchmark cash/three-month spread in aluminium at the start of this week hit backwardation levels not seen since before the Global Financial Crisis, which is a landmark event but not necessarily a signal of a major shift in market dynamics.It is most probably a short-term aberration caused by the potent combination of February date shorts clashing with dominant longs but given added spice and...Read More
Tin was the only base metal to close in positive territory on the London Metal Exchange on Friday February 23, with the rest correcting lower.The three-month tin price ended $75 per tonne higher than the previous close, with unchanged all week at record lows of just 1,860 tonnes."Tin's fundamental backdrop remains positively skewed after the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) reported a marke...Read More
Iron ore prices strengthened on Friday February 23 amid expectations of a possible extension of production limits in China beyond the country's winter heating season, which ends in mid-March. Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $78.82 per tonne cfr Qingdao Daily change: up by $0.62 per tonne Month-to-date average: $77.04 per tonne Metal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $61.36 per t...Read More
Kim Leppold, Senior Consultant, Metal Bulletin Research.Metal Bulletin Research (MBR) has examined the effects of the potential Section 232 actions on the US OCTG markets based on the recommendations set out by the Department of Commerce in mid-February.The three recommendations are essentially a blanket tariff up to 24% on all steel products imported to the USA from all countries, a blanket quota...Read More
The base price assessment in Europe for 2mm, grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheet has widened upward by ?,?10 per tonne over the past week, despite poor demand and continued import pressure, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday February 23.Metal Bulletin's weekly base price assessment on Friday for 2mm, grade-304 CR stainless steel sheet was ?,?1,060-1,110 ($1,304-1,365) per tonne del...Read More
Indian mills are likely to increase their domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) by about 1,500 rupees ($19) per tonne in March because import prices for the material remain higher than those to local buyers."We are selling HRC in India at a discount compared with international prices. There is scope to increase the domestic price of HRC by at least 1,500 rupees per tonne," an official from an...Read More
Paul Crone will join Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners (ECTP) as the head of proprietary trading for its metals division, based in Stamford, Connecticut, in the United States.He will be joined at ECTP by Brandon Rust, also from hedge fund Citrine Capital Management, which Crone founded in 2012. ECTP has been seeking to increase its proprietary trading activities in metals for some time; Crone...Read More
The benchmark cash/three-month spread in aluminium at the start of this week hit backwardation levels not seen since before the Global Financial Crisis, which is a landmark event but not necessarily a signal of a major shift in market dynamics.It is most probably a short-term aberration caused by the potent combination of February date shorts clashing with dominant longs but given added spice and...Read More
Tin was the only base metal to close in positive territory on the London Metal Exchange on Friday February 23, with the rest correcting lower.The three-month tin price ended $75 per tonne higher than the previous close, with unchanged all week at record lows of just 1,860 tonnes."Tin's fundamental backdrop remains positively skewed after the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) reported a marke...Read More
Treatment charges (TCs) for spot zinc and lead concentrates continued to trade at low levels in February, with the Chinese market winding down for New Year holidays and participants discussing annual terms at the IZA conference in California.Spot terms for zinc concentrates remained at multi-year lows of $10-30 per tonne. Demand across the month slowed while Chinese smelters wound down production,...Read More
The proposed Section 232 investigation remedies by the United States Commerce Department are becoming apparent in the global market, with the common theme a reorganization of the world's supply chains to remove the US from the trade flow. North America One of the biggest question marks in North America related to the Section 232 recommendations is what any of them - if implemented - will mean for...Read More
Jonathan Berchole, a senior base metals trader at Mercuria Energy Group, has left the company, a well-informed source told Metal Bulletin.Berchole traded aluminium, nickel and tin in London. Berchole, who formerly worked as a trader...Read More
Malaysia Smelting Corp (MSC) recorded a 20% increase in net profit at its tin mining unit in 2017, but its smelting segment registered a loss due to aged equipment and operation inefficiencies that will be addressed by the relocation of its Butterworth smelter from Penang to Port Klang, it said on Friday February 23.MSC's mining division reported net profit of MYR 34.88 million ($8.92 million) in...Read More
Slab export prices from Brazil have increased week on week, amid low material availability and increasing buying interest. Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of Brazil-origin export slab was $540-545 per tonne fob on Friday February 23, up from $530-540 per tonne fob a week earlier. Most February bookings have been closed at around $540 per tonne fob or even higher, with buying activity reported i...Read More
Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), Russia's largest steelmaker, sees opportunity for further development outside Russia, where the market is "too small," according to the company's top executive."The Russian market is too small for us, we can't achieve our growth goals in this market, considering [the slow] rate of its growth," Oleg Bagrin, NLMK's chief executive officer, said.Bagrin said NLMK expects that...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Iron ore prices strengthened to close to $79 per tonne on Friday February 23 amid expectations of a possible extension of production limitations in China beyond the country's winter heating season, which ends in mid-March.Tangshan's municipal government is seeking feedback from market participants about...Read More
Indian steelmaker JSW Steel is in the final stages of purchasing Italian long steel producer Acciaierie e Ferriere di Piombino (Aferpi), Italian trade union Uilm said on Thursday February 22."The Piombino plant [in western Italy] is destined to go into the hands of an entrepreneur who knows what it means to produce steel. We will start negotiating a business and investment plan after March 31," Ui...Read More