By David SmithAll great events hang by a hair. The man of ability takes advantage of everything and neglects nothing that can give him a chance of success; whilst the less able man sometimes loses everything by neglecting a single one of those chances.~Napoleon BonaparteChina's launch several years ago of the One Belt, One Road Initiative is set to become the biggest commercial linking-system co...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices rose on Friday February 23 following gains in the futures market. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,900-3,950 yuan ($614-622) per tonne, up 30-40 yuan per tonne Northern China (Beijing): 4,000-4,040 yuan per tonne, up 50 yuan per tonne Traders raised their offers following gains in the futures market, but they concluded very few transactions since...Read More
"Mnuchin: policies will raise wages w/out inflation. Yeah, sure. And we are going to expand the Buffalo Art Museum without making it bigger."Continue...Read More
Gold is faring quite well today technically, though you sure wouldn't know it from the rampant bearish sentiment. Gold's price is in a strong uptrend over a year old, high in both its current upleg and young bull market. Gold isn't far from breaking out to its best levels since September 2013, a really big deal. The stock markets even finally sold off after years of unnatural calm. Yet t...Read More
Traders should consider that any lasting break above $1,375 would confirm that the multiyear downtrend has reversed.Continue...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
There was little activity in China's domestic stainless steel market over the past week due to the Chinese New Year, which has resulted in supply pressures increasing.Traders were offering stainless cold-rolled coil at 14,800-15,500 yuan ($2,329-2,439) per tonne, the same level as offers made before the February 15-21 Chinese New Year break, market sources said. No transactions were heard on Thurs...Read More
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
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
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
SHANGHAI, Feb 23 (SMM) –Copper: We see copper continue to rebound after touching a low at 51,000 yuan/mt ahead of Chinese New Year. LME copper is expected to trade at $7,140-7,200/mt today with SHFE copper at 53,200-53,900 yuan/mt. In the physical market, spot discounts are seen smaller at 250-180 yuan/mt as downstream customers resume operations gradually.Aluminium: LME aluminium is expecte...Read More
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
Domestic prices for rebar in Poland have been stable this week because mills are expected to announce new prices next week, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday February 23.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland was 2,310-2,340 zloty ($680-688) per tonne ex-works on February 23, unchanged over...Read More
Italian long steelmaker Pittini is in discussions to acquire compatriot steelmaker Ori Martin's Ceprano rebar mill in central Italy, Metal Bulletin understands.The Ceprano mill is expected to stop rebar production on Monday February 26 but will continue selling material from stock, a market source told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday February 21."Pittini's plan could be to replace production at Cepran...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base MetalsGlencore metal traders banked a record $2 billion in profits in 2017 - a year where traded volume of copper, zinc and ferro-alloys grew substantially.Wieland Group will strengthen its position as Europe's largest semi-finished copper products producer by acquiring Aurubis' rolled-prod...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's London office, bringing you the latest news and pricing stories on Friday February 23.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange dipped across the board during morning trading, with prices awaiting further direction to move higher.Here's how base metals prices looked at 11:28am London time: Read our live futures report here."Thursday's intraday price dips on...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Friday February 23.Base prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rose across the board during Asian morning trading on Friday February 23, the second trading day after Lunar New Year holidays. Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here. LME snapshot at 0200 London timeLatest 3M LME...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 23 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures on the SHFE performed strongly today except for tin, which edged down slightly. Nickel gained some 2% while copper was up 1.6%. Aluminium went up 1.5%, and zinc and lead inched up.Ferrous metals prices rose across the board as coke jumped close to 3% and iron ore increased by over 2%. Rebar and coking coal went up close to 2% and hot-rolled...Read More
SHANGHAI, Feb 23 (SMM) – Nonferrous metals futures on the SHFE performed strongly today except for tin, which edged down slightly. Nickel gained some 2% while copper was up 1.6%. Aluminium went up 1.5%, and zinc and lead inched up.Ferrous metals prices rose across the board as coke jumped close to 3% and iron ore increased by over 2%. Rebar and coking coal went up close to 2% and hot-rolled...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base MetalsGlencore metal traders banked a record $2 billion in profits in 2017 - a year where traded volume of copper, zinc and ferro-alloys grew substantially.Wieland Group will strengthen its position as Europe's largest semi-finished copper products producer by acquiring Aurubis' rolled-prod...Read More