Labor unrest has spread throughout South America and threatens to envelop the entire continent and flip the copper market back into a sustained deficit after a strike vote at Chile's largest copper mine (by production).It had been a quiet year for labor negotiations this year, with miners and their respective unions agreeing on comprehensive contracts without any work stoppages. But after millions...Read More
The world's largest refined nickel and palladium producer, Norilsk Nickel, has submitted an appeal against a Botswanan ruling made in June 2018, designed to prevent the company from defending itself in the London Court of International Arbitration.The ruling was the court's response to Nornickel's claim to recover $277 million worth of debt from Botswanan state-owned mining enterprise BCL, who had...Read More
In response to a "harsh business environment", five companies under major Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) Group will integrate and reorganize their welded stainless steel pipe and tube businesses, the group announced on Thursday August 2.The change will take place around April 1, 2019, after Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of NSSMC. Ni...Read More
Comex copper prices have extended the latest downturn and are now trading at the lowest point since June 20 on Thursday August 2 morning in the US, due to another round of trade worries. Copper for September settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 1.55 cents or 0.6% to $2.7320 per lb. The contract also hit a low of $2.7075 per lb.Ongoing trade tensions between t...Read More
With available stocks at record lows, aluminium spreads on the London Metal Exchange are increasingly volatile. More than 200,000 tonnes of aluminium was freshly canceled on the exchange during July across Europe and Asia at a time when a significant backwardation took hold of the spreads. The benchmark cash/three-months was at $50 per tonne backwardation on July 16, with all the nearby spreads al...Read More
The European Commission (EC) is currently investigating German copper giant Aurubis' proposed sale of its rolled-copper product business to its counterpart Wieland-Werke after the latter failed to dismiss competition concerns, the EC said on Wednesday August 1.The EC will conduct an in-depth investigation until December 10 on whether the takeover will reduce competition in the supply of key copper...Read More
US domestic and imported rebar prices are steady this week, with the Section 232 tariffs - implemented on June 1 - effectively pricing imports out of the market. And despite concerns over supply tightness and transport issues, there is little indication that this will change in the near term, sources said.American Metal Market's assessment for domestic rebar held at $35-36 per hundredweight (...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transaction: rebarRebarEgypt, domestic (El Garhy Steel), rebar, offered at...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for steel billet, slab and bloom. Latest transaction: billetBilletCIS, export, billet, offered...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were up across the board by an average of 0.7% on the morning of Thursday August 2. Zinc led the gains with a 1.3% increase to $2,572 per tonne, while copper was up by 0.7% at $6,168 per tonne. This follows a downbeat day on Wednesday when the complex closed with losses averaging 2.7%, led by a 4.8% drop in nickel and 3.6% fall in zinc. T...Read More
Turkish rebar producers have fixed their domestic rebar prices in US dollars because of the significant loss in value of the national currency, the lira, sources told Metal Bulletin on Thursday August 2.The lira was trading at TRY100 to $20.20 on August 2, down from TRY100 to $20.64 on July 26 and $21.78 on July 2, according to exchange rate website...Read More
Domestic long steel prices in EU markets are expected to remain around current high levels over the August holiday period, although mills could push through further price rises in September, market sources told Metal Bulletin this week."Customers are starting to go on holiday. We haven't heard new inquiries but we expect the [rebar] price to be maintained, and then perhaps to rise in September," a...Read More
Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau has concluded the sale of its two hydroelectric plants in the country's mid-western Goi??s state to mining company Kinross Brasil Minera????o.The Ca??a and Barra dos Coqueiros power units started operations in 2010 and have a total capacity for 155MW. They were sold for a total of 835 million Reais ($222 million).The transaction was first announced in February this year...Read More
The latest ferro-tungsten and ammonium paratungstate (APT) transactions, bids, offers and assessments in Europe, Vietnam and China, with blue tungsten oxide (BTO) and yellow tungsten oxide (YTO) deals taken into consideration.To view the latest price quotations, follow the links below:China- APT, fob China- Ferro-tungsten, fob ChinaEurope- APT, cif Rotterdam- Ferro-tungsten, in-warehouse Rotterdam...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 15 points in pre-opening trade. Futures are responding to news that the proposed rate for China's tariffs on $200 billion of U.S. products has increased to 25% from 10%.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the Weekly Jobless Claims report. Consensus was an increase to 220,000 from 217,000 last w...Read More
Metal Bulletin will launch a weekly Chinese domestic ex-works battery-grade lithium carbonate index on Thursday August 2 to run in parallel to the existing price assessment, following a successful market consultation. Metal Bulletin launched a market consultation in May to migrate its existing price assessment for battery-grade lithium carbonate, ex-works China, to an index. Despite the overw...Read More
Molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum prices in Europe have strengthened to three-month peaks in trading so far this week, with tightness - and rising prices - in Asia prompting renewed demand in the West.Prices of both have steadily run higher in Europe since the start of July after they had dropped through June. And with higher offer prices already being reported in Europe against apparent tightne...Read More
Key data from Metal Bulletin's Wednesday August 1 pricing session in ChinaMolybdenum concentrate MB Chinese free market, 45% Mo, in-warehouse China, RMB/mtu Key drivers:- Solid market fundamentals have lifted molybdenum concentrate prices in domestic China, leading prices to rise by more than 8%- Last week alone, prices rose more than 3% (1,590 yuan ($233.29) per metric tonne unit...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Thursday August 2. Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were under pressure during morning trading on Thursday, following a ratcheting up of trade tensions between the United States and China on Wednesday.Check Metal Bulletin's live futures report here. Afarak has announced the...Read More
The seaborne iron ore market remained inactive on Thursday August 2 with plenty of offers heard that did not culminate in transactions, with buyers exercising caution.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $66.87 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.32 per tonne.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $66.08 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.32 per tonne.Metal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $54.4...Read More