Prices in the United Kingdom light iron scrap market have rallied this week, picking up where they left off late in 2017, with tight availability encouraging higher offer prices.The current trend toward higher prices started on November 10 last year.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for UK grade-5C ferrous scrap was ?110-135 ($149-183) per tonne on Friday January 5.The market is now at its highes...Read More
The Turkish deep-sea scrap market has remained quiet this week, with mills were seeking rebar sales, while suppliers were struggling with the heavy winter conditions especially in the United States, Metal Bulletin was told on Friday January 5.Turkish steel mills were expected to book more scrap for February, but the supply remained tight and the country's...Read More
Export prices for Brazilian pig iron were unchanged at the beginning of January, amid an inactive market, Metal Bulletin has heard.Buying activity will only resume next week, a local source said on Thursday January 4.As a result of the lack of trading, Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for Caraj??s-origin pig iron was stable week-on-week on Friday...Read More
Iron ore prices edged up and remained above $76 per tonne cfr China on Friday January 5 despite a further retreat in Chinese steel prices.Metal Bulletin's 62% Fe Iron Ore Index Today: $76.80 per tonne cfr QingdaoDaily change: up by $0.26 per tonneMonth-to-date average: $75.76 per tonneMetal Bulletin's 58% Fe Premium Index Today: $62.32...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices fell on Friday January 5 following weakness in the paper market.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,250-4,280 yuan ($654-658) per tonne, down by 20 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tianjin): 4,110-4,140 yuan per tonne, down 30 yuan per tonneTrading activity thinned in both the eastern and northern regions after the futures market weakened during the day, according to m...Read More
Iron ore prices gained further ground on Friday January 5 despite the Chinese steel market retreating again.Key driversChina's spot prices for hot-rolled coil shed 20-30 yuan per tonne during the day while those for rebar tumbled 30-130 yuan per tonne.The country's ferrous futures market was rangebound in the morning, and then experienced a V-shaped trend in the afternoon, falling sharply before r...Read More
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange mostly stepped slightly lower during morning trading on Friday January 5 but are generally consolidating at higher levels. Aluminium fell $12.50 but is still in a strong position, with supply-side reforms in China continuing to burnish its underlying fundamentals. The three-month price reached a fresh five-year high at $2,290.50 per tonne on December...Read More
Mercury prices continue to jump due to the lack of availability of the minor metal.Prices climbed to $1,700-2,000 per flask on an in-warehouse basis on Friday January 5, up from $1600-1700 per flask on Wednesday and $1,350-1,450 per flask on November 24.Mercury prices last year were $1,050-1,275 per flask and were largely stable until the Minamata Convention - a treaty to curb exposure to the meta...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
Manganese flake prices rose sharply this week following reports of production stoppages at the world's biggest producer amid ongoing environmental inspections in China. Metal Bulletin's manganese flake in-warehouse Rotterdam price increased to $1,895-2,000 per tonne on Friday January 5, up 3.9% from Wednesday's pricing session when prices had climbed 5.3%. The world's largest manganese flake...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin minor metals prices changed on Friday January 5:Minor metals Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 69,000-70,500 yuan per tonne from 69,000-71,000 yuan Cobalt MB free market high grade, $/lb: $36.75-37.50 per lb from $36.00-37.40 Cobalt MB free market low grade, $/lb: $35.50-37.00 per lb from $35.00-37.00 Cobalt...Read More
Brazil's silicon metal exports fell 16% in 2017 from a year earlier, affected by the dumping and countervailing duty investigations in the United States. The country shipped abroad 155,429 tonnes of silicon metal last year, down from 184,730 tonnes in 2016, according to figures from Brazil's foreign trade ministry, MDIC. Shipments to the...Read More
An overview of China's minor metals markets in the week of January 2-5 and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
China's domestic stainless steel prices rebounded slightly over the past week on gains in the nickel market.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 15,200-15,500 yuan ($2,339-2,385) per tonne including VAT for the week ended Thursday January 4, narrowing upward from 15,000-15,500 yuan per tonne a week earlier. Market partic...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday January 5:Aluminium scrap Cast: ?,?1,185-1,265 per tonne from...Read More
Labor negotiations at several of the world's leading copper mines will increase supply risk in 2018 and could provide support to prices, market analysts said.More than 30 labor contracts are due to be renegotiated next year - the largest number since 2010.This means that nearly 40% of global copper production - or more than 7 million tonnes - could be subject to disruption due to industrial a...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (SMM)? 1/4 ? Nonferrous metals for the most part moved higher today except a slight drop in copper. Zinc rallied in the afternoon with 1% rise at closure while lead and aluminium were up some 0.6%. Both nickel and tin edged up.Ferrous metals were softer with a mixed result. Coking coal and coke were up slightly, while hot-rolled coil dropped 0.67%. Rebar and iron ore also slipped.C...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (SMM)? 1/4 ? Nonferrous metals for the most part moved higher today except a slight drop in copper. Zinc rallied in the afternoon with 1% rise at closure while lead and aluminium were up some 0.6%. Both nickel and tin edged up.Ferrous metals were softer with a mixed result. Coking coal and coke were up slightly, while hot-rolled coil dropped 0.67%. Rebar and iron ore also slipped.C...Read More
SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (SMM)? 1/4 ? Nonferrous metals for the most part moved higher today except a slight drop in copper. Zinc rallied in the afternoon with 1% rise at closure while lead and aluminium were up some 0.6%. Both nickel and tin edged up.Ferrous metals were softer with a mixed result. Coking coal and coke were up slightly, while hot-rolled coil dropped 0.67%. Rebar and iron ore also slipped.C...Read More
By Costas PitasLONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - British new car sales recorded their biggest drop since 2009 last year, falling by more than 5 percent due to uncertainty over potential new diesel charges and weakening consumer confidence since Brexit, an industry body said on Friday. Registrations ended 2017 at around 2.54 million vehicles, according to provisional data, and are set to fall up to 7 perc...Read More