German metals distributor Kl??ckner expects its 2019 earnings to be negatively affected by "declining demand" and weaker steel prices, it said on Tuesday April 30."Against the background of unexpected... negative price effects and declining demand developments - especially in the [EU] automotive business," Kl??ckner expects its operating income to fall to ?,?50-60 million for the second quarter, d...Read More
China's major mills raised their daily output rates for crude steel in mid-April on good demand and healthy profit, while their finished steel inventories also increased.Members of the China Iron & Steel Association (Cisa) produced crude steel at an average rate of 2.01 million tonnes per day during the second 10 days of April, up 2.6% from 1.96 million tpd in early April, according to data releas...Read More
Brazil's Vale has appointed Eduardo Bartolomeo as its chief executive officer, succeeding Fabio Schvartsman.The Brazilian miner's board of directors confirmed the appointment of the senior executive at a meeting on Monday April 29. With 10 years of experience in...Read More
Glencore produced 10,900 tonnes of cobalt in the first quarter of 2019, up 56% from 7,000 tonnes produced during the same period a year ago. The increase was largely due to the ramp-up at the Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A total of 3,500 tonnes of cobalt in hydroxide was produced at the mine in the first quarter compared with 500 tonnes in the January to March quarter of 2018....Read More
A summary of base metals premiums from across the globe for the week to Tuesday April 30.Please click...Read More
Prices for flat steel products imported into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have been mostly stable over the past week due to limited demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 30.End-user demand has been poor recently, with buyers unwilling to book material because the market was not expected to improve any time soon.And next week will be the start of the Islamic holy month of R...Read More
The London Metal Exchange cash/three-month aluminium contract fell $30.50 to trade below its psychological $1,800-per-tonne price level at $1,779.50 per tonne by close of play on April 30.This is the lowest price level recorded for the LME three-month aluminium contract since January 13, 2017, when it was trading at $1,792 per tonne.The aluminium three-month contract ignored a significant 34% inve...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 30 that are worth another look.With LME Asia Week fast approaching, Fastmarkets MB took an in-depth look at one of the topics likely to dominate discussions at this year's event: What is keeping aluminium prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange elevated following the cut to China's value-added tax early in April?Brazil's p...Read More
With LME Asia Week fast approaching, Fastmarkets MB takes an in-depth look at one of the topics likely to dominate discussions at this year's event: What is keeping aluminium prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange elevated following the cut to China's value-added tax (VAT) early in April?The SHFE's front-month aluminium price climbed to its highest since October 2018 at 14,225 yuan ($2,113) per t...Read More
The London Metal Exchange cash/three-month aluminium contract fell $30.50 to trade below its psychological $1,800-per-tonne price level at $1,779.50 per tonne by close of play on April 30.This is the lowest price level recorded for the LME three-month aluminium contract since January 13, 2017, when it was trading at $1,792 per tonne.The aluminium three-month contract ignored a significant 34% inve...Read More
Comex copper staged a modest increase on Tuesday April 30 morning in the United States amid a weakening dollar and market hopes that a US-China trade resolution is upcoming.The copper price for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange increased 1.10 cents to $2.9080 per lb. The red metal has been unable to set a clear price direction over the past few weeks, with a...Read More
The seaborne coking coal spot market was stable on Tuesday April 30 amid thin trading ahead of a three-day Labor Day break in China."Our indicative offers for premium hard coking coal were around $207-209 per tonne cfr China since last Friday but they failed to garner much interest. We will offer our cargoes again next week, after the public holiday in China," a Chinese trader said.The Port of Jin...Read More
Aluminium producer Rusal's sales of aluminium value-added products (VAP) were down 22.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2019 amid US sanctions and high premiums, it announced on April 30.Sales of value-added product, such as billet, foundry and slabs, reached 256,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2019, compared with 333,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2018. First-quarter sales were down...Read More
The steel mills in Turkey have continued to book deep-sea cargoes for June deliveries, although prices were still weakening, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 30.A steel mill in the Marmara region booked a US cargo, comprising 22,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (90:10) at $306 per tonne, 13,000 tonnes of shredded at $309 per tonne and 5,000 tonnes of bonus...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday April 30 that are worth another look.With LME Asia Week fast approaching, Fastmarkets MB took an in-depth look at one of the topics likely to dominate discussions at this year's event: What is keeping aluminium prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange elevated following the cut to China's value-added tax early in April?Brazil's p...Read More
Blister copper spot refining charges (RCs) in China were unchanged in April while the copper arbitrage window remained negative throughout the month, to discourage import interest, Fastmarkets heard on Tuesday April 30.The cost to turn the intermediate product of 98-99% copper content into refined copper was stable at $160-170 per tonne on April 30, the same as at the end of March.Several bids wer...Read More
The premium paid for European nickel briquettes fell to its lowest level since July 11, 2017 on April 30, amid extremely weakened demand from the stainless steel sector for the material, while European off-warrant supply remains healthy and facilitates the decline.End-user stainless steel demand, which uses nickel and has a direct impact on its consumption, is not perceived as weak by the market,...Read More
Comex copper staged a modest increase on Tuesday April 30 morning in the United States amid a weakening dollar and market hopes that a US-China trade resolution is upcoming.The copper price for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange increased 1.10 cents to $2.9080 per lb. The red metal has been unable to set a clear price direction over the past few weeks, with a...Read More
Brazil's primary aluminium production totaled 147,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2019, falling by 24.7% compared with 195,100 tonnes in the first quarter of 2018, the country's association for the sector, Abal, said on Monday April 29.Output volumes are decreasing because the Albras smelter, located in the northern state of Par??, is using only half of its capacity following environmental issu...Read More
The European Commission (EC) will halt its anti-dumping investigation into imports of welded steel tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, whether of square or rectangular cross-section, originating from Macedonia, Russia and Turkey, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday April 30.The EC opened the case on September 28 last year after the defence committee of the Welded Steel Tubes Industry of...Read More