Early negotiations of long-term contracts show that consumers of ferro-vanadium are trying to lock in deals slightly ahead of the usual price-mating season, in an effort to secure units in a tight market.AMG Vanadium, a subsidiary of AMG Advanced Metalurgical Group, finalized a two-year contract for ferro-vanadium with a large steel mill in the United States this week, the company has said. It was...Read More
The 10 biggest copper smelters in China set the fourth-quarter base price for treatment charges and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $90 per tonne /9 cents per lb on Friday September 21, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Metal Bulletin. The number was set at a meeting in Shanghai of representatives from The China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT). The figure was not formally announced, foll...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The majority of global scrap prices moved upward on good demand and thin supply in the week ended Friday September 21.Turkish prices continued their upward movement, with several cargoes being booked this week, as did prices in India and Taiwan. On the US East Coast, prices remained stable but Vietnam suffered from logistical difficulties.Turkey importsThe first deep-sea scrap booking of the week,...Read More
Aluminium scrap prices in Europe fell to their lowest in several years , with a supply overhang continuing to batter the market.Escalations in the trade war between the United States and China as well as tightening environmental regulations in China have diverted significant volumes of scrap into other markets, including Europe, pressuring scrap prices to record lows.The price of floated frag in E...Read More
Austenitic alloy steel scrap prices were largely stable this week in Europe and the UK, with nickel prices having more or less flattened out after losses in late August and early September.The price of 18/8 stainless steel solids in the UK was assessed unchanged at ?880-930 ($1,163-1,229) per tonne delivered at merchant. The price of similar product in Europe was assessed at ?,?1,060-1,100 ($1,24...Read More
Comex copper prices surged to their highest values since early August on Friday September 21 amid signs of a sustained global deficit and improved outlook for market fundamentals.Copper prices for December settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped by 9.05 cents per lb or 3.3% to $2.8305 per lb. Earlier in intraday trading, the contract surged to $2.83 per lb, the...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were once again higher across the board by an average of 0.5% on the morning of Friday September 21. This follows Thursday's generally bullish performance that saw the base metals complex close with gains averaging 0.7%.Nickel and copper led on the upside this morning with gains of 1.3% and 0.9% respectively, with the red metal recently q...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Ganfeng Lithium has signed a supplementary contract with LG Chem to extend its offtake agreement for a further three years to the end of 2025, it said on Thursday September 20. This agreement will provide the battery maker with another 45,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide. LG Chem initially agreed an offtake deal with Ganfeng Lithium on August 14, with the latter...Read More
China's domestic spot battery-grade lithium carbonate price continued to fall this week because of lower offers from producers that were eager to sell. Downstream buyers showed no interest in restocking before the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday on September 22-24. Meanwhile, lithium hydroxide prices were unchanged in the latest weekly pricing session, with limited spot deals reported. Lithium ca...Read More
South American flat steel import prices remained mostly unchanged this week amid bearish expectations about prices in China.Metal Bulletin's weekly assessment of South America hot-rolled coil (HRC) import prices was unchanged at $610-630 per tonne cfr on Friday September 21, while the price of plate was stable at $630-640 per tonne cfr.Prices of cold-rolled coil (CRC) were unchanged at $650-660 pe...Read More
Indian mills are likely to raise the domestic price for hot-rolled coil (HRC) early in October after the sharp loss in value of the country's rupee against the US dollar in the current month.The exchange-rate value of the rupee has gone down by about 4% so far in September, which has led to HRC imports becoming more expensive while also driving up the input costs for local mills.Officials from at...Read More
Sentiment in Turkey's flat steel market was subdued during the week ending Friday September 21, while flat steel prices were mostly stable, sources told Metal Bulletin.Turkish producers were offering flat steel for late October and early November production, but buyers were not willing to make bookings because of the uncertainty in the market.Domestic pricesProducers have been offering hot-rolled...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market during the week ended Friday September 21.Raw materials Rio Tinto is planning to launch an e-platform to allow its iron ore tender process to become more seamless for participants, Simon Farry, vice president sales and marketing iron ore has said. Prices for light iron scrap in the United Kingdom have been stable over the...Read More
ArcelorMittal Tubular Products has announced a new price list for its hollow structural sections made in Europe, following "price fluctuations that were not sustainable for the industry," the company said on Friday September 21.The new price list was available on its website from Thursday.In the past couple of years, existing price lists did not reflect the reality of the market and the increases...Read More
Domestic prices for rebar in Poland have been unchanged over the past week, supported by good demand, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday September 21.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for domestic 12mm B500B-grade rebar in Poland was stable over the week at 2,360-2,390 zloty ($645-653) per tonne ex-works on Friday.The assessment...Read More
The majority of global scrap prices moved upward on good demand and thin supply in the week ended Friday September 21.Turkish prices continued their upward movement, with several cargoes being booked this week, as did prices in India and Taiwan. On the US East Coast, prices remained stable but Vietnam suffered from logistical difficulties.Turkey importsThe first deep-sea scrap booking of the week,...Read More
The pig iron import market in the United States continues to move down on mixed expectations of the future trends in prices for scrap steel and hot-rolled coil (HRC).Metal Bulletin's price assessment for US imports of pig iron decreased to $380-385 per tonne cfr on Friday September 21, from $385-390 per tonne cfr a week earlier."I don't see any reason for the pig iron market to stabilize, because...Read More