Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were trading higher across the board on Friday September 21, with copper leading the way. The three-month copper price hit a one-month high of $6,244 per tonne this morning, rallying over 2% from Thursday's close."Exactly what triggered the move is not clear to me but the result is certainly clear enough as all ships rise on the bullish tide with cop...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
European stainless steel base prices were largely stable in the week ended Friday September 21, with market sources awaiting news of alloy surcharges for October.These had been widely expected to decrease on lower nickel prices, and this was confirmed on September 21 when Outokumpu announced that its surcharge for grade-304 cold-rolled sheets will decrease in October by ?,?80 per tonne, to ?,?1,44...Read More
Copper mining group Antofagasta Minerals will start to extract molybdenum at its Centinela Mine in Chile from next year, with production ramping up to 2.000 tonnes in 2019, the company announced earlier this month.The Centinela operation was formed in 2014 from the merger of the Esperanza and El Tesoro mining companies. Centinela mines sulfide and oxide deposits 1,350km north of Santiago in the An...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
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More
Metal Bulletin proposes to launch a premium assessment for duty-free nickel briquette cif Shanghai.Nickel briquette - a key feedstock for stainless steel making as well as for nickel sulfate, for which use is growing in the electrical vehicles (EV) sector - is largely consumed in China. With demand expected to grow in China in the coming years because of the EV boom, market liquidity for nickel br...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metalsThe 10 largest 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.South Korea's state-run Public Procurem...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price ended more than 4% higher on Friday 21 September, with the rest of the complex also rallying.Copper peaked at $6,364.50 per tonne, its highest since late in July, in active trading - more than 29,000 lots had changed hands by the 5pm London close. "The main macro catalysts include the renewed weakness in the dollar (despite the yield on the US Tre...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
Finnish stainless steelmaker Outokumpu has lowered its alloy surcharge for October deliveries of grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheets by ?,?80 ($94) per tonne.Finnish stainless steelmaker Outokumpu has lowered its alloy surcharge for October deliveries of grade-304 cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel sheets by ?,?80 ($94) per tonne.The company's October surcharge for 2mm grade-304 CR sta...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
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 rece...Read More
Brazilian steelmakers' presence in the export market has reportedly increased, with a decline in the value of the local currency versus the United States' dollar boosting the attractiveness of markets abroad. Offers and bookings for Brazilian billet in Asia were heard close to $525-530 per tonne cfr, sources told Metal Bulletin. Meanwhile, shipments of Brazilian hot-rolled coil (HRC) to...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
Brazilian slab export prices remained stable in the week ended Friday September 21 with local slab producers awaiting the return of demand in the United States, which was halted by import quota issues.Metal Bulletin's weekly Brazil slab export price assessment was $500-530 per tonne fob on September 21, unchanged from the previous week.Brazilian slab producers have been selling material to Asia, E...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
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade.Today is Quadruple Witching Day. Volumes on U.S. exchanges are expected to be elevated.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged following release of economic news released at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for August Consumer Prices was a year-over-year increase of 2.8%. Actual was an increase of...Read More
Key data from the pricing session in the week ending Friday September 21.China The uptrend in China's domestic spot ferro-chrome price persisted, reflecting tightness in the market. The closing price of chrome ore in major Chinese ports climbed to 32.5-33 yuan ($4.74-4.82) per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) as of Friday September 21 from...Read More