Mainstream iron ore prices stayed rangebound on Thursday June 28 while high-grade lumps and fines were able to fetch higher premiums.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $64.44 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.16 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $52.02 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.47 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $91.10 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $0.50 per tonneMetal...Read More
A cargo of premium hard coking coal fetched a significantly higher price on Thursday June 28, though market participants have dismissed the transaction as one-off. The August-laycan cargo of a top Australian brand was sold at $211 per tonne cfr China to an end-user in northeastern China.Market participants were unanimous with the notion that it was "tough" for premium hard coking coal to trade any...Read More
China's ferrous futures fluctuated in a small range during morning trading on Thursday June 28. Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange October rebar: 3,738 yuan ($566) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonne October hot-rolled coil: 3,873 yuan per tonne, down 3 yuan per...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 8 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for Weekly Jobless Claims was an increase to 220,000 from 218,000 last week. Actual was 227,000. Consensus for updated first quarter GDP was unchanged from the previous annualized estimate...Read More
CVG Venalum has halted at least one shipment to a United States-based customer while the company deals with allegations that its senior management was involved in a money-laundering and drug trafficking scheme using the plant as cover, a person familiar with the matter told Metal Bulletin. The Venezuelan state-owned firm was recently named in a US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Ass...Read More
The arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Thursday June 28*Copper -$115.53 (-765.98 yuan) Aluminium -$533.77 (-3,538.90 yuan) Zinc $10.73 (71.16 yuan) Nickel -$363.72 (-2,411.47 yuan) *Metal Bulletin calculates the physical arbitrage for import into...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices rose further on Thursday June 28 after rebounding a day earlier, returning to levels market participants considered as "normal" amid a balance between supply and demand.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 4,250-4,270 yuan ($644-647) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 4,160-4,170 yuan per tonne, up 10-40 yuan per tonneThe recovery snapp...Read More
Zinc prices on the London Metal Exchange climbed 1.5% during morning trading, buoyed by a fresh cancelation of more than 15,000 tonnes in New Orleans, while a healthy US dollar index adds further pressure to the complex. Pushing back above $2,900 per tonne over the morning, zinc prices are taking a positive turn, pushing higher against a 6% drop in on-warrant stock levels. The metal's technical fo...Read More
Steelmakers around the world can improve their plant performance, safety and product quality by further digitizing their processes, delegates at the Asian Stainless Steel Forum 2018 heard on Thursday June 28.Mills could automate their electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) and converters, deploying smart sensors and collecting big data to improve processes, Zhai Yuyou, director of sales at technology provid...Read More
East Asia's stainless steel prices held steady over the past week amid an illiquid spot market.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil was $2,240-2,300 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday June 27, unchanged from a week earlier.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless trimmed hot-rolled sheet was...Read More
Key data from the Wednesday June 27 pricing session in Shanghai.Key drivers - An accumulation of scrap material at US ports following the temporary shutdown of the North American division of the China National Certification and Inspection Group pushed US exporters to lower their prices to facilitate sales and clear their inventories. - The resultant heavy scrap flows entering China from the US pre...Read More
Chinese zinc smelters should cut zinc production by 10% to raise flagging metal prices and boost concentrate treatment charges (TCs), smelter Shaanxi Dongling said on Thursday June 28 while confirming a 62.5% cut on its own production. China's fourth largest zinc smelter, Dongling, cut refined zinc output indefinitely to 9,000 tonnes per month in May from 24,000 tpm previously, general manager Xun...Read More
The Italian steel distribution network faces a shake-up from ArcelorMittal's efforts to meet its anti-trust obligations to acquire steelmaker Ilva.The European Commission (EC) EC has requested the "sale availability" of four ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia (AM CLN) steel service centers (SSCs), Cesare Vigan??, the managing director of ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia (AM CLN), said."T...Read More
Dollar Closes at Highest Level This YearThe U.S. dollar index scored a tremendous gain, breaking above resistance and closing at the highest price point of 2018. Gaining almost 3/4 of a percent on the day, the dollar gained 0.679 points and closed at 95.025. Today's close is above all previous highs achieved throughout this year. On May 29, the dollar closed at 94.79, and on June 14 the dollar...Read More
(Reuters) - Rating agency Moody’s Investor Service said on Wednesday a strengthening US dollar since mid-April has increased the credit risk of several emerging markets due to currency depreciation.A Moody’s report said a strong dollar would also lead to a drop in foreign exchange reserves of countries such as Argentina, Ghana, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Zambia.Chile, C...Read More
(Kitco News) - Kitco aficionados, it is now time to have your say in where you think gold prices are heading in the short-term.Will gold prices go higher, lower or remain unchanged next week? Kitco readers will have until 9 a.m. EDT, Friday to cast their vote. The results will be tabulated and released after noon (12 PM EDT) along with the results from our market professional survey.Readers can al...Read More
(Reuters) - The effects of U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs and tighter mortgage rules will “figure prominently” in the Bank of Canada’s July decision on interest rates, Governor Stephen Poloz said on Wednesday.In a speech promising increased transparency from the central bank in an age of economic uncertainty, Poloz said there is “a litany of things we simply do not know&rd...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for U.S.-made capital goods and shipments unexpectedly fell in May, but upward revisions to data for the prior month pointed to moderate growth in business spending on equipment in the second quarter.Other reports on Wednesday showed a sharp narrowing in the goods trade deficit last month, the latest indication that the economy was accelerating this quarter after...Read More
(Kitco News) - Investors should not buy the dip in the commodity sector as price performance is skewed to the downside for the rest of the year, said Barclays Commodities Research.The main drivers keeping commodities prices at bay are deleveraging in China and weakening synchronous global growth, Barclays said in a recent research report. “The commodity rally that ensued in April has stal...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices were moderately lower in early-afternoon U.S. trading Wednesday. Gold hit a six-month low and silver dropped to a seven-week low today. However, the gold market is now well oversold on a near-term technical basis and due for a decent corrective rebound very soon. Also, the big rally in crude oil recently is a solid clue the raw commodity sector has bottomed ou...Read More