Flat steel prices in Turkey's domestic and import markets were mixed this week, with demand improving in the export market and pushing prices up, sources told Metal Bulletin on Monday June 18.Domestic producers are accepting orders for August production, while the export markets experienced good demand.Domestic prices Hot-rolled coil (HRC) producers in Turkey sold material at $600-610 per tonne ex...Read More
Imports of various carbon and stainless steel products from China pose a "real risk" of harm to Taiwan's domestic steel industry, according to a preliminary ruling by the territory's Ministry of Economic Affairs.Although Chinese steel imports had not materially harmed Taiwan's domestic industry, they still present a "threat" of material injury, the ministry's International Trade Commission said on...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore were up slightly over the past week on continued spot demand in the market.There continued to be some demand, with major fabricators in the spot market enquiring about spot cargoes."Singapore buyers continue to bid at $540-550 per tonne cfr Singapore. However, they are not expected to budge at anything above this price this week," an industry source in Singapor...Read More
Russia and India-origin re-rolling-grade hot-rolled coil are dominating the Vietnamese import market, with China-origin HRC being priced out over the past few weeks.There were at least two deals done in recent days for India-origin back-to-back mill cargoes at $610-615 per tonne cfr Vietnam, including a 25,000-tonne cargo from a major Indian producer. Indian mills were offering cargoes at $61...Read More
The widely-anticipated third-quarter European ferro-chrome benchmark price reduction is likely to be smaller than early estimates, market sources say, amid rising spot prices in China and Europe. The ferro-chrome benchmark is negotiated quarterly by a leading South African ferro-chrome producer and a major stainless steel mill. The second-quarter price settled at $1.42 per lb and the third-quarter...Read More
Turkish scrap import prices were flat on Monday June 18 due to a silent market following Turkey's public holiday on Friday and before the election outcome at the end of the week.Some buyers could be waiting until the election outcome to get a better picture of current market conditions, Metal Bulletin was toldThe Turkish lira has continued to depreciate against the US dollar in...Read More
German steelmakers have settled their monthly scrap contracts for June, with a slight decrease up to ?,?5 ($6) per tonne, sources told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's June monthly price assessment for domestic grade-E3 scrap in Germany was ?,?280-295 ($325-342) per tonne delivered on June 18, compared to ?,?280-300 per tonne delivered in May."Supply and...Read More
Taiwan's ferrous scrap imports increased by 36% on the year in April, according to the territory's customs agency.Taiwan imported 290,009 tonnes of ferrous scrap during the month, 76,452 tonnes higher than the 213,557 tonnes it took in a year earlier, data from the Taiwanese Customs Administration showed.March's...Read More
Three-month base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were broadly down during Asian morning trading on Monday June 18, with a stronger dollar weighing on the complex.The copper price at $6,994 per tonne as at 4.16am London time, is down $26 per tonne from last Friday's close, with around 560 lots traded on Select so far.Elsewhere in the complex, nickel also gave back some of the gains it ac...Read More
Chinese silicon export prices continued to weaken over the past week amid slack demand from downstream producers, while the European market was once again unchanged due to a lack of significant trading activity.The Chinese silicon export market weakened further in the week ended Friday June 15, with prices continuing to fall amid limited buying interest, particularly from secondary aluminium alloy...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 19 points in pre-opening trade. Futures are responding to growing trade war concerns.Blackrock (BLK $524.52) is expected to open higher after Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral.Zillow dropped $2.57 to $63.00 after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Neutral.Valeant dropped $1.29 to $25.57 after the FDA...Read More
The Brazil has imposed anti-dumping duties in imports of welded austenitic stainless steel pipes imported from Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.Duties will vary from $367.56 per tonne to $888.27 per tonne, according to an announcement by the country's Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade and Services published on Thursday June 14.Welded stainless pipes exported to Brazil by Malaysia's Pa...Read More
Turkish domestic auto bundle and shipbreaking scrap prices remained stable over the past week due to the majority of market players keeping their buying prices flat, sources said on Monday June 18.Long steel producer Ege ??elik reduced its buy price for auto bundle scrap by TRY100 ($21) per tonne to TRY1,440 per tonne last week. While ID?? increased its buy price by TRY70 per tonne to TRY1,470 per...Read More
Gold is trading under major pressure today, with August futures currently down $25.90, and is fixed at $1282.30. This sharp decline coincides with a major selloff of many commodities. Sharp declines in oil, grains, and other commodities defined trading activity in the futures markets today. Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he wished people would “sit up at attention” for him like North Koreans do for their leader Kim Jong Un, a quip that sparked instant outrage on social media and cable news.It was the latest example of a Trump remark about strongmen leaders - delivered in a deadpan style - to fall flat and fuel perceptions among his criti...Read More
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will impose an additional 25 percent tariff on 659 U.S. goods worth $50 billion, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, citing the Tariff Commission of the State Council.Tariffs on $34 billion of U.S. goods including agricultural products, autos and aquatic goods will take effect from July 6, Xinhua reported, citing the commission.Tariffs on other U.S. good...Read More
(Kitco News) - Last Friday we told our loyal and wonderful readers to buckle up and expect quite the ride this week - and boy was that the case. The G7, the Federal Open Market Committee, ECB, Singapore, the World Cup....(in no particular order) all delivering significant punches and fireworks. From singer Robbie Williams flashing his middle finger on the global stage during the World C...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are seeing sharp selling pressure ahead of the weekend, weighted down by surging momentum in the U.S. dollar as monetary policy between the U.S. and Europe continue to diverge.Gold futures are preparing to end the week with heavy losses with August gold last traded at critical support at $1,280.40 an ounce, down 1.71% from last week. The lost comes a day after gold price...Read More
In Wednesday’s highly anticipated FOMC meeting speech, the Federal Reserve took a slightly more hawkish policy tone in signaling two more rate hikes by year-end. However, the gold complex chose to focus on the Fed’s rather tepid view of inflation as Fed Chair Jerome Powell pledged to keep rates low enough to bolster the economy for “some time” and signaled it would tolerate...Read More
(Kitco News) - Wall Street and Main Street both look for gold prices to rise in the next week, based on the Kitco News weekly survey.The metal was range-bound for much of this week before tumbling with other commodities on Friday amid U.S. dollar strength as U.S.-China trade-war worries intensified again. Other significant news events this week were a North Korea-U.S. summit, 25-basis-point intere...Read More