The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Friday June 1.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed mostly higher on Thursday May 31, ending the month broadly supported with most metals trading in positive territory. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how prices looked at the close of trading:The government in the United States has decided to implement Se...Read More
Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange finished 2.4% higher at the close of trading on Friday June 1, recording gains of 5% on the week amid a broadly stronger base metals complex. The metal has recorded 19 straight days of inventory decline following disruptions to Chinese stainless steel supply due to environmental concerns, leaving total stocks at 290,604 tonnes, their lowest since June 201...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
The volatility in global copper stocks this year has benefited trading volumes across both the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Shanghai Futures Exchange, while the London Metal Exchange's inventory has fluctuated widely and dropped to a four-month low this week.LME copper stocks fell to 283,375 tonnes on Wednesday May 30, the lowest since January 24. Stocks have rebounded sharply to 311,525...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
Key data from the pricing session in the week ending Friday June 1. China China's domestic ferro-chrome prices rose following higher June tender prices and production cuts in small plants based in Fujian, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Hunan regions. The market anticipates further disruption to...Read More
Blister copper refining charges (RCs) in China edged down in May as spot tonnages were sought following the recent shutdown of several domestic primary smelters and a continued fall in copper scrap imports. Metal Bulletin assessed RCs for 98-99% blister copper on a cif China basis at $210-230 per tonne on Thursday May 31, down $15 month on month, with several spot deals of African tonnages se...Read More
Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose again at the end of May after the Tamil Nadu government ordered a permanent shutdown of Sterlite Copper's Tuticorin smelting and refining complex. Sterlite, which has been closed since late March, had been pursuing a permit through local courts to restart its smelter, but public demonstrations against the smelter and its planned expan...Read More
Silico-manganese production fell 8.1% globally and 10% in China in April compared with March, according to the latest data from the International Manganese Institute (IMnI).World silico-manganese output stood at 1.26 million tonnes in April, representing an increase of 31% year on year. Global demand came in at 1.35 million tonnes, up 1% compared with March and 25.9% higher year on year, IMnI data...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
Europe import prices for austenitic alloy steel scrap softened this week as the effect of high nickel prices was offset by sluggish demand, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday June 1. Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for 18/8 stainless steel solids imported into mainland Europe was ?,?1,180-1,200 ($1,379-1,402) per tonne cif main European ports on Friday, down from ?,?1,200-1,240 per ton...Read More
Global ferrous scrap prices continued to soften during the week ended Friday June 1, with economic uncertainty in Turkey exerting downward pressure on spot trading values.The imposition by the United States of Section 232 import tariffs at 25% on steel from Canada, Mexico and the EU also damped market sentiment.Buyers in other parts of the world waited for better prices, causing negotiation activi...Read More
The UK light iron scrap market was stable over the past week, for the eighth week in a row, as market expectation of a downturn in prices failed to materialise ahead of monthly delivery settlements to consumers in June, industry sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday June 1. Market sentiment has also been cautious after the United States imposed tariffs of 25% on imports of steel from the European...Read More
Comex copper prices edged higher on Friday June 1, though the slight uptick is unimpressive compared with the gains seen in other base metals this week. Copper for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ticked up 0.8%, or 2.5 cents per lb, to $3.09 per lb. "LME copper has underperformed its complex notably this week. While copper is little changed since Monday, t...Read More
Japan's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for May surprised to the upside at 52.8, having been expected to remain at April's level of 52.5, while China's Caixin PMI came in at 51.1, which was unchanged from April's reading. Taking into account yesterday's better-than-expected reading on China's official PMI, economic data may be picking up again, which could bode well for the metals....Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week. Read More
Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have softened week on week due to cheaper material entering the market and because of downstream consumer expectations for lower prices; lithium prices in other regions were unchanged due to sluggish spot market activity. Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China weaken Lower battery-grade quality material available in the market drag down assessm...Read More
Lithium supply and prices are likely to dominate conversation at Industrial Minerals' 10th Lithium Supply & Markets Conference in Las Vegas. Oversupply could darken industry expectations, and key stakeholders will hope to address that issue and much more. The question of supply and demand in lithium has been a popular topic among key market participants at Industrial Minerals' Lithium Supply & Mar...Read More
Indian steel mills are likely to increase domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) by about 500 rupees ($7) per tonne this month, factoring in the increase in the cost of production created by the weakening of the country's currency.Officials from at least two large steel mills have confirmed that they were considering increases in the price of domestic HRC for sales in June.Indian domestic HRC p...Read More