Physical iron ore prices tumbled on Monday May 21 in line with losses in the futures market.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $65.30 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.62 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $53.82 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.60 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $84.10 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.70 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe China Port Pri...Read More
Ferro-chrome prices rose in China for domestic and imported material on Friday May 18 due to producers standing firm on offer prices in a tighter market. Ore and alloy prices rise in China Chinese market reports alloy production cuts Alloy prices in South Korea follow China higher Alloy prices hold in Europe and Japan US market quiet, prices edge up on small volume trades Ferr...Read More
Prices in the Russian market for hot-rolled (HR) and cold-rolled (CR) steel sheet were stable during the week ended Monday May 21 because buyers were waiting for a possible price reduction driven by the weaker export market."We will wait until June [before buying] because mills can cut their prices to us because of lower prices in the export market," a trader told Metal Bulletin. He added that pri...Read More
Carmaker Daimler AG has gone "on the offensive" to secure a sustainable raw materials supply chain and has developed a number of initiatives across key raw materials to create transparency and to protect human rights, the Germany-based group has said.The move comes amid continuing concerns about unsafe working conditions and the use of child labor in artisanal mining, particularly for cobalt in th...Read More
Jiangxi Copper, China's largest copper smelter, is planning to set up metal concentrates blending and scrap processing operations in Southeast Asian countries, Metal Bulletin has learned. "The blending operation will receive complex concentrates with high arsenic content. The scale of the blending capacity is not set yet. Jiangxi Copper has no such overseas blending operation so it is a new move f...Read More
Comex copper reached a one-week high Monday May 21 morning in the US, with easing trade tensions between China and the US producing higher prices for equities and metals.Copper for July settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 3.65 cents or 1.2% to $3.100 per lb. Earlier, the contract touched a high of $3.115, the highest since May 14."Despite the mostly positive...Read More
The rapid ramp-up in alumina production while domestic high-grade bauxite resources deplete is the biggest challenge for China's alumina industry, Yin Zhonglin, director of Alumina Research Department at Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco) Zhengzhou Research Institute, said at Asian Metal's Aluminium Raw Materials Conference, held in Jinan on May 18.Yet instead of widely relying on impo...Read More
South Korea's imports of Australian primary aluminium have fallen so far this year, but the shipments of aluminium flat products from China into South Korea have risen, the latest trade data from the latter showed. South Korea imported 344,507 tonnes of primary aluminium in January-April, down 15.5% year on year, according to data from the Korea International Trade Association (Kita). During this...Read More
Ukraine's ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is preparing to resume production of pig iron and steel after the stoppage last week that was caused by railroad department workers going on strike, the company said in a press release on Monday May 21.The strike began on May 16 and paralyzed the production process at the mill. Locomotive operators, assistant operators and shunting operators refused to work on th...Read More
Export prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) from the Commonwealth of Independent States have moved down again over the past seven days, with deals being reported at lower prices after mills cut their prices last week.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for CIS-origin HRC exports was $540-575 per tonne fob Black Sea on Monday May 21, widening from $550-570 per tonne a we...Read More
CIS export billet prices continued to climb in the week ended Monday May 21 despite mixed market sentiment, with several bookings reported done at higher prices.Metal Bulletin's CIS billet export index was $524 per tonne fob Black Sea on May 21, compared with $520 per tonne fob a week ago.Starting from May 21, Metal Bulletin will increase the publishing frequency of its CIS billet export index fro...Read More
Turkey continued to grow its presence in the global steel market with an increase in both crude and finished steel output in the first four months of the year.Turkey produced 12.49 million tonnes of crude steel in January-April 2018, a 5.11% increase compared with the 11.89 million tonnes produced in the corresponding period of 2017, the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD) said this week. C...Read More
China's domestic hot-rolled coil prices remained unchanged on Monday May 21 amid subdued demand. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 4,250-4,270 yuan ($666-669) per tonne, unchanged Northern China (Tianjin): 4,090-4,110 yuan per tonne, unchanged https://www.metalbulletin.com/My-price-book.html?Price=42402 Losses in the futures market resulted in buyers keeping their procurement rates low during the...Read More
Import prices for re-rolling-grade hot-rolled coil sold into Vietnam remained stable over the past week, with buyers waiting on new offers from a major domestic producer.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for HRC imports in Southeast Asia - which mainly looks at Chinese 2-3mm SAE1006 HRC and equivalent grades sold into Vietnam - was unchanged at $600-625 per tonne cfr in the w...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore picked up some strength over the past week on steady buying among end-users.A position cargo of Chinese materials was heard to have been traded at $560 per tonne cfr Singapore. There was also market chatter about traders securing Middle East-origin rebar around $560-565 per tonne cfr Singapore via tender, with about 15,000-20,000 tonnes of the product to be off...Read More
Positive momentum for ammonium paratungstate (APT) prices continued last week, buoyed by concerns of supply disruptions due to continued environmental inspections in China. Concerns over disruptions at ammonium paratungstate smelters in Jiangxi province, a major production hub, continue Demand for tungsten concentrates fell significantly following the shutdowns of APT smelters in Jiangxi&nb...Read More
Chinese ferro-silicon prices strengthened in the week ended Friday May 18 against persistent cuts in production due to imposed emissions cuts, while European prices slipped in quiet trading conditions after second-quarter contract negotiations were concluded. Chinese prices add gains in line with lower production Chinese production cuts due to tough pollution controls European prices...Read More
The Turkish steel producers went quiet again in the deep-sea scrap markets on Monday May 21, amid sluggish demand for finished steel and the continuing weakening of the country's lira.The mills in the country booked only three deep-sea cargoes last week, with prices going down to $345 per tonne cfr for Baltic Sea-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) in the most recent transaction.Market sources said that the mi...Read More
Turkish domestic scrap prices have increased in line with the rise in finished long steel prices over the past week, sources said on Monday May 21.Steel producers in Turkey and a major scrapyard have increased their buy prices for auto bundle scrap by TRY25-80 ($6-18) per tonne over the past seven days.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic auto bundle scrap (DKP grade) in Turkey wa...Read More
Physical iron ore prices tumbled on Monday May 21 in line with losses in the futures market.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $65.30 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.62 per tonneMetal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $53.82 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.60 per tonneMetal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $84.10 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $1.70 per tonneMetal Bulletin 62% Fe China Port Pri...Read More