SHANGHAI, May 18 (SMM) – Operating rates across China's zinc galvanising plants in April gained 19.29 percentage points on the month and stood at 86.1%, SMM surveyed. This is up 19.16 percentage points on the year. Most galvanising plants in north China cut production for environmental inspections in April 2017, and this accounted for the significant year on year increase in operati...Read More
SHANGHAI, May 18 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper stuck between several moving averages with support at the 40-day moving average overnight. As the US dollar is unlikely to fall from highs in the short term, we see LME copper trading rangebound at $6,850-6,900/mt with the SHFE 1807 contract at 51,000-51,500 yuan/mt during the day. Spot discounts are expected at 100-20 yuan/mt as sellers are likely...Read More
Indian steelmaker JSW Steel has completed the acquisition of Italian long steel producer Acciaierie e Ferriere di Piombino (Aferpi), Italian trade union Fiom-Cgil said on Friday May 18.JSW Steel acquired the mill from Algeria's Cevital for around 6 billion Indian rupees ($88.41 million), according to media reports in India, while Italian reports suggest the deal was valued at closer to ?,?90 milli...Read More
Tight supply in the US market pushed billets to another record high, while European premiums edged lower in a competitive and active market.The US billet market saw the most change, climbing 6% to reach a fresh high. The move up in the US helped push the premium in Brazil to its highest in more than two years.Ali billet upcharge sets recordThe 6063 aluminium spot billet upcharge set a record on Fr...Read More
Coated coil prices in Turkey decreased this week, with demand poor in both the local and export markets, sources told Metal Bulletin on Friday May 17.Domestic pricesOne Northern Turkish producer was offering 0.50mm hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG) at $760-780 per tonne ex-works this week while a second producer offered similar product at $780-790 per tonne ex-works.Southern Turkish producers were...Read More
Pig iron buyers in the United States, the largest global market for the steelmaking raw material, resumed their purchasing activity after the scrap price for May had become clear in their domestic market, Metal Bulletin has heard.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for US pig iron imports was $405-410 per tonne cfr on Friday May 18, narrowing upward by $5 per tonne from $400-410 per tonne cfr...Read More
The range of prices offered for steel slab exports from Brazil narrowed this week, with producers continuing to focus on sales to clients in North America.Offers of Brazilian material were reported around the level of $570 per tonne fob, with rumors of one deal being closed at a price below this mark.But suppliers were not willing to accept any bids below the level of $565 per tonne fob, according...Read More
The latest metal market news and price moves to start the North American day on Friday May 18. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were broadly lower during morning trading, with marginal drops across the complex largely due to a strengthening dollar and nickel the only metal to buck the trend.Nickel's three-month price climbed 1.2%, outperforming the complex and reaching a high of $14,850 pe...Read More
Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Friday May 18. Good morning from Metal Bulletin's offices in Asia, bringing the latest news and pricing stories on Friday May 18. Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were largely higher during Asian morning trading on Friday May 18, with the exception of tin and aluminium - the latte...Read More
Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.Physical iron ore prices weakened on Friday May 18, in line with drops in the rebar and futures markets, although earlier increases mean the week-on-week change was minimal.The seaborne coking coal market is in stalemate with a widening gap between bids and offers. Taiwanese scrap import prices widened...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metalsThe London Metal Exchange has shelved its idea of developing a dealer-to-client platform, following the results of last year's discussion paper, chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain said.The exchange also does not have projections of how much revenue it might make eve...Read More
Lead is starting to be imported into China at a profit after shorts drove down international market prices far enough to trigger an arbitrage. Lead is the London Metal Exchange's most shorted metal, 5.2% of speculative interest on lead is a short, according to brokers Marex Spectron. The LME's three-month lead contract dropped to a seven-month low of $2,241 per tonne on May 3 but has since rebound...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange had a mixed end to the week at the close of trading on Friday May 18, with complex consolidation resisted by nickel's steady gains. Climbing 1% during the afternoon, nickel reached a daily high of $14,870 per tonne. The metal's declining inventories are contributing to its price rise, with total LME stocks falling 5,856 tonnes on the week. Nickel'...Read More
Physical iron ore prices weakened on Friday May 18 in line with drops in the rebar and futures markets.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $66.92 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.57 per tonne Metal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $54.42 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.14 per tonne Metal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $85.80 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.60 per tonne Metal Bulletin 62% Fe...Read More
A widening gap between bids and offers is keeping the seaborne coking coal market deadlocked. Market sources said on Friday May 18 that a miner was offering a cargo of premium low-vol hard coking coal with a late-July laycan via a tender that was to have been concluded at 6pm Singapore time, which is beyond the 5.30pm cut-off time for data collection for Metal Bulletin's daily coking coal indices....Read More
Offers of commercial-grade hot-rolled coil (HRC) for import into India have fallen by $15 per tonne to $640-645 per tonne cfr Mumbai, compared with similar material booked about two weeks ago at $655-660 per tonne cfr Mumbai.Indonesia-origin HRC was offered at $640-645 per tonne cfr Mumbai for shipment in June-July but this price has yet to be accepted, a Mumbai-based importer said on Friday May 1...Read More
Indian steelmaker JSW Steel has completed the acquisition of Italian long steel producer Acciaierie e Ferriere di Piombino (Aferpi), Italian trade union Fiom-Cgil said on Friday May 18.JSW Steel acquired the mill from Algeria's Cevital for around 6 billion Indian rupees ($88.41 million), according to media reports in India, while Italian reports suggest the deal was valued at closer to ?,?90 milli...Read More
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.Base metalsThe London Metal Exchange has shelved its idea of developing a dealer-to-client platform, following the results of last year's discussion paper, chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain said.The exchange also does not have projections of how much revenue it might make eve...Read More
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange had a mixed end to the week at the close of trading on Friday May 18, with complex consolidation resisted by nickel's steady gains. Climbing 1% during the afternoon, nickel reached a daily high of $14,870 per tonne. The metal's declining inventories are contributing to its price rise, with total LME stocks falling 5,856 tonnes on the week. Nickel'...Read More
An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their price moves from the past week.Read More