Premiums for 99.97% lead ingots edged up in Southeast Asia due to continued tightness in spot material from Iran, while European lead premiums dropped in the week to Tuesday May 15 thanks to ample supply. Premiums for "three-nines" lead ingots ticked up in Southeast Asia with spot material bid and offered in a higher range. European lead premiums drop and firm in China on a nearly open impor...Read More
Tin premiums in Europe and the United States declined in the week ended Tuesday May 15 due to the wider availability of Indonesia-origin material and weak appetite from buyers. In China, thin trading activity kept premiums there flat. Rotterdam 99.9% premium hovers near one-month lowSelling activity picks up in USChinese premiums stable U-turn in European tin premiums, Indonesian exports sound ret...Read More
The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday May 16. Base metals on the London Metal Exchange edged higher during morning trading, with tin the only metal recording a downward move. But lead recently recorded a $17 fall to $2,339.50 per tonne. Here is how the base metals complex looked at 12.18pm London time: Read our latest futures report for mor...Read More
Buying activity in the Iranian export billet market was lively in the week ended Wednesday May 16 with customers rushing to place new orders for July-shipment material, especially those in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries.They feared that purchases with later delivery dates might be hindered by the threatened reimposition by the United States of trading sanctions against the Middle Ea...Read More
Mexican steel producer Altos Hornos de M?(C)xico (Ahmsa) has brought forward by one week planned maintenance work at its No2 blast oxygen furnace at its Monclova unit, in Coahuila state, after an accident at the unit."The facility has suffered minor damage that does not affect its operation," the mill said in a note to Mexico's stock exchange, BMV, earlier this week."[The company has] decided to c...Read More
The volumes of flat steel imported into the EU will remain in balance despite uncertainties related to the Section 232 import tariffs in the United States, according to Gabriel Holub of Slovakian company US Steel Kosice."The level of imports [in the EU] is expected to be balanced in the near future, despite the current uncertainty linked to the Section 232 tariffs and the risk of [steel] volumes b...Read More
Prices for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe have remained unchanged over the week as market activity continued to remain low, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday May 16.Metal Bulletin's weekly domestic price assessment for rebar in Southern Europe was ?,?490-520 ($582-618) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, unchanged over the week."Nothing has changed - market activity is really...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys and ores prices changed on Wednesday May 16:Noble alloys Molybdenum Europe drummed molybdic oxide, $/lb: $11.50-11.70 per lb from $11.55-11.70 Ferro-molybdenum basis 65% min, in-warehouse Rotterdam, $/kg...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin minor metals prices changed on Wednesday May 16:Minor metals Antimony MB Chinese free market MMTA standard grade II, yuan/tonne: 50,000-51,500 yuan per tonne from 50,000-51,000 yuan Cobalt MB free market low grade, $/lb: $43.20-43.85 per lb from...Read More
A shift to a monthly European ferro-chrome benchmark or an index based on a number of regional markets are some ways the negotiated contract figure could be improved to bring more stability and keep it relevant in a sometimes volatile market, ferro-chrome participants told Metal Bulletin.The role of the quarterly European ferro-chrome benchmark is set to continue in the short term, according to so...Read More
Tharisa has acquired a 90% stake in Salene Chrome Zimbabwe Ltd for an undisclosed sum, the South African chrome producer announced on Wednesday May 16.The company acquired the holding from the Leto Settlement Trust, which has family links to Tharisa chief executive officer Phoevos Pouroulis and is the beneficial shareholder of Tharisa's major shareholder, Medway Developments Ltd. Leto will keep a...Read More
South African miner Tharisa's net profit after tax in the six months to March 31, 2018, fell by 44.3% year on year, largely due to lower chrome prices. The chrome and platinum group metals (PGM) producer reported net profit after tax of $28.4 million in its interim results released on Thursday May 16. The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization...Read More
The stainless steel scrap market in the United States was stalled this week, with prices for nickel, chrome and iron all largely holding steady. "Prices have strong headwinds," according to one processor source, who also indicated that third-quarter chrome prices could collapse."I am seeing a little weakening in prices, even with nickel slightly better today," one dealer source said."Most processo...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, tender, 170,000 tonnes of 61% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, sold...Read More
The price gap between seaborne cargoes of Brazilian Blend fines and Pilbara Blend fines widened further on Wednesday May 16 amid a mixed market.Metal Bulletin 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $68.03 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up by $0.75 per tonne Metal Bulletin 58% Fe Premium Index: $54.56 per tonne cfr Qingdao, unchanged Metal Bulletin 65% Fe Iron Ore Index: $86.20 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down by $0.10 per ton...Read More
Participants continued to tread carefully in the seaborne coking coal spot market on Wednesday May 16. A 90,000-tonne cargo of premium mid-vol material, with a May 15-24 laycan, was transacted this week at $192 per tonne cfr China to a northern Chinese end user. "Sellers and end users are still in a deadlock and it seems $190 per tonne cfr China could be...Read More
China's ferrous futures fluctuated during morning trading on Wednesday May 16, before experiencing a spike in the last ten minutes before the end of the session.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange October rebar: 3,689 yuan ($580) per tonne, up 14 yuan per tonne October hot-rolled coil: 3,834 yuan per tonne, up 41 yuan per tonne Dalian Commodity Exchange September iro...Read More
The lower revenues from reduced London Metal Exchange trading fees - seen when HKEX, the exchange's owner, published its first-quarter results last week - is unsurprising and should not be a cause for mutterings at the current LME Asia Week gathering in Hong Kong. First-quarter revenue from HKEX' commodities business was down 7% from a year earlier - despite a 20% year-on-year jump in average dail...Read More
The arbitrage for copper, aluminium, zinc and nickel imported into China on Wednesday May 16*Copper -$84.52 (-539.56 yuan) Aluminium -$552.40 (-3,526.52 yuan) Zinc -$25.53 (-162.96 yuan) Nickel -$522.59 (-3,336.19 yuan) *Metal Bulletin calculates the physical arbitrage for import into...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More